Today we had a sponsored design post – scheduled for a few weeks. I couldn’t present it today. This weekend I had an “emotional life shock” – where you have to live your life with the kids while also trying to keep up with the tragedies unfolding in real time. We went to Bend because the kids had two extra days off from school and went skiing (or, in my case, “tried”). Then I pick up my phone and I’m reminded of the very obvious, horrific actions of our government against our own people. The back-and-forth situation was extremely tense and disturbing. Maybe you can relate.
where i’m one of those annoying personalities Effort to see most of side of most of Conditions (to be clear – not “all” of “all”). I know there is always context, nuance, and perspective that must be considered. I lean to the left, but I also understand that my bubble is not always on the right and that different communities, states, and groups of people have their own experiences that form their beliefs. I know I don’t know everything. But this weekend it hit even harder. Living in Portland, I was aware of the false stories about immigrants here and the unnecessary “action” by the government. We have never felt any “negative impact” of having immigrants in our lives; In fact, our personal experience is 100% the opposite. Everyone here comes together, sharing life and cultures, which is what makes living in America so beautiful. But I have tried to understand that in many border states, government officials or the media portray a different experience. I also recognize that every news source is biased (because they’re edited by humans…for now), so trying to feel confident about what you’re reading is an Herculean task (I read a lot of news sources for this reason). But as the ICE case escalated in Minnesota, it all became clearer than ever. The actual video evidence of Alex Pretty is undeniable. Watching the video over and over again from different angles was horrifying and surreal. And the response of our President and his government was somewhat worse.
So that’s it for my conservative readers. I really want to understand if you think what’s happening is okay. I understand that sometimes there will be casualties and accidents that are beyond our control, but large numbers of masked people, with barely any training, chasing brown men with guns across town with no accountability for their actions certainly can’t be what you wanted. I understand, understand all the arguments about border controls. And I understand that both Biden and Obama deported a lot of people – millions more than Trump did during his last term. This is not about exile as an idea; Its How They are doing this. With such violence, cruelty and almost a desire to torment and terrorize. Families that were in the middle of the immigration process are being torn apart. Children as fodder. Mothers and nurses were murdered out of untrained terror, or perhaps something more sinister. Most of the conservatives I respect are silent right now (*as of Sunday evening), presumably trying to frame this in a way that is as consistent as possible with their morality and political careers.
I know that when America voted for Trump it wanted change, and I accepted that desire as a criticism and referendum on how things were. It wasn’t the change I wanted, but America spoke, and I really tried to listen. But the last year has been very harmful for democracy. In a big M macro way. I’m a huge history buff (it was my major in college), and America is a tiny omission in our world history, and it’s increasingly not looking good. There is no guarantee that we will be around in 200 years. America has been doing just this “experiment” for 250 years, but in the last year many of our founding values have been challenged, and I really think that if we don’t get this guy out of power soon, we will be in big trouble. He is playing without any rules, disregarding international protocol, let alone the laws of his own government, on every front, with zero accountability as he has captured every branch of government that can hold him accountable. Although he’s not the only one to blame, I definitely think he’s the driving force… and I don’t think most people would have voted for this version of him.
I guess the purpose of writing this is to hear from readers outside my bubble. My hope is to hear from conservatives and Republicans. I completely understand that there are some things you hoped would change and improve when he got back to the office, but I really want to know if you think this goes too far? The tariffs were/are hurting our small business economy. “Being bought by tech billionaires in exchange for no regulation” is extremely problematic for our children and economic future. Canceling all international aid felt cruel. I could go on… but watching peaceful protests downtown, allowing people to videotape and whistle at barely trained masked men arresting brown people on the streets, watching a nurse try to help a woman stand up and then being killed… it’s too much, too violent, too deadly.
This is un-American. Our bureaucracy is flawed, run by people who are very imperfect and who have a lot to learn. But our Founders built our country to make us feel safe and free.
And right now, almost none of us do that.
