For The American Right, Masks Are Tyranny But Trump's Secret Police Aren't
Written by John Stoehr, The Editorial Board, Alternet, July 22, 2020
Not long ago, heavily armed white men (and a handful of white women) stood on the steps of Michigans Capitol. They were protesting the governors lock down amid the spread of the new coronavirus. Gretchen Whitmer, they said, was infringing on their constitutional rights and liberties. They were showing they would not stand for it.
It was a nice bit of political theater that has since grown nationally into a battle over wearing masks. Refuse to wear one, and you support the president. Wear one, and you dont. But beneath the protests was something members of the press corps believed they should take seriously: a conservative ideology ever watchful of corrupt power.
It should be clear to the press corps, and to a citizenry informed by the press corps, that those protests had nothing to do with the tyranny of government. It should be clear that when they said, Dont tread on me, that didnt include you. It should be clear, to everyone, that such protests werent principled. Im not going to argue what they were really about. Maybe small men with small minds need to act up. What I do know: if theres anything worthy of armed resistance, its the emergence of Donald Trumps secret police force. Yet here we are. As far as I can tell, nothing but crickets.
The secret police are real. Groups of heavily armed and unidentified federal agents in military dress have been gassing peaceful protesters in Portland, Oregon, under the guise of protecting federal facilities, meaning monuments. We now know they are with Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, among other agencies under the US Department of Homeland Security. These are the same agencies that gassed peaceful protesters out of Washingtons Lafayette Square so the president could do a photo shoot with a Bible in front of a church. Videos online have shown officers in Portland taking protesters into custody without reading their rights, loading them into unmarked vans, and threatening to shoot anyone attempting to follow them.
Its activity goes beyond disappearing citizens amid social upheaval. The Oregonian, the states paper of record, reported Monday that protecting monuments from protesters seeking justice for the murder of George Floyd, in addition to greater racial equality over all, now includes spying on them as well as infiltrating their ranks. It reported: The court records provide a window into the tactics of federal agencies based at the courthouse in downtown Portland at a time when local, state and congressional officials from Oregon have roundly criticized the national law enforcement presence....
More, https://www.alternet.org/2020/07/for-the-american-right-masks-are-tyranny-but-secret-police-arent/
BigmanPigman
(51,673 posts)I read an interesting thread about their uniforms and badges...
https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=13783919
"Evidence shows Portland police working with federal officers at protests, contradicting city officials"
https://www.oregonlive.com/news/2020/07/evidence-shows-portland-police-working-with-federal-officers-at-protests-contradicting-city-officials.html
Buckeye_Democrat
(14,860 posts)They've included a few more denominations to follow in recent years, but that's pretty much the extent of their principles.