Crackdowns echo eerily
Did you notice the two “police security” stories in the Sunday (02/15) paper?
One was about Iranian security men using dragnets to arrest and kill protesters. The other reported ICE agents menacing protesters at their homes in Minneapolis. Different groups of people were targeted: resident “monitors” and immigrants in Minneapolis, government protesters in Iran. But the methods and goals of both autocratic regimes are the same. “Secret” militarized police masked and without IDs are deployed against civilians. Public media are prevented from reporting arrests. Police invade private property without warrants. Victims identified by facial recognition software, massive databases of personal information and racial profiling. People detained without due process. Uncounted numbers of people “disappear.” Innocent citizens are accosted and even killed. Such police actions are intended to spread fear, confusion and resentment throughout both countries. People are afraid to confront the autocratic system’s power as the top guy orders violations of constitutional rights. In the Iranian theocracy the people have no power. In our American “democracy” the only recourse is for the people to cherish, demand and act on their right to vote in November.
Dave Benn
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