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Link to the Bluesky thread with video
https://bsky.app/profile/lorennacleary.bsky.social/post/3lqhzrby4sc2o
So, they use flashbangs for... immigration enforcement ? The one "less lethal" thing that a lot of police forces actually stopped using on civilians because it was too dangerous even by their standard ?
Police forces stopped using flashbangs because they were legally restrained in many locales, due to a variety of incidents including grenading a baby's crib. I doubt they would have stopped otherwise.
Edit: US police forces
I mean, we've had a lot more issues with flashballs here in France (mostly gruesome injuries but also several deaths) because the cops can't be trusted to actually respect the safety guidelines, and the government is still ordering them by the millions every time they're about to vote an unpopular law
I honestly wonder when, if ever, we will get to the point that ICE is met with solid resistance that keeps pouring in and refuses to let them leave without shots being fired.
I wonder if we will get to the point where ICE gets met with armed resistance.
I wonder if we will get to the point where regular citizens see an ICE raid, call up their local militia, and take up arms to protect our fellow citizens from kidnapping, torture, and death.
I wonder how long, if ever, before Canada opens itself to refugees fleeing persecution in the US, and a new underground railroad is established to get POC and LGBTQ+ to the saner land up north..
This is where we are headed. Anyone who thinks otherwise needs to go back and relearn their ww2 history.
protect our fellow ~~citizens~~ humans from kidnapping, torture, and death.
Forgive the pedantic nitpicking, but we are so much more than our relationship to a state
Otherwise, excellent comment
Also an important distinction since the rhetoric from conservative talking heads recently has been that only citizens deserve habeas corpus, so the extrajudicial deportations are okay.
That would be our relationship with each other if we were self-governing
Unfortunately, I fear that that the first 3 options would lead to something similar to a Waco-ATF incident. Civilians simply cannot surmount a force that has permission to use modern military equipment against the populace. It would be far more likely that the city would be burned to the ground, and each "law enforcer" would be acquitted in a federal court.
I do believe there is a possibility that a hostile public would make things difficult for ICE, but realistically protected emigration would be the most successful solution. Even though I dont want to leave California, I may have to emigrate with the others to stay alive.
I heard someone reply to that argument once with, "ask The Taliban". I'm not sure I agree. But it did make me think.
I don't think they are active equivalents. Unlike that situation, this is home field for both sides - with key infrastructure and intelligence data held extensively by the aggressor. The populace is not motivated or unified in ways that a populace defending against a foreign invader would.
While the technological gap may be somewhat different, the ability to conceal equipment is very limited by the defenders. It is unlikely that the aggressors would "withdraw" from the area as well, since their command would not tolerate losing a key economic and strategic location for the US (California has numerous military installations and production facilities). It is far more likely that ICE/Federal forces would double down.
Granted, this is from my perspective as an engineer who is trained in analyzing problems through a systems and logistics mindset. I don't know how passion or the human psyche would play into this.
I still believe these are not apt comparisons though.
It's not like they would have to win pitched battles with the military. If one ICE agent was shot every few days somewhere, it might become hard to recruit.
I bet that ICE are inherently cowards. Racists can't take the heat, because their whole ideology is rooted in fear of the minority doing...something, anything, really.
I honestly don't think Americans have it in them to do any sort of serious resistance.
lol there’s like random people innocently milling about on the sidewalk and these fucks are throwing flashbangs like play GI Joe much guys? Some 10 year old on CoD fucked your mom? You take yourself seriously much?
ICE enforcement is the dumping ground for people who somehow manage to get kicked out of police training.
ICE is the enemy.
Make sure they don't go home at night.
You can find tools for the resistance at your nearby hardware store.
Did you know that it's totally OK to hit fascists with bricks?
Don’t forget about their infrastructure and support systems. Vehicles, for instance. It’s hard to black-bag people when your plain white van suddenly has two flat tires. They only carry a single spare, so having two flats means the vehicle is stuck until they can get a tow.
Remember last Trump administration when the police were going around and slashing tires of cars parked around protests?
Payback time.
The Fascist in Chief said it best (a sentence I didn't think I would utter):
"He who saves his country violates no Law."
It is pretty much the wild west now, isn't it?
Its worse. The “wild west”’is largely fantasy made up for the movies. They had laws, and law enforcers, and it wasn’t nearly as crazy living there as the movies make it seem.
Except one side has the most powerful military in history on their side.
How about Molotov cocktails?
Only when no civvies are in the van. In that case, throw as you please. We want to keep the innocent safe whenever possible.
...honestly, that is one of the dangers of dark windows when it comes to the trafficking vans. 😨
...Whenever a van is seen, destroy the back windows, as many times as it takes to prevent them from being replaced. Glasswork factories and installers who are good people should vet whether a van isn't destined to be used by ICE. Much as I like dark windows, they shouldn't be a thing until this conflict has been resolved in our favor.
frustrated? fucking arm yourself! they are no better than Gestapo at this point, fuck those Nazis!
Im so confused how these keep happening without someone eventually whipping out an AR and popping nazi heads. I would never condone that of course 👀
Because the gun nuts that you keep hearing about are either with them or on their side.
These are just regular folks they're rounding up
Regular folks go to work, pay their bills, pay taxes and are part of the community.
You shitting me? I've been waiting for these assholes to show up outside my bedroom window....
Free target practice!
You don't think they know that?
Family in a car: easy target Dudes at work in a kitchen/construction: easy target 12 year old cancer patients: easy target
this is who they go after....
Real gang members? Cartel men? Nah....that would be like confronting a school shooter...and that ain't happening
I've got a penis and a prescription to estrogen, give it time, they'll show up.
Fucking cheering you on from over here! Keep it up, you know the world has your back... eventually
The typical ones maybe, but life is a game of statistics. With hundreds of these happening there should eventually be some crazy dude on the "right" side.
Be the first. See where it gets you. It's a death sentence to the person with the initiative and the people standing nearby with hardly any payoff and probably an increased military/police presence in the fallout.
Grand ideas alone can't fuel a revolution.
You misunderstand, i am not talking about people being logical or strategic.
Obviously nobody that is sane will do this, but the US is full of people that are not sane. At some point there should just be someone that has some sort of mental breakdown and stops giving a fuck.
And then they get to enact Martial law. Which is what they're after anyway.
Then suddenly it's not okay to shoot anyone on your property and witb how ICE operates I see it as completely reasonable to shoot at unidentified masked men.
I see this as well. Masked men in plain clothes with no ID taking people off the street? that's a gang.
Lol you thought gun culture was about freedom!? You think gun nutters are going to put our government in check. Hell no! They will be working with ICE to execute people soon.
I become a gun nutter, on account of all this bullshit.
As a California native, it is incredibly difficult to get the kind of firearms that you see toted around in other states on social media, because of our state's gun laws.
There are alternative ways to get weapons like those, of course, but it's not very sustainable or comparable to something made by a proper gunsmith. Also getting your hands on ammunition in this state is both difficult and recorded at each transaction.
For those reasons, its unlikely to happen, as much as it pains me to say.
Of course, this changes quite a bit when people organize around this. But a lone wolf is not going to work well here.
I recommend the VR80 shotgun. It is available in California - 12 gauge, semi-auto, uses magazines, and apparently uninstalling a pin near the magazine catch can allow the magazine to be released like a non-compliant. When compliant with CA's restrictions, you can open the shotgun like a lever or split action, allowing the magazine to be removed. With a 9-rounder magazine, you can dole out quite a bit of hurt. Of course, you can go bigger if laws no longer apply.
The biggest issue with it, is that you need to shoot about 250ish rounds for the gun to loosen up - early on, it tends to have jamming. It should sing once you got in some practice. This shotgun is ambidextrous and patterned after an AR15, so you can attach assorted things to it, and readjust bits of it to suit yourself. I personally find the stock to be unergonomic, but again...if laws no longer apply, you can fix that.
Note, however, this shotgun requires a specialist technician for major repairs. It is something like a decade old, so that means the know-how is fairly rare. Aside from that, it is easy to care for everyday usage, like most shotguns.
I am debating what type of ammo to use with mine as standard. I want to be able to hit drones, while still being able to melt some armored ICE by hitting limbs. Probably a 000 load, since a militia realistically wouldn't want to be too close to receive accurate fire. It will take me a couple months to figure out what is the right ammo for me.
People enjoy themselves = absolute threat to the system.
They want only suffering for those they deem unworthy, because cruelty is the point.
If you honestly can't see how a non-white, non-hetero, or trans person merely existing isn't causing good God-fearing republican direct, concentrated harm, then I don't even know what to say. How dare they try and enjoy life while within the sphere of influence of their betters?!?!?!?! //!? /&?
Next you're going to suggest the poors are actual people.
/s, in case anyone needs it.
This whole ICE situation is building up to a modern reenactment of the kristallnacht
Brown shirts.
need a couple hundred more people next time