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ourokouros's avatar

Good article, however I believe Franco Freda would have been a good mention here, seeing how he managed to temproarily unite both right and left factions specifically to fuck with the Italian government a bit

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Der Einzige's avatar

He's an interesting figure, I didn't want to go in too deep on specific events or individuals for brevity, although I absolutely could have because there was a plethora of interesting characters from this period.

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Oranon's avatar

>Further, any political group with an average age over 40 won't be fighting.

Its for this exact reason I doubt anything that major might happen honestly, the most violent countries on earth are usually those with a low median age (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War#Youth_bulge) , but idk the mormons and amish might try to do something... at least italys median age during that period was a good 10 years lower than americas now

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Der Einzige's avatar

I actually think the opposite, I think the top heavy nature of current age demographics will add to the youth's angst as they will be forced to support generations that they hate for a variety of other reasons. Social Security & other programs for retirees are already being stretched to their limits, with the only real solution being to tax the younger generations even harder to cover the cost.

The flip side to older generations not being able to conduct revolutions is that they're also defenseless from those that do. Even if 90% of the population was over the age of 60, they still exist at the whims of the radical youth.

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Oranon's avatar

i thought about that too, boomers possess way too much money compared to zoomers, class resentment is going to be at an all time high

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RyCo's avatar

>...average age over 40 won't be fighting.

I agree, but what happens when the middle age suburbanite sees he's about to loose it all in the "revolution"? An unemployed 40y/o watching his life crumble away can be impulsive and violent.

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DerWaldgang's avatar

The case of the Cosa Nostra is interesting. It brought back a thought I had for quite some time, namely the role that criminal organizations will play in the case of a state breakdown, or more generally, a decay of state institutions regulating violence and public order.

Think Hells Angels/Biker Gangs, the diverse Mafias spread across the globe (Russian, Moroccan, Italian etc.), Negro gangs, Latino Gangs, Migrant Clans in Europe, etc.

They can be quick to react from a position of already existing organizational structures, a very low threshold to using violence, weaponry & equipment etc. It will be interesting how the ideological factions left and right deal with these.

I can imagine for example that migrant clans could be quick to establish no-go zones in various European cities, where they control entry to and passage across streets, take tolls or set ambushes and robberies.

How would the state/government deal with those, given limited resources? Interesting thought Experiment. I can also envision Multinational corporations getting involved at some point, hiring private armies to take care of "biz", in case their business is threatened (e.g. Oil companies securing their value chains up to the gas station, retailers such as Walmart, etc.)

Granted this scenario is a couple of steps down the road of a "time of lead", but then again, maybe not.

How do our military people see this?

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Der Einzige's avatar

Similar things played out in Iraq after 2003. Preexisting groups, including ethnic clans, ideological factions, & criminal enterprises naturally took over their already existing territories. For the most part, the Iraqi government (& coalition forces) simply treated them the same as insurgents in order to get rid of them. In other cases, they negotiated & these elements essentially became the local government. This happened with Al-Sadr's Mahdi Army, who eventually became allies of the Iraqi government & official politicians.

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Mr.Sea's avatar

You should do an article about the post yugoslav ethnic conflicts

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Matthew's avatar

God-tier article!

I hadn't heard of the years of lead, but it sounded like some pretty wild times. Kudos to Italy for not ending up as a communist stronghold.

May the goddess of fortune keep you nestled deep in her bosom.

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PhineusGage's avatar

Great essay

Imagine being a douche bag ex-Red Brigades guy. Living a normal life, going to parties and barbecues, and knowing that you killed innocent people for an idealogy that has been thoroughly discredited. Like idiotic in hindsight. And you have to w yourself.

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Der Einzige's avatar

I think about this often, the vast majority of former insurgents, terrorists, etc. never actually got arrested or anything. There are many members of the IRA, Al-Qaeda, and others who just sort of "moved on." Very funny imo

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Aodhan MacMhaolain's avatar

Where's that balk-article, balk-nigger

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Der Einzige's avatar

Im not your house slave wigga!

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ourokouros's avatar

He was one of the guys accused of Piazza Fontana btw, and is still alive and kicking today

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JS.Hardy's avatar

Excellent article. I am not American or a resident there but I've been a Right Winger On The Internet (RWOTI) for a long time and I was very clued in to how much political street violence was heating up from 2016-17. Reading all this makes me wonder how Trump 1 would have looked if the deep state didn't almost completely neutralize IRL activism from the right with the Charlottesville OP

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