Okay, this piece of news was bad. We wouldn’t *ever* condone something like this. You don’t go after people with a gun or a vehicle. You just don’t. You don’t threaten people (looking at you, Trump). That gets you jailed (except Trump) and doesn’t mean no one got hurt. Someone did. It’s always someone innocent. Just look at all the J6 rioters who are now back in jail after being pardoned. From The Washington Post [possibly subscription required] via Raw Story:
The Washington Post reports Trump-style divisiveness is infiltrating the nation in its smallest communities. Palmyra police chief Paul Blount reports a “growing sense of unease” in his tiny town of 1,719 tucked between Milwaukee and Madison. “Given the climate and recent media headlines, we are taking the following precautionary measures for this weekend’s event,” Blount had warned members of the Palmyra board in the days before homecoming weekend. He’d even taken to using neighboring county drones to scan the rooftops for threats. “My team and I are proactively preparing for the worst-case scenarios while continuing to hope for the best.”
Homecoming weekend. He was taking all these precautions for HOMECOMING WEEKEND. What in the hell is this world coming to? Yes, it’s under Trump. Likely, it didn’t require all this preparation last year. But jeez! That certainly isn’t something one used to consider. Homecoming weekend. That’s going to stick in our heads. It’s so hard to believe. And there are other things, and it gets worse.
The Post reports Palmyra has two bars, one grocery store, and two gas stations, but its police chief was “catching” reaction from his application to use town resources to train new ICE agents. “ICE had approved his application, and then came a statement from the ACLU, the TV news crews and emails to Paul saying he’d ‘sold his soul for money,’ and now, so much of what he saw unfolding across the country felt like it was creeping into life in the village he was supposed to keep safe,” the Post reports. “Well, I got my first death threat,” Blount said.
Death threat. Good god almighty. This was because he was going to do something that actually was going to help the town, not himself. Someone didn’t like the idea. They *really* didn’t like the idea. There are a number of actions that could have been taken, but the man chose to make a threat, and not just any kind of threat. Violence. Life-ending violence. There really isn’t any way for us to understand what he felt then.
Eventually, as news of opposition grew and public sentiment soured, the small-town board abandoned the idea of conducting ICE training, despite needing the federal revenue it would bring. “We deeply value the feedback we have received from our community,” a statement from the board and the police department would read. “… We believe that at this time, the best course forward for Palmyra is to take no further action on the proposed agreement.” Today, the Post reports Blount is back on his job. But he is catching police codes on his scanner that used to only make an appearance in bigger cities.
Yes, indeed, disturbing and different and uncalled for. When a small town begins feeling like a big one, it may never return to what it was. Violence came to a great city about half an hour from the town where I grew up. It never got that back, now that it’s touched by violence. There are locked doors in the neighborhood now. There didn’t used to be. This story really hit home. I hope many of you won’t have had something similar happen. My family understands. What has Trump done to all of us?
Friends, I know everyone begs you for money. I promise, among all those asking for spare change, we are the smallest and the hardest working. We’re a group of old, disabled people, except for one writer in his mid-50s. The rest of us are in our sixties and seventies, and this is a labor of love. All we’re asking for is the chance to keep telling the truth about Trump and help ensure democracy survives. If you can help, please do. Thank you. Ursula
I’m struggling to see what’s going on. At first, it looks like they’re overreacting to something.
Then we find out the police chief wants to help train gestapo.
From where I sit, their homecoming security looks like an overreaction to the Nazi-loving CoP getting threats.
ETTD….that’s it!