Professional Agitator

My apologies for the profanity. It’s a profane day.

I Call BS

ICE agents murdered a woman in Minneapolis yesterday.  The United States actions in Venezuela, if done by any other nation in the world, are those of a “terrorist state”.  The shear rolling in the “shit” corruption of American Government and business, from CBS “adjusting” their news broadcast to mollify the President, to Trump offering the American oil companies the “gift” of Venezuela; is disgusting, breath taking, and incredibly disappointing. 

I call “BS” on it all.  I support the Mayor of Minneapolis who said exactly what needed to be said: “ICE get the FUCK out of Minneapolis”.  And, I support Governor Tim Walz, who says that the ability to protest and speak out, “…is a patriotic duty”.  I do it publicly, in writing, and often.  

The shooting in Minneapolis was videoed by a bystander.  President Trump called the woman, videoing an execution of a civilian on the street, screaming at ICE for the murder, a “professional agitator”.   If that’s true, so am I.  I stand with Minnesota.  I stand with the Mayor and the Governor.  John Lewis called it “getting into good trouble’.  This day, we should all be “professional agitators”, against the death of a mother of a six year-old child, Renee Good.

America is what we allow it to be.  And very few Americans, even those who voted for Trump in 2024, want this to be our America. 

Domestic Terrorist

At the moment, Democratic leaders and legislators have little power to stop all of this.  The Mayor of Minneapolis and the Governor of Minnesota are both Democrats.  ICE has forced themselves on Minnesota, with all of the connotations that “forcing oneself” means.  There is no way to make this “right”. And, what we can expect is that the Trump Administration to “double-down” on their “holy quest” to find undocumented migrants.  Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, a cowboy hat carefully placed on her coiffed hair, jumped the narrative before Renee Good’s body was cold.  She called Good a “domestic terrorist”. 

Law enforcement is always careful not to criticize the actions of their “fellow officers”.  Today it’s in the streets of Minneapolis, tomorrow it might be in downtown Newark, Ohio.  But there are some obvious flaws in the ICE “bully-boys”.  They are badly trained, badly led, and imbued with a philosophy of confrontation.  Clearly, they are well aware of how the Nation sees them as bullies and Fascists.  And, at least for some, they are reveling in the role.

Americans make a deal with law enforcement:  we give them life-taking force, in exchange for protecting the peace and enforcing the law.  We expect that they will be trained to make the choices necessary to preserve their own lives, while serving their communities.  Here in Central Ohio, many go through the 210 day Columbus Police Academy.  But the “instant” ICE agents are trained for their highly specific job in just 47 days.  Then they get a gun and a badge, and are sent into unfamiliar communities.  It’s a setup for yesterday’s tragedy.

What We Earn

We all need to get in “good trouble”.  We all need to stand up for the America we believe in, the America we want.  America does not need to be a Nation of “bully-boys” on the streets, “bully-boys” in the economy, and “bully-boys” in the world.  But Renee Good should teach us all another lesson as well.  Until we take our country back, we are all at risk.  It’s easy to hide in our “safe” communities and do our jobs, and live our lives.  But sooner or later, we all will have to make a choice about our Nation.  

We need more “political agitators”.   The only “lever of power” we hold at the moment is our voices, and we must make them heard.  In our near future, we will determine what kind of America we will have.  We won’t get what we deserve . We will only get what we earn.