**Found this art of a futuristic dystopian police state. This is not at all how I see things now or even necessarily in the future, but thought it was interesting and might draw some attention. Please read my words below to see what this post is about.
So the second incident that disturbed me is the situation with federal police officers in Portland. They were dressed in camo and initially it was not known or publicized who they were. I have since read that it is CBP (Customs and Border Patrol). They appeared to be sent in to quell the unrest in the city since it has been interpreted that local politicians and law enforcement could not. I later researched that they are protecting the federal courthouse in Portland, or at least that is the official statement as to why they are there. I confess that currently I am not very clear on what the truth is in regards to who they are and what they are doing.
So here is what is disturbing me. For many years I have heard from people around me about State's Rights and federal government overreach. I even heard about individual rights. Those same people are very silent about this and other things going on right now. The local and state government have not requested federal police to help resolve issues with the protest and or riots going on there. Individuals, who may or may not have even been involved in the protest, have been arrested. They say they were detained by people who they weren't even sure were the police, put into unmarked vehicles and taken to a holding area. When they asked to call a lawyer, they got released without ever knowing the reason why they were detained in the first place.
Most disturbing about this is an incident in which a protester was apparently holding up a boombox and one of these officers shot him in the head with a non-lethal round. Now in my training years ago, attacks to the head with weapons was considered Lethal Force, so even though it was non-lethal rounds I question why such force is being used against targets that were at most actively resisting. A person holding up a boombox is not threatening anyone. If any of my law enforcement readers can explain this better please do! I could be wrong on my assessment.
I am for obeying the law. I am also for allowing free speech and peaceful protest. I am not for vandalism, destruction, anarchy, or disrespecting law enforcement. The local authorities may know better about what is going on in their cities than I do, but some behaviors, such as those mentioned above, should not be allowed. There is a limit to protesting and when people are destroying property or attacking people, you have gone beyond that limit. At the same time this is not a police state where we shoot people in the head with rubber bullets, or as was done a few weeks ago, push old people down because we got to be tough and send a message. I thought we were a democracy that advocates for limited federal government, so we don't send in federal officers to usurp local authority and potentially violate people's civil rights in the guise of protecting federal property.
The potential narratives of local government intentionally not responding to individuals trying to incite anarchy and federal authorities using CBP to score political points and ignore civil and state's rights are both very disturbing to me. Why are we at this point where right and wrong don't matter as much as right and left. How is it that people won't do the right thing because of how it will reflect on a political agenda. When you say you believe in something but then won't apply it equally, only apply it to others and not yourselves, you really don't believe. If the government's reach needs to be small, if state's rights need to be preserved, then it must be so equally, not just when it suits or benefits you and yours. You also can't preach tolerance and free speech, and then be intolerant and try to censor any ideas that you decide you don't like.
I pray that good people out there will have the courage to stand up and be heard. Have the courage to value the lives and rights of people that they may not like or agree with. Question things and don't just fall into the narratives that the few people who control media, government, and money want to trap you in, or the dystopian future we fear may become a real thing!
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