First They Came
POST 1220
No One Left To Speak
From friend Jay Becker of Refuse Fascism:
[Over] just a few days, here in Chicago, masked, heavily armed federal agents:
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– fired toxic pepper balls and tear gas at [non-violent] protesters in Broadview;
– shot a woman in Brighton Park;
– carried out a military style assault on an apartment building housing Black and brown working people in South Shore;
– raided a homeless shelter in Bronzeville;
– marauded through crowds of families on Michigan Avenue, kidnapping those that fit their racial profiling, and more.
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And this is just in one city. The same scenes are playing out in DC, Memphis, Portland and L.A., and the list of cities Trump wants to use for “military training” grows. And this is just a sample of the civil and human rights trampled on by this fascist regime. Read more here.
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Lawrence Dietz wrote a stunning piece to put into perspective what is happening in our country. He has given me permission to post his essay here for you. You know the first part.
“First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out — because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out — because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out — because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me — and there was no one left to speak for me.”
— c. 1946, Rev. Martin Niemōller, arrested by the Gestapo in 1937
and liberated in 1945
First they came for Latino illegal immigrants, and I did not speak out — because I was not a Latino.
Then they came for the comedians who make fun of them, and I did not speak out — because I was not a comedian.
Then they got an executive order to punish any group they call “terrorist,” including liberal political groups who oppose them — and I did not speak out, because I do not belong to any of those groups.
Next, they can come for me, a geezer who has posted critical social media comments about them — and who will be left to speak for me?
The “they” Niemōller referred to who came and arrested innocent citizens in Germany was the Gestapo. They always arrived in overwhelming numbers of thugs to abuse, terrify and arrest people who had done nothing wrong. Those incarcerated just weren’t fine Aryan specimens, so it was easy to scapegoat and abuse them. That’s a lot like our Latino immigrants today.
And that’s exactly what happened in Chicago last Tuesday.
From Reuters:
U.S. Border Patrol agents deployed to Chicago led a late-night raid on an apartment building this week, rappelling from helicopters onto rooftops and breaking down doors in an operation authorities said targeted gang members but which swept up U.S. citizens and families.
As part of the raid, some U.S. citizens were temporarily detained and children pulled from their beds, according to interviews with residents and news reports. Building hallways were still littered with debris two days later.
Hundreds of agents swarmed the apartment building during the raid on Tuesday, including some rappelling down to the roof from Black Hawk helicopters, according to NewsNation.
One resident, who asked not to be named, reported being made to lie down on the ground by agents during the raid and having his hands zip-tied.
From Prof. Heather Cox Richardson’s post on October 3:
The escalating raids on undocumented immigrants are also running afoul of the law. Tuesday’s raid on an apartment building in Chicago, in which residents, including U.S. citizens, were detained, has galvanized opposition. Today, after reports that children were zip tied, separated from their parents, and detained for several hours . . .
Click and read
The goals seem quite clear. First, to rid the country of Black and Brown people. Second, to terrorize the citizenry so we won’t fight back, but instead will obey in advance. It’s all to establish a dictatorship for the benefit of Trump, his sycophants and the fabulously wealthy. That’s called fascism.
Enemies Of The People, Invasion From Within
That’s the terminology that violent, hatred-driven, maniacal dictators use to snuff opposition. Trump has been using it for years. Like all megalomaniacs, he thinks it justifies persecution by making hatred seem patriotic.
And it kills.
In his rambling, often incoherent speech to 800 generals and admirals (link here for the entire tirade) who were pulled from duty from around the world, Trump lied, “We’re under invasion from within, no different than a foreign enemy.” He said that the US military could use American cities as “training grounds” for troops, as they battle “the enemy from within.”
Trump is right about one thing: we do have an enemy within. It’s Trump and his maniacal army of fanatics. They are systematically dismantling our government for their own benefit and to your detriment.
If you aren’t Black or Brown don’t imagine that you’re safe and will stay that way. Jews, Muslims, Asians and more have long been in Trump’s crosshairs. Not far behind will be Catholics, all native people, Mormons – essentially anyone who isn’t Aryan Christian. When they come for you – and they will come – do you suppose there will be anyone left to speak for you?
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