Nothing is impossible but there's a lot that's real unlikely

"Those poor fuckers never had a chance. They had one of those cargo planes with the artillery piece in them up over them- yeah they do that, I'm not shittin you, they put an artillery gun on the plane, 105 millimeter i think, like they used to have on the tanks before they decided they were too small and bumped them up to 120. Anyway, they put that fucker on the plane and they fly the plane in circles way up high over the target and they just blast down all they want. Those poor fuckers... smart guys, brave guys, good as guys as we've got anywhere but there wasn't a damn thing they could do, there was no way to run or hide or fight out of, no chance in hell they were getting away from that. Might as well have been a god smiting them with it's thumb, reaching right out of the clouds and crushing them into the dirt. And like i says, they were smart guys, they knew, they had to know it. Like a god. Hard thing for a bunch of atheists to have to swallow at the end, knowing they were being struck down by somebody else's god, that they knew wasn't really a god, but with that kind of power what the hell's the difference. Shit."

The Way of the Shotgun

The skill and precision of a highly trained marksman are of course to be desired, for reasons of effectiveness, efficiency, and minimization of collateral damage. But it is not an end that can be reached overnight. A great deal of training and practice (along with some natural talent) are necessary and should be pursued.

More frequently than not, adequate training time is not available. This should not halt the honing of one's skills, but one must realize that they may have to fight before they feel they are ready. If, if one must fight in this interim, it is not uncommon, or altogether ineffective, to substitute quantity for quality.

This is the way of the shotgun.

People respect surgeons above butchers and butchers above ax murderers.

It is one thing to be cut with a sharp kitchen knife. It is quite another to be sawn with a rusty serrated steak knife. Such is a difference between knives, such is a difference between wars. So if you’re going to use violence to solve your problems- and by all means, please do- make sure you’re good at it. You’ll regret it otherwise.

The last words of the second to last man standing.

"Two things:

"First, if there were a god, I would pray that he'd have mercy on your murderous souls. But since there isn't, all I can say is I hope you can live with yourselves. And I'm certain you can, so item the second:

"I always said i would go down swinging. I just hadn't figured it would be at the end of a noose.

"That's it, let's do this."

An ax to grind

They make a point of sending anyone that came from the suburbs back to their towns should the need present itself. On one hand it's just good use of resources: these people know the lay of the land, they know the people. Sort of. And that's the other hand. A lot of them left as outcasts, disappeared for years, then all of a sudden, they roll back into town in trucks with hundreds of guerillas. Armed guys roll into your town anytime, and it's something to worry about. But here there's more, and I won't say the added effect isn't being exploited. These are people that you know left for a reason. These are people that, according to the papers and TV, hate your way of life. These are people that you don't understand. These are people that are now completely in control.

A glimpse at the dynamics.

The human brain allows reasoning, but it does not guaruntee that reasoning will necessarily guide one's actual behavior. It takes a great deal of will or something particularly dramatic to override deeply ingrained behavioral patterns that result from an entire lifetime of conditioning.

This is why people without will power don't learn from their mistakes.

For these people it is always something particularly dramatic that draws them into social unrest, and more often than not it's something that is in some shape or form a direct affront to their deeply ingrained behavioral patterns. And in droves they will settle down and return to their normal routines once the crises that stirred them is resolved.

And this is why people with will power are so dangerous.

For these people a line of reasoning alone is enough to draw them into social unrest, and once they've committed to the reasoning, rarely can they be quieted. Moreover, a line of reasoning can spread like wildfire, and no amount of negotiating or violence can break the will of the torchbearers.

Nothing new, I know, but as I said earlier, time doesn't change things as much as you'd think or hope it would.

A rare moment off feet.