Oregon protesters are hardly alone: Other views

Niraj Chokshi, The Washington Post: “They say the federal government stripped them of their land and resources. And they’re not alone. The weekend occupation of a federal wildlife refuge in Oregon may seem like the ravings of a small group of armed activists, but it belongs to a much larger movement in the western United States. Lawmakers in at least 11 states have in recent years explored the possibility of taking back federal land in their own way: through their state legislatures. ... The West ... is home to nearly 93% of all federal land, according to 2010 data compiled by the Congressional Research Service. Just over half of all the land within the nation’s 13 Western states is under federal control.”

EJ Montini, The Arizona Republic: “If foreigners did what a group of Americans is doing, we’d call them terrorists. Instead, we in the media are calling the armed men who have taken over a building in a federal wildlife refuge in Oregon ‘protesters,’ while they call themselves patriots. Sorry but — no. ... The armed occupiers — several of whom are from Arizona, naturally — are trying to use the national attention they’re receiving to draw recruits to their anti-government fanaticism in hopes of sparking a national movement.”

David French, National Review: “While civil disobedience is justified, violence is not. So far, no one has been hurt, the ‘occupation’ is occurring in a vacant federal building in the middle of nowhere, and there is no reported threat to innocent bystanders. It would be absurd for the federal government to treat the protesters like it treated the men and women at Waco or Ruby Ridge, and it would be absurd for the protesters to shoot police officers who are ordered to reasonably and properly enforce the law. The occupation is far less intrusive and disruptive than the (Occupy Wall Street) movement’s dirty and violent seizure of urban public parks, and authorities permitted that to go on for weeks. Now is the time for calm, not escalation.”

Wilfred Chan, CNN: “Of course ... Twitter reactions (offered) a heavy dose of puns and dark humor. Soon after news broke of the occupation of the building, the pun #YallQaeda was born, as users compared the cowboy hat-wearing gunmen to jihadist terror groups.”