After George Floyd was killed by police in broad daylight while being filmed, many Minneapolis residents snapped. They let their outrage get the best of them and their protests turned ugly. Buildings were burned and rioting occurred. By losing their cool and committing property crimes (nobody was killed), the protesters lost the high ground and the narrative. And the opposition was able to paint the “blue” city as a Democratic hellscape that needed to be brought back into control by Republicans, the “law and order” party.
But this time it was ICE who cracked. The agents, frustrated by being constantly monitored and filmed, let their anger and hate get the best of them and they killed two United States citizens. Add to that the vile rhetoric of the administration’s lackeys who all immediately declared that the protesters were “domestic terrorists,” and now it is the Republicans who are losing the moral high ground and the narrative. November can’t come fast enough for many voters who feel that this administration is off the rails.
Do I think that the recent ICE leadership shake-up will end this brutal crackdown? Not in a million years. So take a “constitutional Observer” course, as an estimated 65,000 Minnesotans have, to learn how to observe and record without violence. Charge up your camera. Stay peaceful. And vote, for goodness sake.
Deb Rodgers
Durango (and native Minnesotan)
