My son and I operate on our own frequency sometimes. As I was thinking about calling him, but worrying about disturbing his work day, Big Cuter called my cell. Had I been watching the news?
He was troubled, deeply troubled, by the morning's events in Minnesota. His worry wasn't about me or for me but for what might have been me and for what our country is.
I told him that I'd been rethinking my plans to protest when the ICE Detention Facility opens nearby.... and that's just what they want me to do.... but I have to weigh the risks.... but.... aieeeeee.
I wasn't doing anything remotely radical 15 years ago, although was definitely antifa. Fascists don't meet their constituents outside a grocery store, ready to answer questions from all comers. I know this is true because my own Congressman, a proud FFOTUS loyalist, has never met with his constituents without charging a fee.
We were standing in the shade on a sunny Saturday morning and we were shot.
Renee Nicole Good was in her car on a snow plowed street and she was shot.
Mental illness and gun safety vs paramilitary thugs unchecked in their authority.
Our shooter was flattened by onlookers and arrested at the scene. Her shooter got back in his official vehicle and drove away, protected by his boss's boss's boss' boss' description of the lady warning her neighbors that ICE was around as committing an act of domestic terrorism.
I'm sorry. Masked men with badges and weapons opening fire on a city street should sound like Mogadishu, not Minneapolis. Exercising her first amendment rights should not have killed her. Were they unhappy that she was blocking the street? They could have followed the other cars passing by her. They could have called the local police and had her removed or cited or done anything but shoot her as she was turning away from them and driving away.
I did nothing wrong when I took Christina-Taylor with me to shake her Congresswoman's hand. I was being a good citizen. Renee Good was being a good citizen, too.
Used to be, that meant something honorable. Now, it seems, it's likely to get you killed.
Christina-Taylor Green would be 24 years old right now. I like to think that she'd be manning the barricades beside me.
Enough calling for briefings. How about impeachment? America can't wait another year of this.
Have we ever had such a horrible time in our country during our lifetime as this? Bay of Pigs, Vietnam War, Watergate, social unrest on campuses...none of those seem as insane as the current regime's actions.
ReplyDeleteIt is militarism, tolerance of violence, patriarchy gone mad, and so much more. I keep fighting but I don't want to put energy into those systems, and reaction against can feed energy back in to the system we do not want to grow. I'm no Buddhist either. How to we stop this insane walk our culture is on, or how do we switch paths or something?
ReplyDeleteAnyhoo, I'm so glad to see you are still writing!
I forget, and then you remind me, of the danger of simply being a good citizen.
ReplyDeleteI can only hope that the obvious lies coming out of the White House will poke and prod more people to see the truth.