I struggle with accepting the atrocious behavior of our government as exemplified by ICE. This is new to my experience, that Federal government is out to punish me for being me. This feeling is seeping into my everyday life. The torch held by the Statue of Liberty is being extinguished. I am sad, very, very sad.
Thank you for sharing Andrea Velez's story. She's not the first to be brutalized by ICE and she won't be the last. I feel that America has entered another phase of brutality writ large. It's not just one or two bad players; over half of the voting population chose a felon over a prosecutor. It's not just about a few conservatives pushing back or standing up 'for what's right' as they might say; it's about subservience and obedience to the perceived will of the (mostly) white majority, which is demanding brutality at the moment. This isn't a new story, but rather the story of America. Hopefully we'll see another chapter written in our lifetimes, another chapter about redemption and atonement, but I don't see that chapter being written any time soon.
Yes, stories like this one pop up on my feeds at least once a week lately — I think because so many of them are local, and no doubt due to the algorithm. But the incidents are not new. This is an article from 2018 with statistics going back a decade before that. However, it feels like the level of belligerence has risen, or become more performative. https://www.latimes.com/archives/story/2018-04-27/ice-held-an-american-man-in-custody-for-1273-days
I struggle with accepting the atrocious behavior of our government as exemplified by ICE. This is new to my experience, that Federal government is out to punish me for being me. This feeling is seeping into my everyday life. The torch held by the Statue of Liberty is being extinguished. I am sad, very, very sad.
I feel you.
Thank you for sharing Andrea Velez's story. She's not the first to be brutalized by ICE and she won't be the last. I feel that America has entered another phase of brutality writ large. It's not just one or two bad players; over half of the voting population chose a felon over a prosecutor. It's not just about a few conservatives pushing back or standing up 'for what's right' as they might say; it's about subservience and obedience to the perceived will of the (mostly) white majority, which is demanding brutality at the moment. This isn't a new story, but rather the story of America. Hopefully we'll see another chapter written in our lifetimes, another chapter about redemption and atonement, but I don't see that chapter being written any time soon.
Yes, stories like this one pop up on my feeds at least once a week lately — I think because so many of them are local, and no doubt due to the algorithm. But the incidents are not new. This is an article from 2018 with statistics going back a decade before that. However, it feels like the level of belligerence has risen, or become more performative. https://www.latimes.com/archives/story/2018-04-27/ice-held-an-american-man-in-custody-for-1273-days
It's a dangerous world out there now; thanks for the DARVO.