Isn’t this what many of us have been waiting for? It is indeed. Coordinated protests against Trump, ICE, and the war that has targeted immigrants who have kept the economy going and kept themselves alive in the belly of the beast.
L.A. was on fire and burning earlier this year. Neighborhoods were destroyed. It’s on fire and burning again. And so are cities around the country, from San Francisco to New York and from Chicago to Atlanta. America is burning. The United States is on fire. Wherever there are undocumented workers and wherever there are citizens opposed to tyranny and the assault on civil rights and civil liberties, there has been civil unrest.
The only real violence has been the violence of law enforcement officers who have confronted the crowds of largely peaceful protestors. It isn’t the civil war that has been predicted for years, but it sure feels like it’s another step toward civil war. It’s what Trump has wanted and still wants.
No matter what happens in the streets of America in the days and weeks ahead, he will pursue his goal of imposing absolute authority over the citizens of this nation. And no matter how many police officers and soldiers are in the streets and no matter how many people are arrested, it seems likely that protests will go on.
No one from outside our borders will come to our aid, though citizens from Paris to Hong Kong, and from Mexico City to Gaza and Ukraine, will add their voices to ours. Yes, L.A. is burning. Fires have been lit. They may smolder, but they will not be extinguished. Repression leads to intimidation and incarceration, but it also leads to resistance and insurrection. That’s a lesson of history we might remember now.
(Jonah Raskin is the author of Beat Blues, San Francisco, 1955.)
The question is… where does it lead? Democratic victories in 2026 and 2028?
No one deported more than the Deporter-in-Chief, Barak Obama. Oh yeah, he also bombed seven countries. He turned Libya from the second most prosperous country in Africa to one where there are slave markets. He kicked five million American families out of their homes in the service of the banks.
If Kamala Harris had won in 2024, the US would ALREADY be bombing in Iran. While the Democrats have a tiny pocket of “progressives” opposed to the illegal war campaign, the Republicans (well, MAGA at least) are genuinely split on the issue. The only reason Trump hasn’t already openly bombed Iran (as opposed to just quietly helping the Israelis) is that it is politically difficult for him to do – because his own supporters are mostly opposed.
MAGA’s reasons (as well as the tiny libertarian faction’s lead by Thomas Massie and Rand Paul) for opposing the war(s) are mostly ‘American First’ … they obviously don’t give a damn about foreigners, particularly brown ones, but their opposition is undeniable. Meanwhile, does anyone think Chuck Shumer, Nancy Pelosi, or any of the other top Democrats would stand in the way? How did that work out in 2003 when Bush embarked on his own illegal war of aggression?
If you are young enough to start a new life, it’s time to start considering leaving the US behind. Uruguay, Costa Rica, and even China are waiting for you. If you’re too old for that, plant your gardens and be nice to your neighbors.