Sean CastenI am doing my best to respond to this without a string of expletives. But let's be very clear: what just happened in Minnesota was cold blooded murder of a civilian by out of control federal agents, aided and abetted by the entire Trump administration and their fascist enablers.
Anything you hear from Kristi Noem other than shame and contrition will be a fucking lie. She made this happen by lying to defend Jonathan Ross after he murdered Renee Good and reinforcing a culture of hatred and uncontrolled violence by undertrained and over-armed punks.
Donald Trump is complicit of course. But so is every single Republican in the House and Senate who voted for a massive increase in ICE funding in their Big Ugly Bill and refused to do any oversight. Trump is doing what he can get away with and you can smell their cowardice from a mile away.
Pam Bondi is complicit for running a Department of Justice that refuses to apply the rule of law equally to all, along with Kash "I don't read" Patel at the FBI. By taking Renee Goods investigation from the MN PD they sent a message that if you shoot civilians we'll protect you.
As I write this, I see the jackboots are already suggesting that the victim had a gun. Srsly? He was pinned to the ground. And you know who else had a gun? George Zimmerman. Don't tell me you can shoot a kid with a bag of skittles but you should trust a fat dude with an ICE badge and a face mask.
Finally, if you think they wouldn't shoot you in a heartbeat because - I dunno, you're a white dude, or you voted for this - you are deluding yourself. They don't give a damn about any American. They know that the walls are closing in and are petrified about the accountability that will come.
The vast majority of Americans are good people who don't tolerate this. The mass protests in MN yesterday, the collapsing poll numbers, the decency scares them. They are shooting their way out and don't care who they hit.
David@SeanCasten it's worse there today, now
AJ Sadauskas@drdrowland @SeanCasten That Alex Pretti "had a gun" line says more about how full of shit the American right is than 100 episodes of Democracy Now!
(And whether or not he /actually/ had one is immaterial to the core fact they're full of shit.)
For *decades*, the American right has claimed that guns are necessary to protect the constitution.
For *decades*, the American right has claimed that guns are necessary to resist tyrannical or authoritarian actions by government.
For *decades*, the American right has said the right to free speech is paramount.
And over *decades*, the American right has said the right to free speech includes the right to protest. That includes after Charlottesville, January 6, and the pandemic-era anti-mask demonstrations.
This isn't some ideological side point.
The NRA, countless Fox News talking heads, countless right-wing public figures, countless Republican politicians and candidates have droned about this.
For decades.
Well okay. Extrajudicial killings of US citizens, unreasonable search and seizure, detention of US citizens without due process of law.
Seems like a pretty bloody blatant violation of the core principles of the US Constitution and US Bill of Rights to me.
The *exact circumstances* the US right has said *for decades* necessitate the right to bear arms.
And after witnessing unconstitutional actions that violate the Bill of Rights, Alex exercised his right to free speech by attending a protest.
The *exact circumstances* the US right has said *for decades* necessitates the right to free speech.
Against this background, the American right now claims that Alex exercising his right to free speech and (possibly) his right to bear arms in resistance of unconstitutional acts justifies extrajudicial murder by government agents.
And in using that argument, the American right has shown just how totally full of shit they are.
Not just Trump.
Not just ICE.
Every bloody American right winger who's talked about guns and free speech over the past few decades.
Because that one line shows how full of shit they've been the whole time.
Their first principles were never guns or free speech.
Their real first principles were violence, white supremacy, and capitalist greed.
Oh, and one more thing.
It's not just the likes of the NRA and the Proud Boys and the gun nuts in the GOP who are conspicuously quiet.
It's also all the southerners who spent decades talking about states rights.
Because their motivation was never about protecting states (like Minnesota) from authoritarian actions by the federal government.
It was always about allowing states to segregate schools.
So the next time you hear some American right winger mention guns or free speech, just ask them "what about Alex Pretti?"
And the next time you hear some American right winger mention states rights, just ask them "what about ICE agents in Minnesota?"
(And whether or not he /actually/ had one is immaterial to the core fact they're full of shit.)
For *decades*, the American right has claimed that guns are necessary to protect the constitution.
For *decades*, the American right has claimed that guns are necessary to resist tyrannical or authoritarian actions by government.
For *decades*, the American right has said the right to free speech is paramount.
And over *decades*, the American right has said the right to free speech includes the right to protest. That includes after Charlottesville, January 6, and the pandemic-era anti-mask demonstrations.
This isn't some ideological side point.
The NRA, countless Fox News talking heads, countless right-wing public figures, countless Republican politicians and candidates have droned about this.
For decades.
Well okay. Extrajudicial killings of US citizens, unreasonable search and seizure, detention of US citizens without due process of law.
Seems like a pretty bloody blatant violation of the core principles of the US Constitution and US Bill of Rights to me.
The *exact circumstances* the US right has said *for decades* necessitate the right to bear arms.
And after witnessing unconstitutional actions that violate the Bill of Rights, Alex exercised his right to free speech by attending a protest.
The *exact circumstances* the US right has said *for decades* necessitates the right to free speech.
Against this background, the American right now claims that Alex exercising his right to free speech and (possibly) his right to bear arms in resistance of unconstitutional acts justifies extrajudicial murder by government agents.
And in using that argument, the American right has shown just how totally full of shit they are.
Not just Trump.
Not just ICE.
Every bloody American right winger who's talked about guns and free speech over the past few decades.
Because that one line shows how full of shit they've been the whole time.
Their first principles were never guns or free speech.
Their real first principles were violence, white supremacy, and capitalist greed.
Oh, and one more thing.
It's not just the likes of the NRA and the Proud Boys and the gun nuts in the GOP who are conspicuously quiet.
It's also all the southerners who spent decades talking about states rights.
Because their motivation was never about protecting states (like Minnesota) from authoritarian actions by the federal government.
It was always about allowing states to segregate schools.
So the next time you hear some American right winger mention guns or free speech, just ask them "what about Alex Pretti?"
And the next time you hear some American right winger mention states rights, just ask them "what about ICE agents in Minnesota?"
Ian
Irene (she/they, Sir/Mr.)@soviut actually ice fully DID take the gun before executing him. He never had it in his hands at all, they took it straight from the holster in the moments right before they killed him. In at least one vid, one of the agents can be seen taking it from the holster and is walking away with it visible in his hand at the moment another shot him. @aj @drdrowland @SeanCasten
@Irenetherogue @aj @drdrowland @SeanCasten yeah. I'm sarcastically throwing the right's "they're coming to take our guns" rhetoric back at them.
Like Southpark lampooned them with the hunting episode: "they're coming right at us!"