Who will they come for next?
The darkness of the night was only occasionally pushed back by a streetlight. There were still people walking along the sidewalks. Down the road approached a car. It stopped between streetlights, in the shadows of the surrounding buildings. Three men stepped from the vehicle and walked over to a man nearby. The three men stopped the man and within a minute the man was pushed into the vehicle. Nothing was said to the man as he was hustled to the vehicle. The three men climbed inside and the vehicle drove off into the night.
Sounds like the activities of the Nazi Gestapo before and during World War II. Alas, this is not from World War II, but from a night in 2020 in the city of Portland, OR. Wait, what? This is America and people have rights ya know? Well, tell that to the three federal law enforcement officers in military style camouflage fatigues with no identifying patches, no name labels and only the word “Police” on the vests being wore. Nor are the vehicles marked either.
Anyone older than my old tennis shoes know that this is unlawful behavior by these federal agents, in fact unconstitutional! The subjects are not told anything. They are taken to, some have said, a federal building. Some are charged with a crime, some are not. For those not charged there is no record of an arrest. Uncharged individuals are later released without any explanation at all. This gives Department of Homeland Security “plausible deniability” or, in other words, it never happened.
Chad Wolf, acting DHS Director visited Portland and labelled all the protestors as anarchists. This is a tactic to dehumanize the protestors and insinuate that the protests are unlawful. Pray tell, what are the crimes of these “anarchists”? Spray painting graffiti on federal buildings, some vandalism and trespassing. Obviously dangerous felons.
Who’s responsible for the Gestapo-like tactics? It can only be Donald Trump, our fascist president. He’s stepped over the line, again, in his actions as president. When he got static from the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff about using military personnel against US citizens, he chose a different group to go after US civilians.
I have to wonder what’s next? Will there be other cities where Trump’s Gestapo dogs whisk people off the streets? When it comes to Donald Trump anything is probable. As for his goons, they have violated their oath to protect and defend the Constitution and the rights contained therein. They fit right in as a part of the over militarized police forces in the country. They are uncaring of their tactics and only act, just point and off these federal hounds go.
If the goal is to put fear in the hearts of protestors, it won’t stop the protests. In all likelihood it will stiffen the protestors resolve all across America to continue the struggles against systemic racism and government oppression. Donald Trump fails, as he does in so many things, to grasp the depth of commitment of all the people protesting and supporting the protests.
But, what should the people do about these tactics? If you see it occurring, record it. Yell for the detained individual to shout out their name. Write down or record license plates of the unmarked vehicles being used by the federal agents. Notify the press of the incident and also get it out on the internet. Notify Democratic members of Congress and ask for them to demand answers from the Department of Homeland Security. Most of all, as scary as it is, don’t let it stop demands for change. It sure won’t get the public to trust the police.
Time will tell whether or not other cities have DHS agents playing Gestapo. I guess it depends on how much Donald Trump likes what he ordered done to the civilians of the cities. President, using the term loosely, Trump has a lot to answer for, either now or at some future date.
Until next time
American Dystopia 