Yes, the government employs weapons and tech that normal citizens can't have. But it is in the State's interest to avoid reaching a point of domestic conflict wherein militias are getting slapped around by explosives and big guns.
It's not "only" tech/weapons... is logistic, money, infrastructures, communications, info
You play checkers, they got the chess pieces
A truly motivated first world nation can squeeze a medium-large size revolt without actually have to use bombs or tanks, they got the everything to just brazilianjujitsu the fuck out of it
They can get on your everything money, home, family links. They can offer lesser punishment to who surrend quickly.
Any first world nation have everything to make normal life very very hard, and good portion of these who thought to be ready to face bombs and shit will give up in few weeks due much more normal issues
Also, I doubt that combat arms personnel would destroy their own citizenry like that. Most would probably join the militias at that point.
Again, state have all the tools to bring most on their knee before it gets ugly enough to need soldiers using actual war methods
But if get THAT ugly it mean the people fucked up enough to go all-in against the state, and in that scenario most soldiers will do what soldiers do, and those who switch will switch to the side with less tech/money etc etc
Also lot would depend on how the story goes and wich side do the most outrageous shit
Super asshole state smashing civillians -> lot soldiers would refuse to follow orders, a lower number would switch
Super asshole rioters level up game and start war - > soldiers would be like challenge accepted, aside a lower number
I think there is a difference between being soft and allowing local government to fail. Ramifications for federal intervention across the board are too much, and it's really not feasible during an election year when more than half of the citizenry supports the protests and I doubt they care to delineate between riots and protests anyway. A good proportion of them probably have no idea that Portland is currently a hellhole. Even more probably have no idea that a 16yo child was executed in Capitol Hill or that an 8yo girl was shot in the head in Atlanta during the chaos. Most people don't really know what is going on city-by-city, day-by-day. They have good instincts but terrible knowledge and evil news media. POTUS needs overwhelming public support to use his powers like that and he just doesn't have it right now.
Trump will likely never have the public consensus he needs to operate like George W Bush and that's a good thing.
Edit - think of public support like the basis for his agenda. If the public supports his agenda, they will communicate it to their Representatives and Senators. That executive pressure can inform and influence their behavior in Congress in a two-step fashion. Pressure comes from the POTUS through the people to the legislature and that's how he can get what he wants.
This whole part does'nt tell a correct handling of things. It paint the portrait of the failure of the western model of government
You can't do shit as long the opposition can make "unpopular" your next-move
Result is a nation ruled by modern "western values" is weak af
Result is population smell it and both shit people and good people feel entiteled to handle violence (aggressive or defensive) because dad is too fat old and lazy to prevent kids from take knives and stab each other
When you have
"A good proportion of them probably have no idea that Portland is currently a hellhole. Even more probably have no idea that a 16yo child was executed in Capitol Hill or that an 8yo girl was shot in the head in Atlanta during the chaos. Most people don't really know what is going on city-by-city, day-by-day."
It's not poor POTUS what he can do
It's POTUS should man up, collect faultless proofs (if he can) of the scenario you are saying, silence bullshit media for a moment and be at same time on all tv channels showing these proofs and then be like "this is wrong and i will fix it."
Then take action
Instead he's letting the media play the song, he's letting rioters cuck his fake image of "strong man", he's letting good people see that criminals get away with it because stop crime is second tier thing next to don't do unpopular things
That man is a giant bitch, i have no idea how even right-wingers can side with him, dude is not even good at be what his enemies paint him to be lol
I don't see how this whole bullshit can be considered things going good
If anything the only good thing is Trump's incompetence, as aan actual smart and ruthless rightwing POTUS will have turned riot america into his playground, and while i don't sympathize with rioters and SJW retards, i dislike fascism too
I don't judge, check my location.
My nation have corrupted (or much worse, inept) politicians, mafias with the money of small nations, EU trying to play tricks with us because cuck the population like elsewhere did'nt worked on people here. And of course, like in rest of yuropp somewhere in future the racial issues that inevitably will come up as soon the "minority" grow enough claiming pieces
All of this without mention the huge €€€ fall we are about to see as covid result
Another western scenario, other western bullshit
Meanwhile China play kung fu remake of nazi germany and every nation seem just busy taking the best instagram selfie for voters
This is not good
Random people taking guns is not strenght, when their will is weak
Is just kids being allowed to touch stuff they should not
Where are all these good-people-with-guns when all this Hell scenario you painted is happening?
Nowhere to be seen
But because they got jobs!
Exactly, so they should just do their job-shit and avoid embarass themselves taking wannabe big gun warrior instagram pics on the Sunday, because next day halloween is over and they will return to theyr normal job like nothing happened... because nothing happened