Death of Alex Pretti
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another bearblog post with some great links
Just taking a moment to make a small aside in can there's any confusion, since my timing on making a blog post could be accidentally seen as me having some sort of defense to those defending the murders of people by ICE here in america. That is not the case. I can't say much of note that hasn't already been said. I don't usually like to spend too much extra time stating that my politics mean I do not agree with nearly all actions of the current administration, but it gets to a point. It's another dark day, part of a dark week, a dark month, part of dark years. The days have been getting darker and much of my blogs are made partially as a way to cope with how overwhelming it all is. I'm privileged beyond belief that I can just turn off the news and be safe in my home. Of course, the concept of safe is rather relative and could be argued I'm not as safe as I seem to be, considering I live somewhere that doesn't have complete women's healthcare. I see a woman much like myself murdered in cold blood, and I go onto facebook for the first time in 2 years only to see people making jokes about her death in the comments of the local news story about it. It's all creating a sickness in my gut that vomiting my entire organs couldn't relieve.
As you may have already figured, my political beliefs lean marxist-feminist, if that matters to you. I try to keep an open mind, but not so open my brain falls out. I am horrified by just how truly awful the actions by the people in power have gotten away with. As I mention my extended family in my last post, I do fear that they're so far gone into their conservative cult that another murder will be twisted into some sort of fiction that makes it all easier for them to digest and continue their blind ignorance and devotion. Building on that last post, I do feel glad to be far away from them at a time when I would likely be screaming at them in hurt and rage to understand how disconnected from reality they've become. My aforementioned desire to go back there and try to mend their broken rationality comes from a place of wanting to wake so many of them up from the lies they've been told over and over, because even if there's little to no change I could deprogram them, I can't help but desperately want to.
This isn't even the second murder by ICE, but this is the second time it's been so bold and well-known. What will happen next? Will things escalate? I think if you're a part of any group that's willing to go out and protest today you absolutely should. Connect with your local activist groups and see what you can do. Often, I find that calling your local representatives is very effective when done by many but even alone you may be able to start a conversation. I live in Missouri so there's a lot of local representatives and local government officials I'll be contacting today to let them know this state has VERY many people from all sides disgusted with the actions of this glorified conservative terrorist group. I think it's important to note that even if you hold some value to enforcing immigration laws, there is still no excuse for KILLING INNOCENT PEOPLE just because someone crossed the border without due process. The country is built on due process as it's what makes us a fair and just country. We're no longer either of those things if we execute without trial, no matter how terrible you consider the crime. Would you be okay with this happening to your family? I doubt you would. I don't think them being guilty of a non-violent crime would make you go "oh, go ahead and kill them then". It's just barbaric to escalate like this and it shows how emotional the reasoning has really become among those so deep in their cult bubble. But I think on Bearblog I'm preaching to the choir.
It feels like americans are just falling deeper and deeper into a hole we might never escape. I don't have any answers, I just write things online. I just wanted it to be known that while much of my feelings are complex about a lot of things, there are a few things going on that are so cut and dry to me that I forget it's not implied when I write that I feel a certain way. To be clear, this isn't some sort of thing where someone told me to make this, I just kinda had a "oh shit, what i wrote could be seen different than what I meant due to the murder the other day" moment after posting and thought I'd clear a little up. Also it was probably not a terrible thing to add to the voices of dissent to the current administration a bit more. Those who are feeling scared and angry from what's going on; you're not alone. I'm pretty bad at comforting people because I'm bad at comforting myself but I'm giving it a go the best I can.
Connect with local activists, make the calls together, and take care of yourself, your family, and your community. Reach out to your peers and talk about it before it eats at you too much. Write at length if it helps you. Figure out what you can do to make a difference. Start the hard conversations if you're ready, asking them; why are you okay with this? Why does this not terrify you?