This is why the newest generations dislike the previous ones: we really truly want them not to make the same stupid mistakes we did, and the people before "we," did. But they will because acting on impulse is easier than learning about yourself and who you believe your enemies are.
In spite of what seems to be obvious to most people, I have learned that RMAGA actually ARE voting for their best interests. They are NOT voting for the NATION'S best interests. Believe me? Think about it.
Trump will never get the Nobel Peace Prize, another of his eternal delusions, what he will get is being prosecuted for crimes against humanity— he confuses the two.
I'm down for all of that. The Immigration 'problem' has always been one of administration, infrastructure, and funding. It has not been one of 'not enough cruelty'. Since it had been left to fester for decades with winks and nods, it was picked up to be used as a wedge McGuffin by both the Left and the Right. The Left used it as a reactionary demonstration of 'superior humanity', the Right used it as a demonstration of 'patriotic, clear-eyed realism'. Both sides benefited economically by the bullshit status quo. Both sides allowed that status quo to keep rolling because no one believed it could actually end.
Thank you for this. Yes, McNamara had many regrets, which came at tremendous cost. I am certain that this regime will ignore those lessons in pursuit of power and control and wealth. When faced with an existential threat, people will fight tooth and nail to survive. The ICE agents and contractors that are executing these detentions will eventually turn on their fellow citizens, thinking that they are performing their patriotic duty, just as members of the Nazi regime committed atrocities for the glory of the Third Reich. The research conducted by Hannah Arendt supports this conclusion. My assumption is that these agents and contractors have a certain bias and lack ethical and moral commitments to the constitution and civil rights. I fear they will be the weapons of suppressing dissent. Eventually, the people will rise up and there will be violence. This will be the pretext the current president seeks to institute Martial law. He will consolidate power, followed by division and hostilities between parties. In order to end his regime, there will be violence. As in the days of McNamara and LBJ, there will be no one to advise that his actions will lead to destruction. He is totally self-interested and self-aggrandizing and will feed his own ego to the point of destroying the nation. I realize this is depressing. But this is reality. The good news is, just as Germany and Vietnam rebuilt, so will Americans. The resistance and the rebuilding will be difficult.
As I recall, Robert McNamara was influenced by his own anti-war children, who were active in the movement. McNamara was no fool, contrary to how we’ve been brought up to see him. He made colossal mistakes in the name of efficiency (ahem) but he thought about outcomes, even when he was dead wrong. Even Lyndon Johnson, who actually listened to the pulse of America (‘we’ve lost Walter Cronkite”) knew that the policy was wrong when his informal group of anti-Communist advisors (The wise men) finally figured out that their policy advisement had been wrong and on 10 March 1968 they laid it out for LBJ.
NVN is only one of a long line of examples of a people being willing to take it and survive. Both England and Germany in WWII were misread by their opponents. Hitler and the Germans thought that the ‘weak’ Englanders would capitulate after making their lives miserable. The British, especially men like Bomber Harris, thought that the German populous would turn against the Reich if enough death and suffering were brought against them. Then there is our own country’s founding. The British thought they could route out and destroy through attrition the fledgling democracy movement, but their tactics only made it stronger. And those examples are only regarding entire nations, and don’t even reflect how many movements of the downtrodden have grown stronger the moment more oppression is levied against them.
Unfortunately, Trump is drunk on real power. Those who should be defending the Constitution have wilted under his maniacal assault or been discovered to have been closet fascists all along. The effort to end this will not be pretty, and the whole ballot box thing is being rigged by them. I don’t know the answer, but the movement towards the light of morning is going to be rough.
How to get each and every ICE member (soldier) to understand this concept? If there are no followers then there is no army. Where do these masked people come from?
Excellent question, Douglas! Who ARE these masked men with no identifying badges or patches, screeching around in unmarked cars with out of state tags literally snatching unarmed civillians off the street? If a group of them descended on you would your first inclination not be to shoot them? I'm surprised no one has been killed yet.
My thought, as well. The regime has picked it's targets carefully; deep blue urban areas in CA and MA, where few concealed carry, or very rural places where the migrants are isolated and together, with no witnesses. I can only imagine ICE trying to grab someone off the street in my racially diverse Texas neighborhood. On my block alone we have retired FBI, retired Naval Intelligence officer, former S. Korean sniper, and an OK country boy who is a crack shot. In TX it's legal to shoot trespassers, and everyone carries, so I do not think it would go well for ICE with no law enforcement insignia, no warrant, and no ID.
What a powerful essay Sam. Your words have made this Monday morning memorable. Thank you. We will eventually overcome this dark chapter of our shared history. But we will have to free ourselves from screens and algorithms to keep focused on what matters. The system built on white supremacy, settler colonialism, peddlers using the cadences of religion to turn a criminal into an idol of worship, has broken through whatever the constraints of morality, ethics, and integrity may have once exerted, imperfectly to be sure; at least there were some and the capacity to take stock of oneself, one's beliefs, one's national choices and change direction. The current crowd of very ill humans holding executive and legislative power are but the "tip of the iceberg", sadly. He's brought all of them along with him . They may see themselves as saviors of western "christian" values but they are leading a march to an abyss as horrific as ever experienced in all the massacres experienced by First Nations Peoples at the hands of government. Now government has made all the people its enemy.
“ It’s hard for any of us to understand the motivation behind the ICE raids.”
It’s the racism & sadism. Trump & Miller are defective people. Kristi Noem shot her puppy. In a kid, cruelty like that is a sign that they could grow up to be a sociopath. & like attracts like. Ever read/watch The Lottery?
This is why the newest generations dislike the previous ones: we really truly want them not to make the same stupid mistakes we did, and the people before "we," did. But they will because acting on impulse is easier than learning about yourself and who you believe your enemies are.
In spite of what seems to be obvious to most people, I have learned that RMAGA actually ARE voting for their best interests. They are NOT voting for the NATION'S best interests. Believe me? Think about it.
Enemy, well met.
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRbYzMMp68LRv3ohTnjgqQmPWkv3fL6rCr7kmO7XvZY5XpU7eFycurDQ5xW7OpLorMgvE8&usqp=CAU
Vivid and clear writing, with history and heart. Thank you.
Breaks my heart. It is so true.
I pray we can survive this evel man and his kind.
Roberta Sexton
M
Trump will never get the Nobel Peace Prize, another of his eternal delusions, what he will get is being prosecuted for crimes against humanity— he confuses the two.
Wow! This is a brilliant piece of work, thank you. 🙏🏻
Their day of reckoning is imminent.....
OMG, this is so right. And sad. And we are left again with, Who will save us?
WE will save US
Such a great point: we can fix immigration without losing our humanity. We can fix ALL of this without losing our humanity.
I'm down for all of that. The Immigration 'problem' has always been one of administration, infrastructure, and funding. It has not been one of 'not enough cruelty'. Since it had been left to fester for decades with winks and nods, it was picked up to be used as a wedge McGuffin by both the Left and the Right. The Left used it as a reactionary demonstration of 'superior humanity', the Right used it as a demonstration of 'patriotic, clear-eyed realism'. Both sides benefited economically by the bullshit status quo. Both sides allowed that status quo to keep rolling because no one believed it could actually end.
Thank you for this. Yes, McNamara had many regrets, which came at tremendous cost. I am certain that this regime will ignore those lessons in pursuit of power and control and wealth. When faced with an existential threat, people will fight tooth and nail to survive. The ICE agents and contractors that are executing these detentions will eventually turn on their fellow citizens, thinking that they are performing their patriotic duty, just as members of the Nazi regime committed atrocities for the glory of the Third Reich. The research conducted by Hannah Arendt supports this conclusion. My assumption is that these agents and contractors have a certain bias and lack ethical and moral commitments to the constitution and civil rights. I fear they will be the weapons of suppressing dissent. Eventually, the people will rise up and there will be violence. This will be the pretext the current president seeks to institute Martial law. He will consolidate power, followed by division and hostilities between parties. In order to end his regime, there will be violence. As in the days of McNamara and LBJ, there will be no one to advise that his actions will lead to destruction. He is totally self-interested and self-aggrandizing and will feed his own ego to the point of destroying the nation. I realize this is depressing. But this is reality. The good news is, just as Germany and Vietnam rebuilt, so will Americans. The resistance and the rebuilding will be difficult.
As I recall, Robert McNamara was influenced by his own anti-war children, who were active in the movement. McNamara was no fool, contrary to how we’ve been brought up to see him. He made colossal mistakes in the name of efficiency (ahem) but he thought about outcomes, even when he was dead wrong. Even Lyndon Johnson, who actually listened to the pulse of America (‘we’ve lost Walter Cronkite”) knew that the policy was wrong when his informal group of anti-Communist advisors (The wise men) finally figured out that their policy advisement had been wrong and on 10 March 1968 they laid it out for LBJ.
NVN is only one of a long line of examples of a people being willing to take it and survive. Both England and Germany in WWII were misread by their opponents. Hitler and the Germans thought that the ‘weak’ Englanders would capitulate after making their lives miserable. The British, especially men like Bomber Harris, thought that the German populous would turn against the Reich if enough death and suffering were brought against them. Then there is our own country’s founding. The British thought they could route out and destroy through attrition the fledgling democracy movement, but their tactics only made it stronger. And those examples are only regarding entire nations, and don’t even reflect how many movements of the downtrodden have grown stronger the moment more oppression is levied against them.
Unfortunately, Trump is drunk on real power. Those who should be defending the Constitution have wilted under his maniacal assault or been discovered to have been closet fascists all along. The effort to end this will not be pretty, and the whole ballot box thing is being rigged by them. I don’t know the answer, but the movement towards the light of morning is going to be rough.
How to get each and every ICE member (soldier) to understand this concept? If there are no followers then there is no army. Where do these masked people come from?
Excellent question, Douglas! Who ARE these masked men with no identifying badges or patches, screeching around in unmarked cars with out of state tags literally snatching unarmed civillians off the street? If a group of them descended on you would your first inclination not be to shoot them? I'm surprised no one has been killed yet.
My thought, as well. The regime has picked it's targets carefully; deep blue urban areas in CA and MA, where few concealed carry, or very rural places where the migrants are isolated and together, with no witnesses. I can only imagine ICE trying to grab someone off the street in my racially diverse Texas neighborhood. On my block alone we have retired FBI, retired Naval Intelligence officer, former S. Korean sniper, and an OK country boy who is a crack shot. In TX it's legal to shoot trespassers, and everyone carries, so I do not think it would go well for ICE with no law enforcement insignia, no warrant, and no ID.
Interesting that nobody has pulled out a gun. Correlation between gun carriers and ICE supporters? Are gun carry advocates not people of color?
What a powerful essay Sam. Your words have made this Monday morning memorable. Thank you. We will eventually overcome this dark chapter of our shared history. But we will have to free ourselves from screens and algorithms to keep focused on what matters. The system built on white supremacy, settler colonialism, peddlers using the cadences of religion to turn a criminal into an idol of worship, has broken through whatever the constraints of morality, ethics, and integrity may have once exerted, imperfectly to be sure; at least there were some and the capacity to take stock of oneself, one's beliefs, one's national choices and change direction. The current crowd of very ill humans holding executive and legislative power are but the "tip of the iceberg", sadly. He's brought all of them along with him . They may see themselves as saviors of western "christian" values but they are leading a march to an abyss as horrific as ever experienced in all the massacres experienced by First Nations Peoples at the hands of government. Now government has made all the people its enemy.
“ It’s hard for any of us to understand the motivation behind the ICE raids.”
It’s the racism & sadism. Trump & Miller are defective people. Kristi Noem shot her puppy. In a kid, cruelty like that is a sign that they could grow up to be a sociopath. & like attracts like. Ever read/watch The Lottery?
Amen, and God help us get past Trump.