Yesterday I showed up with handmade signs to protest an unspeakably horrific act of violence by fascist thugs known as ICE, which could easily stand for Inconceivably Contemptible Evil or Imbecilic Cretinous Egomaniacs running amok.
In awful reality, the pointblank murder of Renee Good in Minneapolis is merely one of many senseless tyrannical tragedies occurring seemingly on a daily basis. Even worse, it’s been championed by MAGA, as in Republicans, conservative or otherwise. Because anyone who thinks there is a difference at this point is, quite frankly, an idiot—or worse.
This time around in Minnesota, misogyny was blatantly obvious—who calls someone a “fucking bitch” after shooting them in the face because their fragile masculinity was threatened by a woman telling them they aren’t mad at them? Part and parcel of the inevitable stupendous and sickening bigotry associated with these illegitimate masked perpetrators posing under the dubious auspices of the Department of Homeland Security.
It’s ironic that my spellcheck automatically changed the aforementioned disgusting excuse for a government agency into the Department of Homeland Insecurity, because that’s how I’ve referred to it since its questionable, patriarchal, power-grabbing and 4th Amendment decimating inception in 2002, and also how my Other Worldly series protagonist, Rowan Layne, sees it. Because, in my novels, DHS spreads hate and targets extraterrestrial aliens as viciously and ignorantly as it vilifies human immigrants in reality.
If everything this putrid, punkish, pathetic excuse of a presidential administration touches is destroyed (including the White House and its grounds), DHS is certainly no exception. Every entity under its demoralizing umbrella is now inevitably tainted—and will be ultimately discredited. And then there’s the FBI, which didn’t exactly have a stellar reputation in recent decades to begin with, if it ever really did. The Federal Bureau of Idiots (as previously dubbed) is now pretty much the Federal Bureau of Insurrectionists.
Also, it’s now clear that under DHS’s so-called leadership, shooting humans in the face is as equally acceptable as shooting your own dog for merely being annoying. Has everyone now figured out why violent and vile Kristi Noem, former governor of South Dakota, was banned from all tribal lands in that state?
I’ll leave the lack of legality of claimed policing authority of ICE to current legal experts who are addressing it quite adeptly, including Marc Elias of Democracy Docket and Joyce Vance of Civil Discourse, both previously mentioned on this blog. And, by the way, anyone who still solely gets news from other than independent media might want to wake up and realize that they might as well be watching Fox and Friends at this point. Especially if they think they’re not being fed a load of fascist-sympathizing crap by corporate overlords who are full-on Project 2025 MAGA supporters in the name of nothing more than greed (CBS, ABC, CNN…to name a few).
Last week, Joyce Vance interviewed Marc Elias, and something he said particularly resonated: “Everyone who cares about democracy should raise awareness in their community about the threats our democracy is facing. Not enough people are speaking out, and too many people are afraid of having difficult conversations.”
Part and parcel of why, in my rage and despair, I got out there in the frigid sunshine in rabidly red Otero County, New Mexico—though Alamogordo did just elect a Democrat for mayor—to join the national ICE Out For Good protest. To actively decry the flat-out murder of American citizen Renee Good by a flagrant misogynist thug. A man with a gun, an inflated and easily threatened ego, and a dangerous propensity for unprovoked violence. Who also happens to have an immigrant wife, just like the fascist VP. Go figure.
Organizers of the Alamogordo protest expected less than half of the 74 of us who showed up, and it was truly wonderful to see many of all ages participating. But it’s not nearly enough, given the current circumstances. Too many are staying silent or making excuses. Too many still won’t have those difficult conversations, per Marc Elias.
And I wonder, do those with friends supporting this atrocity by their previous and/or future Republican votes, or by passive silence, do they realize who is among them and who they now represent? Are they aware there were young men who deliberately gave us Nazi salutes from the driver’s seat of their cars yesterday in Alamogordo? Do they know a Nazi motorcyclist tried to run protestors over on the same corner last week?
And then there was the guy with an “electric works” business name and phone number displayed on his pickup who, while stopped at the light, rolled down his window to shout, “That bitch got what she deserved!” at the dozen of us still gathered at the close of yesterday’s ICE Out For Good protest.
This man did not stay silent, he went on to denigrate all of us. He wanted us all as dead as Renee Good. He apparently lives and conducts his business here in Alamogordo, which has a Facebook page showing what appears to be two young daughters. Yelp reviews of this business claim that its truck has tried to run more than one person off the road. This is the kind of dangerous human being local and national Republicans represent and celebrate these days. Make no mistake. Time to stop pretending otherwise.
We’re fighting a war against women, democracy, and basic human decency. It’s time to speak up, even if protesting on the street corner is not an option, because silence condones violence, and supports fascism.