ACLU

No more Kings videoconference from 1/26/26

Given the unusual posturing of the ICE formation in Minneapolis, the trolling finds me asking, “What do I know?” as opposed to, “What do I think or feel?”  They are two very separate approaches to thinking about the news—in all its forms.

The nurse Alex Pretti was killed and while I know videos don’t tell the whole story, enough is seen to know that he was physically controlled and no longer any sort of threat and yet nine or ten bullets were fired into his prone body. I don’t believe well-trained police do that. It was avoidable. I hope that those responsible face charges, from the person pulling the trigger to the person giving those “officers” a long long leash with no serious sense that they would be held accountable.

I get posts from right-wing nationalist suggesting that one does not go to a protest armed. Fair enough. Regardless of what the Constitution says, this falls into the realm of common sense since from daily videos for over a month, the “officers” controlling the streets in Minneapolis have demonstrated very loose boundaries around legally protected behavior on the part of protestors. My original observation stands. In well trained police hands, I don’t think he would have been murdered. The MAGA apologists for this shooting clearly have not taken time to reflect on the standard of these “officers” being applied to themselves and theirs’. The same apologists don’t provide a clear explanation for why Waco or Ruby Ridge seemed so “out of the box” cruel when in fact, Federal Authorities were simply, “enforcing the law”……as they were with more than a little restraint on January 6.

One person’s patriot is another person’s terrorist; that is about what you feel.

Hypocrisy seems to have stopped being a liability for politicians long ago, so why not have that apply to the general population—you and me included?  We are not under the spotlight, but free to be hypocrites and, “damn the torpedoes.”

With that in mind, consider a complaint I often have about the world being reduced to zero’s and ones—the binary code guiding much of our technology and protocols. When reading Plato as an 18 year old, I was frustrated by the flow of the arguments, “If Not A, it has to be B” argumentation. That never seemed like a good starting point when discussing philosophy. Algebra and Geometry, maybe, but not liberal art discussions.  I am by temperament and scholarship, a “grey” person and don’t see in black and white on most issues. And yet, most of us get sucked up into just this sort of thinking. From Facebook: All the foreigners serving in our Government should be thrown out and forbidden from running (Amen to that was a common response). Or, Islam wants to conquer the world and install Sharia Law! I think reflecting on the statement, it isn’t clear to me what Islam is (Sharia or Sunni or whatever?), who represents it, and whether “it” has ambitions. My response to this was, “Islam wants this no more than good hearted Christians set out to kill all the native Americans……Whoops!”

Happily, I have not been Doxed yet.

I criticize the discussion points about Republicans vs Democrats because we don’t live in a binary world and these groups are complex and changing. Not all Democrats are populist-socialists and I won’t even mention Communists—- and not all Republicans are MAGA (though most traditional Republicans are keeping their heads down in my world). I find most “Libertarians” to be near MAGA in many outlooks but too dignified to say it. Our own Washington representative Gluesenkamp Perez comes up for criticism for her “traitorous” vote to continue funding ICE in the setting of this last week. Her point resonated for me—she is a thinking and thoughtful representative, does not vote in block nor yields automatically to pressured votes, and lives in a multipolar world that is different than an Urban Center. She is in a minority: a Democrat in a Republican district because she finds a middle way and her thinking, personality, and actions resonate in her district. I respect that even if she does not vote the way I would. She stated she was given a false choice in that vote and I believe her. I like that she makes me, by virtue of her position think of a topic from another’s point of view—one who is not a Christian Nationalist, anyway.

So: I am motivated. I hope to begin visiting refugees in Ice detention centers this Spring. I attended a “No More Kings” videoconference on 1/26 and I distill the take home from that conference below with just a few more observations:

The presenters (this was sponsored by the ACLU) were bright energetic and engaging people. They were virtually all people of color and all but for one had accents suggesting English was not their first language. MAGA would have a field day with that!  The message reminded me of the sorts of talks that took place with the Freedom Riders of my youth. Advice was given and a subtext was, “be disciplined, be thoughtful, and be careful.” My reaction a couple times based on protests I saw as a young man was that mobs once engaged are very hard to hold to an effective standard if specific goals are in fact, commonly shared.  It is hard work. I think the Freedom Riders and MLK’s movement got that right way more than what has evolved. But I don’t know that a for sure—-I feel it which is quite different…

Talking points and take homes from the ACLU presentation:

1. Learn from us and engage your neighbors and friends to learn more and act more. What ICE is doing in Minneapolis is wrong and illegal.

2. It was clear that the speakers from Minneapolis, whether hawks or doves on immigration generically, live amongst immigrants—their kids share schools, and this is bonding relationship as one would expect. That bond can be stronger than reason. Of interest, the right wing Facebook entry of the day was, “So you know, when I voted for Trump, I intended that he would deport every single illegal immigrant."

3. You may feel unqualified and what we hope to teach is to help build confidence about what anyone can do.

4. Documentation of events is critical and whether from a legal point of view or a headline grabbing point of view, the more documentation of the activities of ICE, the better.

5. ICE - DHS lies continuously and they assert this because the video evidence “demonstrates” the lies.

6. One has a right to photograph or film at public events so long as one does not trespass or violate a “lawful” order.

7. One should not physically interfere with an officer under any circumstances without assuming physical and legal risks.

8. ICE has no legal right (short of having a warrant) to confiscate cameras, open phones, or delete data. That does not mean they won’t do so.

9. Physical safety, over and over was cited as a priority for those demonstrating.

10. Whistle use is ubiquitous and has been used to quickly Identify ICE presence on the ground quickly. There is no legal precedent for whether this has legal/protected standing or not. The legal opinion was this in many circumstances is not protected under ones right to protest. It annoys the shit out of officers on the ground and that can incur bad behavior and thus, risk. Bottom line, the whistle can draw you to an area of confrontation or signal to you a need to retreat, depending on your tolerance of risk.

11. Amendment rights in the Constitution have a long legal precedent of applying to non-citizens.

12. Risk management advice: maintain distance. If videos are being taken and you are asked to stand back, obey the command and verbalize your compliance in the video. Don’t record if driving a vehicle. Follow instructions from ICE. Do not obstruct nor actively resist.  Assume angry officers will seek out excuses to prosecute.

13. When filming, capture details and context; make a copy on another device. Do not alter or edit the original. Share your footage with those affected or their loved one—or their attorney. Don’t stop and start recording but have one long flow. If this video is to be credible in court, it must not be modified in any way.

14. If your phone is taken, attempt to get a badge number, patrol car license or number, and contact numbers of those around you who may have video’d the interaction. A legal team can be engaged to, “vindicate your rights.”

15. What is the legal status of an, "administrative warrant?” That is untested. The constitution clearly identifies a need for a judicial warrant when search and seizure is in question. That has not changed. The courts will respond to this in time.

16. If you are a naturalized citizen, should you carry your passport or your passport card? The risk is that your ID will be confiscated. Duplication and copies were mostly what was suggested with loved ones having what might get you out of incarceration.

Last thought: Chile had as dramatic a Left vs Right schism in the 1960’s as we do now. They had more economic stratification. When Allende, a democratically elected Socialist was deposed in 1973, a conservative religious junta took over; Minnesota has had nothing to complain of compared to what happened in Chile. It took 16 years to finally depose the Military Junta ruling Chile and the echos continue to this day. I hope we do better.

“Be Strong- Stay Ornery.”