Your post highlights how life can feel normal until we’re personally affected by it, like “Carol” and the Republican friends who know and love her. I like too how in your tips you emphasize not cutting off those with different political viewpoints than you. I’ve definitely been guilty of living in my own silo.
Ya I think key to not living in your own silo is being surrounded by people who disagree with you on literally everything from birth. "All wrong" is what I've been told about everything my whole life. And somehow I still go on believing I am not all wrong.
It allows you to be really comfortable in confrontational situations and not feel like you're going to lose people over disagreements. It's likely why I can generally fit in with just about any group of people on both sides of the aisle, and it helped me still be well-liked in the Army, where you'd expect my views wouldn't be tolerated. Yet, they were.
Through this process of constantly being told how wrong you are, you grow the body armor of an armadillo. It's not a great skin care regimen, but at least no major organs are damaged.
You’ve highlighted the dichotomy most live in these days, that allows one to see and understand what’s happening, yet not rise to combat it. I think that most won’t get involved beyond marching until there’s nothing left to lose, which is truly frightening. Plus, no one alive has seen this country in a civil war. As long as people are afraid to lose what they have personally in order to protect a larger idea that we all NEED, then rebellion won’t happen.
I don’t want a rebellion. I don’t want street warfare. I really don’t want to see American pitted against American. Can we stop the tidal wave building? Not sure, maybe. But it may be that the only way to bring these bastards to their knees is through the courts and through the purse.
We can’t directly affect the court system except through voting and takes time. But we can render them powerless through the purse. It’s time for Americans to turn off the money faucet.
Yes the cut them off at the purse is an area I should have also highlighted and am glad you brought it up. (maybe I'll add).
I too do not want to see violence and don't think most Americans do either. We have a high tolerance for mass shootings but a low tolerance for widespread chaos. I think until we see widespread chaos there won't be a lot of uprising. I don't know what I even mean by uprising either. We don't know what that even looks like in America anymore as you note.
True to the fact “we don’t even know what that looks like.” The only people who do are those who came here to escape that unrest! The people who were/are in that situation in their home countries are the ones who know how this done.
I remember reading about “Carol” in Missouri, carted away by ICE while her children, partner, friends, and neighbors scratched their heads and wept. We are obsessed with “othering,” desperate to find the cause of our discomfort and uproot it. It’s only later, once the boogeyman has taken those we care about, those we’ve considered part of our own circle, that reality dawns. Thank you for writing so eloquently about what many of us are witnessing. As you point out, the fire smolders at our very roots, spreading while we nonchalantly go bout the chores of daily life.
Thank you for reading and commenting, Julie. You are correct that we are so good at "othering" and only reconciling once it impacts our own lives. Hopefully we can dig these things up more collectively and put out fires.
Here’s another immigration story. The guy who firebombed a crowd of Jews in Bolder, Colorado, last Sunday was an Egyptian national who entered our country on a temporary visa, then overstayed it. When in 2023 he applied for a work visa, it was granted despite that fact that he was in the country illegally. Well, he turned out to be an Islamofascist terrorist. So thank you, Joe Biden! You created the mess that Donald Trump is now trying to clean up.
We have millions of illegal immigrants living in this country who were simply let in without even a pretense of vetting. But now, Democrats and progressives are demanding that they be vetted before being deported—as if they have any rights in this country at all. We also have foreigners here on student visas who are antisemitic, anti-American, and terrorist supporters. Democrats and progressives insist that they too are entitled to vetting before being kicked out.
Conspicuously excluded from this obsession with process are American Jews—who are expected to put up with harassment, intimidation and outright violence while their tormentors are coddled. And you know what? This only validates Zionism, whose core principle is that the Jews can rely only upon themselves. What a shame, what a disgrace, that America is contributing to that validation.
Thomas, I think this is an example of why it’s important to to blanket enforce all immigration issues. Some immigrants (very few) are dangerous. The immigrant you speak of is being charged to the fullest extent of the law and will be jailed and deported.
Carol and other harmless immigrants is stupidly being classified as the same level of danger and will be removed as well.
Everyone under the law is entitled to due process. Due process under the constitution is the right of every person in this country. Not every citizen. Every person. That means every person whether a threat or not gets the right to prove they are innocent or in the case of immigration laws-that they qualify to remain in this country. If one of those goons decided you look quite Irish or quite German and should go back to where your from who would you prove your a citizen without due process? You’d be sitting in a Venezuelan prison screaming but I’m an American to no one who cares. That’s why due process matters.
As for the protection of Jews, they absolutely deserve protection. But peaceful protests of the genocide in Gaza are also protected under the freedom of speech. What the terrorist you mentioned did is a criminal act and is being prosecuted as it should. It’s a horrific display of anti-Semitism and I have zero tolerance on either side for it.
The problem of illegal immigration is indeed a complex one, but the bottom line is that if you came to this country illegally and are living here illegally, you've committed a crime under US law and can be summarily deported. A higher level of due process is sue to illegals who make an asylum claim, who are visa holders, or who have green card status. But none of them have a right to be here; they've been granted a conditional benefit that's subject to review.
Regarding the foreign antisemites and terrorist supporters who are here on student visas, I've had this to say about them in a Substack article just published:
I will give your article a read when I get a minute. In response to what you've written here though, it's impossible to determine who is afforded assylum or who is a green card holder, or who is here on a visa if you don't provide due process. It's literally the mechanism to determine someone's eligibility to be here. Let's remember we are a country of immigrants. None of us, except Native Americans have ancestors who originated here and this us and them mentality comes out of a place of white american POV. You can't look at someone or listen to them speak and determine if they are an american citizen or here legally. And we have a convicted felon in the white house so deciding that the crime of coming here without correct documentation affords you deportation without a review seems a bit overzealous at best. It's far more nuanced than that and when you look at immigration case by case you realize there's a reason case by case has been the process all along.
I can’t agree. The Biden Administration allowed millions and millions of foreigners to flood into this country without even a pretense of vetting. That’s the problem—as the case of the Boulder firebomber should remind us.
It’s entirely possible to figure out who’s who, incidentally. If you’re a US citizen, that’s on record. If you’re a green card holder, i.e. a legal permanent resident, that’s on record. If you’re here on a temporary visa or a student visa, that’s on record. Only US citizens, however, are exempt from deportation. As I mentioned, foreigners resident here have lesser rights, based on their status. Mahmoud Khalil, who is a green card holder, is receiving due process in accordance with his status. So are those whose student visas are being yanked.
I’m unaware of even a single instance of a US citizen being deported. I suppose that such a thing could happen based on mistaken identity or bureaucratic incompetence, but let’s get real. It’s not a problem.
Snatching people up and throwing them on airplanes without a chance to seek representation, gather documents, or prove asylum eligibility is not due process. And while it's unlikely US citizens have yet been deported, Trump is floating that idea. Which means he wants to do it.
And as someone who has been dating a man for years who is here only on a work Visa and his children who are here attached to his work visa. I'm concerned over who is being snatched up and pitched out without due process. These things exist to ensure everyone's rights are protected and they all have rights because back to the definition, due process is a right of all people who are in America no matter the circumstances that got them here.
If you present yourself at the border and request asylum, that’s one thing. If you sneak into the country, live here for years, then lay a claim to asylum status when ICE nabs you, that’s just b.s.
If you’re a foreigner with some type of legal status, you receive the appropriate level of due process. But if you’re in the country illegally, you can be summarily deported.
As for US citizens, in certain very limited circumstances deportation may happen. For instance, you’re a naturalized US citizen. But during the naturalization process you made false statements to the government concerning your identity and background to conceal some disqualifying fact, such as membership in a terrorist organization. That could result in revocation of your citizenship and your deportation.
Pedro Pascal huh? I like the story. My reps are against deportation especially if it separates families but ICE has been here too. MFers! Obama is known as the “deporter in chief “ back in his presidency with Tom Homan as the head hunter. The same Tom Homan used by the Felon of the United States, Mr. TACO. FDT FJDV FMAGATs and the Russian GOP traitors and cowards! FElon Mush!
Your post highlights how life can feel normal until we’re personally affected by it, like “Carol” and the Republican friends who know and love her. I like too how in your tips you emphasize not cutting off those with different political viewpoints than you. I’ve definitely been guilty of living in my own silo.
Ya I think key to not living in your own silo is being surrounded by people who disagree with you on literally everything from birth. "All wrong" is what I've been told about everything my whole life. And somehow I still go on believing I am not all wrong.
It allows you to be really comfortable in confrontational situations and not feel like you're going to lose people over disagreements. It's likely why I can generally fit in with just about any group of people on both sides of the aisle, and it helped me still be well-liked in the Army, where you'd expect my views wouldn't be tolerated. Yet, they were.
Through this process of constantly being told how wrong you are, you grow the body armor of an armadillo. It's not a great skin care regimen, but at least no major organs are damaged.
All wrong.
Thank you for showing up to support my writing dad.
You’ve highlighted the dichotomy most live in these days, that allows one to see and understand what’s happening, yet not rise to combat it. I think that most won’t get involved beyond marching until there’s nothing left to lose, which is truly frightening. Plus, no one alive has seen this country in a civil war. As long as people are afraid to lose what they have personally in order to protect a larger idea that we all NEED, then rebellion won’t happen.
I don’t want a rebellion. I don’t want street warfare. I really don’t want to see American pitted against American. Can we stop the tidal wave building? Not sure, maybe. But it may be that the only way to bring these bastards to their knees is through the courts and through the purse.
We can’t directly affect the court system except through voting and takes time. But we can render them powerless through the purse. It’s time for Americans to turn off the money faucet.
Yes the cut them off at the purse is an area I should have also highlighted and am glad you brought it up. (maybe I'll add).
I too do not want to see violence and don't think most Americans do either. We have a high tolerance for mass shootings but a low tolerance for widespread chaos. I think until we see widespread chaos there won't be a lot of uprising. I don't know what I even mean by uprising either. We don't know what that even looks like in America anymore as you note.
True to the fact “we don’t even know what that looks like.” The only people who do are those who came here to escape that unrest! The people who were/are in that situation in their home countries are the ones who know how this done.
I remember reading about “Carol” in Missouri, carted away by ICE while her children, partner, friends, and neighbors scratched their heads and wept. We are obsessed with “othering,” desperate to find the cause of our discomfort and uproot it. It’s only later, once the boogeyman has taken those we care about, those we’ve considered part of our own circle, that reality dawns. Thank you for writing so eloquently about what many of us are witnessing. As you point out, the fire smolders at our very roots, spreading while we nonchalantly go bout the chores of daily life.
Thank you for reading and commenting, Julie. You are correct that we are so good at "othering" and only reconciling once it impacts our own lives. Hopefully we can dig these things up more collectively and put out fires.
Beautiful.
Thank you Emily and thank you for reading.
Here’s another immigration story. The guy who firebombed a crowd of Jews in Bolder, Colorado, last Sunday was an Egyptian national who entered our country on a temporary visa, then overstayed it. When in 2023 he applied for a work visa, it was granted despite that fact that he was in the country illegally. Well, he turned out to be an Islamofascist terrorist. So thank you, Joe Biden! You created the mess that Donald Trump is now trying to clean up.
We have millions of illegal immigrants living in this country who were simply let in without even a pretense of vetting. But now, Democrats and progressives are demanding that they be vetted before being deported—as if they have any rights in this country at all. We also have foreigners here on student visas who are antisemitic, anti-American, and terrorist supporters. Democrats and progressives insist that they too are entitled to vetting before being kicked out.
Conspicuously excluded from this obsession with process are American Jews—who are expected to put up with harassment, intimidation and outright violence while their tormentors are coddled. And you know what? This only validates Zionism, whose core principle is that the Jews can rely only upon themselves. What a shame, what a disgrace, that America is contributing to that validation.
Thomas, I think this is an example of why it’s important to to blanket enforce all immigration issues. Some immigrants (very few) are dangerous. The immigrant you speak of is being charged to the fullest extent of the law and will be jailed and deported.
Carol and other harmless immigrants is stupidly being classified as the same level of danger and will be removed as well.
Everyone under the law is entitled to due process. Due process under the constitution is the right of every person in this country. Not every citizen. Every person. That means every person whether a threat or not gets the right to prove they are innocent or in the case of immigration laws-that they qualify to remain in this country. If one of those goons decided you look quite Irish or quite German and should go back to where your from who would you prove your a citizen without due process? You’d be sitting in a Venezuelan prison screaming but I’m an American to no one who cares. That’s why due process matters.
As for the protection of Jews, they absolutely deserve protection. But peaceful protests of the genocide in Gaza are also protected under the freedom of speech. What the terrorist you mentioned did is a criminal act and is being prosecuted as it should. It’s a horrific display of anti-Semitism and I have zero tolerance on either side for it.
The problem of illegal immigration is indeed a complex one, but the bottom line is that if you came to this country illegally and are living here illegally, you've committed a crime under US law and can be summarily deported. A higher level of due process is sue to illegals who make an asylum claim, who are visa holders, or who have green card status. But none of them have a right to be here; they've been granted a conditional benefit that's subject to review.
Regarding the foreign antisemites and terrorist supporters who are here on student visas, I've had this to say about them in a Substack article just published:
https://unwokeindianaag.substack.com/p/the-spreading-stain
I will give your article a read when I get a minute. In response to what you've written here though, it's impossible to determine who is afforded assylum or who is a green card holder, or who is here on a visa if you don't provide due process. It's literally the mechanism to determine someone's eligibility to be here. Let's remember we are a country of immigrants. None of us, except Native Americans have ancestors who originated here and this us and them mentality comes out of a place of white american POV. You can't look at someone or listen to them speak and determine if they are an american citizen or here legally. And we have a convicted felon in the white house so deciding that the crime of coming here without correct documentation affords you deportation without a review seems a bit overzealous at best. It's far more nuanced than that and when you look at immigration case by case you realize there's a reason case by case has been the process all along.
I can’t agree. The Biden Administration allowed millions and millions of foreigners to flood into this country without even a pretense of vetting. That’s the problem—as the case of the Boulder firebomber should remind us.
It’s entirely possible to figure out who’s who, incidentally. If you’re a US citizen, that’s on record. If you’re a green card holder, i.e. a legal permanent resident, that’s on record. If you’re here on a temporary visa or a student visa, that’s on record. Only US citizens, however, are exempt from deportation. As I mentioned, foreigners resident here have lesser rights, based on their status. Mahmoud Khalil, who is a green card holder, is receiving due process in accordance with his status. So are those whose student visas are being yanked.
I’m unaware of even a single instance of a US citizen being deported. I suppose that such a thing could happen based on mistaken identity or bureaucratic incompetence, but let’s get real. It’s not a problem.
The process you are describing is due process.
Snatching people up and throwing them on airplanes without a chance to seek representation, gather documents, or prove asylum eligibility is not due process. And while it's unlikely US citizens have yet been deported, Trump is floating that idea. Which means he wants to do it.
And as someone who has been dating a man for years who is here only on a work Visa and his children who are here attached to his work visa. I'm concerned over who is being snatched up and pitched out without due process. These things exist to ensure everyone's rights are protected and they all have rights because back to the definition, due process is a right of all people who are in America no matter the circumstances that got them here.
If you present yourself at the border and request asylum, that’s one thing. If you sneak into the country, live here for years, then lay a claim to asylum status when ICE nabs you, that’s just b.s.
If you’re a foreigner with some type of legal status, you receive the appropriate level of due process. But if you’re in the country illegally, you can be summarily deported.
As for US citizens, in certain very limited circumstances deportation may happen. For instance, you’re a naturalized US citizen. But during the naturalization process you made false statements to the government concerning your identity and background to conceal some disqualifying fact, such as membership in a terrorist organization. That could result in revocation of your citizenship and your deportation.
Pedro Pascal huh? I like the story. My reps are against deportation especially if it separates families but ICE has been here too. MFers! Obama is known as the “deporter in chief “ back in his presidency with Tom Homan as the head hunter. The same Tom Homan used by the Felon of the United States, Mr. TACO. FDT FJDV FMAGATs and the Russian GOP traitors and cowards! FElon Mush!