Footnotes
ICE shot a poet.
on Wednesday in Minneapolis. And like much of governmentally sanctioned violence, this wasn't the first time. But the moments before and after were captured on camera. And with that unblinking camera, with the eyes that do not turn away and the sound of disbelief and sorrow—we are once again changed.
And we are changed not because this is shocking, but because it is not shocking at all. It is not shocking that ICE agents who carry out the violent kidnapping of Black and Brown folks would take the next step and aim their guns at those who stand against them. If the Brown people they capture are not worthy of respect, how could those who defend them be? If one is a monster, so too must the other be.
And this is a lesson in Black History and white supremacy that we cannot ignore. Because generation after generation finds "new" ways to dehumanize Black people. And when America has been sufficiently convinced that those violent measures are necessary or safe, they are expanded in every direction to increase domination.
The administration goes after Venezuela using the well-worn rhetoric from "the war on crime/drugs." We have grown accustomed to the name-calling, the rage-baiting, the political propaganda that keeps the machine going. And now it is being blatantly used to justify the imperialism and colonization of an entire country for its oil.
And right now, as I type this, Minnesota is throwing snowballs at ICE agents whose best line of defense is that "they were afraid for their lives"... a defense crafted in the bosom of white supremacy to justify the extrajudicial killing of Black people since… forever. Our dehumanization. Immigrant dehumanization. Dehumanization of the people who would come to our defense.
You know, so often, when The People get upset, start to protest, gather together, there is an issuance of a warning... "Let's remain peaceful, after all, we know that violence begets violence," as if the violence begins with us. But we are not the purveyors of violence. They are. They who kidnap wearing masks. They who lie behind podiums. They who spin the story. They who wield power for their own benefit, regardless of the consequences. They are the violent ones and they continue to beget more and more violence. Throughout American history it has been the propagandists for "law and order" who are agents of lawlessness and chaos.
On Wednesday, Jericho Brown declared on threads, “ICE murdered a poet today”. They killed a poet, because we are still fighting the core question that white supremacy poses over and over again in different ways and against different people—who gets to be human?
Renee Good was human. As was her partner who witnessed the tragedy unfold. As were the witnesses present to declare their dissent against ICE. As were the folks ICE was trying to kidnap in the first place. But until we believe in the humanity of all, as a country, we will continue to kill the poets.
New here? Subscribe now!
*PLEASE BE AWARE, THIS NEWSLETTER CONTAINS AFFILIATE LINKS TO BOOKSHOP.ORG, WHICH MEANS I RECEIVE A SMALL COMMISSION IF YOU CHOOSE TO MAKE A PURCHASE USING THE BOOK LINKS. I WILL BE USING SAID COMMISSION TO FEED MY BOOK ADDICTION, OFFER YOU MORE REVIEWS, AND AROUND AND AROUND WE GO. THE COMMISSION DOES NOT COST YOU ANYTHING, AND I WILL ALWAYS LET YOU KNOW IF I RECEIVED ANY OF THE BOOKS FOR FREE99.
