It's Not Going to Stop
'Till We Wise Up
One of the great pleasures of being the mom of young adults is sharing favorite books and movies with them. Our son, Noah, loved the Paul Thomas Anderson film One Battle after Another but had never seen any other PTA films. So over winter break we had a mini-PTA festival. We began with Magnolia, which is in my opinion PTA’s greatest film.
Readers, which PTA film do you think is the best, and why?
The title of this post comes from Aimee Mann’s song “Wise Up,” which is part of an especially powerful scene in Magnolia.
One of the great challenges of being the mom of young adults is worrying about them. Last Sunday, Noah took part in an anti-ICE protest on the National Mall in DC, where he lives. Later that day he called me. He never calls. We only ever message. My heart was in my throat. I pictured Noah in the hospital after being gassed or beaten up for exercising his First Amendment right to peacefully protest, or in jail on some trumped-up charge. Trembling, I picked up the call. Turns out he was at Costco and just had a question about a blender.
Whew!
Noah felt terrible that I had been worried, and he apologized profusely. But of course he was well within his rights to attend a political protest, and it makes sense that he hadn’t realized that I would be concerned. Going to a peaceful march is a commendable, patriotic American activity that shouldn’t require citizens to put their freedom and lives at risk.
Since ICE descended on my home state of Minnesota a few weeks ago, peaceful protestors and passers-by are being attacked by masked ICE agents who are acting with “absolute immunity.” What follows is an incomplete list of brutal actions ICE agents have committed against law-abiding US citizens in the Twin Cities since Renee Good was killed:
Inflicting legitimate fears on non-white Minnesotans that they will not be allowed to prove their citizenship and will be detained indefinitely at an unknown location.
Making a veiled death threat to a woman after Good was killed: “Have y’all not learned from the past couple of days?”
Tear-gassing journalists who were documenting a protest and hitting them with flash bang devices.
Breaking a man’s car window, dragging him out, and kneeling on his neck.
Keep in mind that all of these actions were committed against citizens who were obeying the law. It is legal for journalists to report on events, and for all of us to film ICE agents, to follow their cars so long as we are not breaking traffic laws, to stand on the street and shout, to hold signs, to blow whistles, and to refuse to allow ICE to search our homes and cars without a warrant. A fortiori it is legal to drive from place to place on public streets.
These ICE agents and their defenders need a refresher course on the Constitution, in particular on the First and Fourth Amendments:
Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. [My emphasis]
. . .
Amendment IV
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. [My emphasis]
Trump has suggested that Good got what she deserved because “that woman was very, very disrespectful to law enforcement.” People on the right are telling us that if we are just compliant, “you get to keep your life.” They are telling us that our lives are worth less than theirs.
The slogan “ONE OF OURS ALL OF YOURS” appeared on the lectern at a DHS news conference after Good’s killing. It has been linked to the Nazis’ policy of disproportionate retaliation.
Snopes reports that this precise slogan was not used by the Nazis; this Reddit thread links it to fascist Spain under Franco. Regardless of whether “ONE OF OURS ALL OF YOURS” is explicitly Nazi, it is definitely giving Mafia boss, and it is a shameful betrayal of our country, which “hold[s] these truths to be self-evident, that all [human beings] are created equal.”
I don’t normally publish on Fridays, nor do I write about politics much. But Trump has threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act—tantamount to declaring martial law—in Minnesota, which will lead to more injuries, destruction of property, unjust imprisonments, and deaths of law-abiding citizens. Our tax dollars are being used to commit crimes against us.
Mann’s song “Wise Up” ends, “No, it’s not going to stop, / so just, give up.” We can change this ending. It’s not going to stop, ’till we wise up—and don’t give up. We are not helpless.
First, we need to wise up. We need information on what is actually going on. I’ve supplied many links here to legitimate news sources and/or eyewitness accounts. Even if you don’t have time to look at all of them, I encourage you to check out at least one or two. The stories about the arrest of the woman on her way to the doctor and about the tear-gassing of the family driving home from a game are particularly horrific. No matter our politics, every single one of us ought to be outraged by what happened to that little baby, who was trapped in his car seat when ICE agents sprayed tear gas into the car:
“My baby was completely unconscious, not breathing,” Ms. Jackson said. She recounted talking to emergency services over the phone, receiving instructions on how to perform CPR on her child, while bystanders doused her other children with milk to neutralize the tear gas.
Second, we need to know how to protect ourselves. If we are accosted by ICE, we have the right to remain silent. This article is a helpful primer on our rights.
Third, we need to avoid getting distracted by arguments that protestors “shouldn’t have put themselves into that situation” or are being “disrespectful.” We need to emphasize that the First Amendment confers the right to speak out, including disrespectfully.
Finally, we need to demand that our elected representatives abide by their oath “to defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” You can find the contact information for your elected representatives here.
How about you, readers? What will you do to stand up for our country and our Constitution? Please share your thoughts in the comments.
The Tidbit
When those in authority don’t respect the law, they don’t deserve our respect. Laughter might be disrespectful, but it is often the only form of resistance available to the powerless. Below are a couple of jokes from the Soviet era, which ordinary Russians shared to keep their spirits up and to remind themselves that they weren’t alone in their disrespect for illegitimate authority.
Here’s one Noah told us several years ago:
Stalin is giving a lecture to a large crowd of party officials, when suddenly someone interrupts his lecture with a sneeze. “Who sneezed?!” demands Stalin—and is met with terrified silence. “First row, stand up!” orders Stalin. They stand. “Guards, shoot the first row!” orders Stalin. The guards mow down the entire first row.
Stalin peers at the remaining officials. “Well?! Who sneezed?” he asks, and again no one answers. “Very well. Second row, stand up!” The second row stands, and again Stalin orders his guards to shoot them all.
A third time Stalin demands to know who sneezed. This time, a tiny, trembling voice is heard: “It was I, Comrade Leader. I was the one who sneezed.” Stalin looks at him for a moment, and then says, “Gesundheit,” and resumes his lecture.
Here’s another one, which my friend Dana sent me the other day:
Three friends are in a hotel room in Soviet Russia. Two friends drink vodka and loudly tell political jokes. The third, exhausted, tries to sleep but can’t.
Frustrated, he goes downstairs for a smoke. On the way, he asks the receptionist to bring tea to room 39 in five minutes.
Returning upstairs, he joins [his friends] briefly, then leans toward a power outlet and says, “Comrade lieutenant, please send tea to room 39.” His friends burst into laughter at the joke. Moments later, a knock sounds … and the receptionist arrives with a teapot. The laughter dies; his friends turn pale and silent. The evening ends abruptly, and the tired man finally sleeps.
In the morning, he wakes to find his friends gone. Alarmed, he asks the receptionist what happened. She whispers nervously, “The KGB came before dawn and took them.” Horrified, he asks why he was spared.
“Comrade lieutenant really liked your tea joke.” [Source]
Hello Mari, I remember you so well from the happy days of reading War and Peace in 2024. I felt so sad reading this post, but then I have been feeling that way about the situation in the US for quite a while. I am far away in Australia, so I can't do much except offer you, and your country, my heartfelt sympathy and to encourage people like you, and other brave Americans, to continue resisting Trump. Easy to say from here, but I mean it, and I feel that this man and his regime is a potential threat to the whole world.
I lived in New York in the early 1960's for 18 months, and have been back to the US three times since, once for 6 weeks with my mother and then 8-year-daughter, in 1978. So I have many happy memories of your country, and an abiding fondness for it and its people.
It's a dangerous time to be an American citizen, so I hope you and your family can stay safe; I wish for safety for everyone. I send you greetings and my very best wishes.
Thank you for writing this, Mari. Together we are strong. I’ll be calling my reps later today and often to protest. It’s an easy thing to do and the more of us do it, the greater difference it makes.