300 of anything is a lot.
There are 300 bones in the human body at birth. There is a 300°F drop in temperature
at the South Pole; it’s brief, but understandably infamous. There were 300 Spartans at
the Battle of Thermopylae. These are facts that are normal given their context.
But 300 armed and masked Border Patrol agents rappelling into a U.S. city like nasty,
poisonous spiderlings from hammeringly-loud Black Hawk helicopters is not normal. As
the residents of Chicago sleep: not normal. On the contrary, it’s a night that ain’t got
nothing on the shows of force the U.S. used to terrify local populations by flying planes
low during the Vietnam War.
These 300 agents hauled residents from their homes, destroying property, smashing
doors and windows, surrounding the five-story apartment building in unmarked trucks.
NewsNation was actually invited to observe as agents zip-tied naked, crying children.
This madness occurred September 30 th at 10 pm near 75 th and S. Shore Drive in
Chicago. And the terror lasted all night long.
This was both an inefficient and a highly risky operation designed to inflict psychological
damage as well as physical. And what’s worse is there was no reason for such
spectacle.
But there is every reason to believe that these ICE agents were not targeting anything
substantial enough to warrant three hundred Spartans. ‘Tren de Aragua’ ok, but is this
like the MAGA attempt at photoshopping a numeral 13 on Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s
knuckles? Does the administration assume they are justified as long as there is talk of
mumbleMumble::cough::somethingabout gangviolence::cough:: at play?
Those 300 agents entered nearly every single apartment and rounded up 30-40 human
beings. Adults and children; young and old; literally, naked and clothed. And “several,”
were “suspected” of gang violence. Several? What about this required 300 agents? I
was once robbed at gunpoint by a van of thieves. It took one cop over 45 minutes to
show up and advise me to get a dog before he shrugged and walked off the scene.
We want to know evidence against the few and why ICE deemed it necessary to harass
the shit out of the many. But that question seems moot; we know why. If there were
people to arrest on suspicion – go to their door and get them. Obviously, ICE knew
where they lived. Instead, they spent how much – how much? – to air drop THREE
HUNDRED agents in for one measly building?
How much time will it take before they do this repeatedly in any given city and mass
upset ensues? How many people stand to be affected by such reckless behavior?
Because pardon us here at the Gonzo desks, coming in off the streets and out of the
alleyways of America to bang out words that give an outlet to our rage at the dashing of
democracy, but these were theatrics designed to destroy. Destroy mind, destroy body,
and further wear down our hard-won freedoms. Psychological warfare.
I don’t think this one is going to go over with America (or the world) any more easily
than the framing of Abrego Garcia. But it sure involves a lot more people. And this sort
of ultra-spectacle sets another highly dangerous precedent where Big Brother drops out
of the sky at any point, day or night, to administer a terrifying form of anti-justice.
On second thought, ‘Big Brother’ is not a strong enough concept. This was an action
designed to leave us terrified. Terrified to move, terrified to think, terrified to speak
unless granted permission by the overlord. This is the current administration’s attempt –
as it is every dictator’s attempt – to play a god in their own revolting fan fiction. Are they
watching us? We can’t tell. All is fair game.
The current administration is working to instill themselves as Divine Overseer of an
unblinking panopticon.
The truth needs no defense – but it often needs a shout. From GonzoLand proper: the
enemy is within. And the enemy is the administration making senseless yet chilling
power plays, threatening America while we nestle in our beds, in our homes – safe?
Who among tyrants is safe?