WE ARE ALL KILMAR ABREGO GARCIA

When I was thinking about the wording of my window sign, I didn’t mean it as a statement of solidarity with Kilmar Garcia, who has been kidnapped by the U.S. government and sent to a horrible prison. I mean: If he can be put on a plane to El Salvador without any due process, with no means of returning home —- then I can too! What happened to Kilmar Abrego Garcia can happen to ME. And you and you and you. It can happen to any person within the borders of the United States.

Trump admited it was an “administrative error.” But what an incredibly USEFUL error, what a weapon of fear in Trump’s arsenal. Of COURSE he refuses to bring Garcia back! As long as Garcia remains in that Salvadoran prison, Trump gets to flaunt his absolute power over every single person in this country. Oh, it’s worth defying the Supreme Court for THAT.

When you think about it, Garcia’s imprisonment is much MORE frightening BECAUSE it was a mistake. There is a random element to the threat.

“Oops! I didn’t really mean to deport you to El Salvador! My bad. But, now that you’ve ended up there — You ain’t coming back. I LIKE you being there!”

Shades of Kafka’s The Trial. It does seem like Trump’s world is Kafka’s world.

Of course in times like this, I can’t help but reassure myself that I personally would not be illegally and randomly deported — because I’m white. And that comfort will last until the first white person is randomly swept up and cast out of the country. Then I’ll probably reassure myself that I won’t be grabbed becasue I’m old. I think human beings put a lot of energy into figuring out why the bad things that happen to others won’t happen to THEM.

But deep down inside, I feel less safe since I heard about Kilmar Abrego Garcia. I have a fear I didn’t have before. And I know that makes Trump happy.

But, and it is a BIG but….

Resistance is building!

Below is Robert Reich’s latest column. I like him because he’s always trying to figure out what we should DO. This column was titled “What We Must Do Now.”

“If the Trump regime can dictate what the universities of America teach or research or publish, or what students can learn or say, no university is safe.

Not even the truth is safe.

If the Trump regime can revoke student visas because students exercise their freedom of speech on a university campus, freedom of speech is not secure for any of us.

If the Trump regime can abduct a permanent resident of the United States and send him to a torture prison in El Salvador, without any criminal charges, no American is safe.

What do we do about this?

We stand up to it. We resist it. We denounce it. We boldly and fearlessly reject it —regardless of the cost, regardless of the threats.

As columnist David Brooks writes in his column yesterday (I’m hardly in the habit of quoting David Brooks):

It’s time for a comprehensive national civic uprising. It’s time for Americans in universities, law, business, nonprofits and the scientific community, and civil servants and beyond to form one coordinated mass movement. Trump is about power. The only way he’s going to be stopped is if he’s confronted by some movement that possesses rival power.

But what does a national civic uprising look like?

It may look like a general strike —

a strike in which tens of millions of Americans refuse to work, refuse to buy, refuse to engage in anything other than a mass demonstration against the regime.

And not just one general strike, but a repeating general strike — a strike whose numbers continue to grow and whose outrage, resistance, and solidarity continue to spread across the land.

You know that things are REALLY BAD if David Brooks, a rather conservative columnist is calling for a “national civic uprising.” I urge all of you to start preparing now for such a series of general strikes. I will inform you of what I learn about who is doing what. (One possible place to begin is here.)”

I myself clicked on there “here” button and signed up to get a “Strike card.” I’ve been been hoping for some kind of BIG resistance. For those who read my last blog, you know I thought everyone should go to D.C. But not one Bloggelini thought that was a good idea. This country is too damn BIG to bring everyone together in one place to shut it down. But a General Strike would involve millions protesting throughout the country. The planners say they need almost 11 million strikers, for the strike to have an effect. Right now they’re at 333,000 who have made a commitment.

Bloggellinis, drastic measures are called for. We’re being led by a madman surrounded by fawning idiots.

Please klick here and read about the plan of building up to a general strike. Sign up and get a Strike Card! I’m pretty excited about this idea of a general strike. The planners are very thoughtful.

Terry