By GHK Lall-The people stood up in the streets of Minneapolis though snow and sleet, against an avalanche of power unleashed by the State. The same all-powerful State is standing down. ICE is thawing, melting, trickling away. From a trickle to a retreating flood. Once again, the will of the people prevails.
ICE. No one needs that acronym translated. Colder than a ruthless predator on the hunt. Human prey targeted, with stalking, hunting grounds cunningly selected. ICE became an expression, the symbol, of government and leadership run amok. Against a raging tide of masked and armored men armed with machineguns, determined citizens stood tall, stood firm.
There was a cost, what will be counted for years to come. Two dead; thousands detained, many jailed; sacred American sanctuaries invaded and violated; families scarred. The point was made that of 400,000 harassed, intimidated, and arrested, only 14% were criminals, violent or otherwise. Only 14% equals 56,000 offenders off the streets. Was the sweeping, rounding up effort worth it?
Worth the de facto assaults and desecration of pillars of the hallowed US Constitution relative to search and seizures, due process, and what not, that’s my concern. And I say no. For there now is an America battered and bruised purple, and of which the scars will require much to heal. No law-abiding citizen desires criminal for neighbors. Or lurking in ambush in the parking lot. Or primed for an explosion of rage on the highways. No country, no civilisation can survive for long when its borders are so porous, overwhelmed, as to be nonexistent. Or when migrants equate to an encircling army.
I believe that an immigration crackdown was necessary. But with scale and proportion, one that made the fullest use of the law. But not a crackdown that mutated into a blitzkrieg, with matching arsenals and tactics. But what is the mass migration issue, with an eye on campaign promises, and that delectably politically correct code word “illegal.” It’s a cover whose edges don’t reach far enough to provide the most complete, undiscernible camouflage.
Bluntly, it is racist, and sends a chilling message: certain people need not apply, some must not enter, some not welcome. I recall those cherished echoes: all men are created equal…. And the pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness…. A signature issue with mass base appeal was just too juicy, too rich in returns, to let go, not to maximize using any means necessary to achieve the objectives of a purifying vision.
There was a precedent for the price to be paid. The Brexiteers found out the downside of an emotional and cultural issue. Different people with different practices, indeed; but those who do the lowly, dirty, sickeningly nauseating jobs. The cheap, backbreaking, dreadful jobs. While the arguments raged, the confrontations spiraled, and a polarized society blew through some of its restraining institutional checks, bold and hardy citizens stood day after day in largely peaceful protests.
I insist: mostly peaceful protests. They prevailed. But there was help from the surrounding environment. Courts held firm. With some surprising judges deciding even more surprisingly, but always as the Constitution dictated. A few police chiefs held the line. And, politicians strategized and took their stands. In brief, a 250-year-old system held, notwithstanding near intolerable pressures. Maturity.
And unswerving impartiality that has its roots in integrity, personal honesty, and individual definition and priority of honor. The people stood and held; their will powered by the steel of implacable resolve. These are the priceless components that made America great. These may hold the keys that keep America on that great path.
I think that there are many lessons for Guyanese here. From leaders to the lowest citizen. From hate-filled partisan to out-of-place (but still vitally necessary) patriot. Extremism in government and leadership cannot, does not, and should not go unresisted. Peaceful street protests have been pooh-poohed, and all but pushed to the toilet. A program of the past. Comes at a price. Wariness about infiltration. The flareup and fallout, as orchestrated. I say hogwash and balderdash to all that, and whatever else.
To Guyanese pols, from the president to those in opposition to him: take note of Minnesota. To Guyanese jurists, appointed by whomever, let Minneapolis register. To Guyanese law enforcement: follow Minnesota and ICE. Beware of going too far blindly, callously, even fatally, for masters. And to my fellow Guyanese and Americans: whenever the people stand peacefully and manifest their will peacefully, there is Minnesota and the sacrifices that it took to get to today.
