It has been a tough few days for America. No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, there seems to be a sense that a tectonic shift has fractured the most fundamental underpinnings of the country – with repercussions we have yet to fully understand.
Images of the callous, taunting murder of Renee Nicole Good, the bewildered face of a 5-year-old, Liam Ramos, by himself in the freezing cold as he tried to process what was happening, the angry shooting of ICU nurse, Alex Pretti, ICE agents piled on top of him, have blanketed the news and social media, leaving many heartbroken and angry.
Is this America, people ask? And the answer is: “Yes.”
As ICE defenders give predictable, hasty, unsubstantiated justifications for their actions, those of us who watch in horror must understand that this government-sanctioned assault is intentional and purposeful. We cannot sugarcoat it – it is a blatant attempt to deprive citizens of their constitutional rights and, probably, the next election. The violent unravelling of citizens’ lives and rights in cities across the country, not just Minneapolis, signals the end of a world order, an American-led order that, however deeply imperfect, has been the global stabilizing status quo for nearly a century.
As millions of us shiver through the worst winter storm in years, as we huddle inside glued to our phones (perhaps watching with empathy and awe, the brave citizens of Minneapolis as they face this long assault on their city) we can worry, with much justification, about just how long it may be until the sun returns, the ICE melts, and people – of all backgrounds – can walk their neighborhoods without worrying that their lives may be ended in just a quick minute, by masked, armed goons sent by the federal government to create terror in the lives of ordinary, law-abiding Americans.
For now, we have no answers. But the shift is happening; the plates are moving. The ground is being shaken by more protesters refusing to accept ICE’s invasion. There will be more friction, more violence.
How many more will die and how this crisis will reshape us, as individuals and as a country, remains to be seen.
