Extreme militia preparedness felt normal to children raised in John Birch households

Evidence

Both Maureen and the siblings’ stepfather, Frank, were devoted members of the John Birch Society. In Colleen’s telling, they were militantly prepared for showdowns with Russians, the feds, or both. “We went to John Birch camp,” she remembers. “And apparently there was a property my dad bought in Marysville that had a bomb shelter.” At home, she says, “We had Uzis and hand grenades and food stores, and the government was out to get us.” All of this seemed unremarkable at the time. “For me, it seemed normal to have an Uzi in the house.” — Anna Merlan, Republic of Lies, 614

Categorization

• CANDY: “For me, it seemed normal to have an Uzi in the house” is a bracing, tweetable line about the ordinariness of extremism to the children inside it.
• XREF: connects to: Realistic threat is framed as physical survival of the in-group

Broader Connections

• Realistic threat is framed as physical survival of the in-group #expands (0.75)