It is fitting that this is a threesome, inauguration day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and the remembrance of the death of a dear friend and colleague and supporter, pastor Dan Bruch, who fought tirelessly even into his later years for social justice, against odds.
But unfortunately, this time around might more accurately and currently, MLK might stand for Mein Latest Kampf.
But back to Bruch. I first got to know him when he was named a pastor of the local Missouri Synod church, Trinity Lutheran. It came up quite prominently when I was writing the obligatory new pastor story for the local paper, for which he would later write a longtime column on ethics and more, that he had earlier been brought up for heresy charges while working at another church. He had dared to advocate for ordination of women. That at the time got you clubbed in the MSLC, and I know this firsthand, as it is the church I was born and raised into.
But after “retirement,” Bruch started the still running and long existing Purple Tree store downtown — billed as perhaps the coolest shop in town — which famously sold ethically and justly raised and rooted and sustainable and Fair Trade items.
— Hey, it felt like 34 below. Still, the bartender at Hudson Tap last night was expecting more people than the handful she had, as what else could they be doing, besides sleeping, on a night like this? Pipes might freeze, and then thaw again massively when warmer weather returns in just a couple of days, and other rare concerns were mentioned in passing. But out of the streets, sidewalks were slick with what appeared to be frost affixed to the concrete. A plastic Frosty the Snowman figure was, how to say it, even more frosty. And the window at a downtown cigar den was caked with icy frost, so hey, crank up those cigars for heat’s sake. This is not blowing smoke. —
But these days, the times they are changing. So we view a what-if, worst case scenario, if at times there is an escalation in a deportation manhunt. Firepower is brought in for capture, even if they are crooks. This is D-day for deportation of immigrants, some said to have varying levels of criminal activity. As a new prez steps in today using lockstep, and for all we know, since Trump has pledged to bring the military in, so though be it this abomination will likely not bring bombs, one does have not-too-paranoid visions of how extreme it could go in rounding-up the bad asses. With just maybe, if this eventually is allowed to go too far, an occasional tank running amok and aMusk on some back streets. (Its happened before, albeit mostly in other parts of the world.) Chasing and searching and spying for the alleged bad guys. Or other overt action using military tactics, all in the name of conducting the most severe forms of our deportation, and maybe being dangerous to innocent neighbors. If you don’t believe my vision, check out one the depictions of the late ending sequences of War Pigs by Black Sabbath, the official video. Also, the Doo Doo Doo Heartbreaker video by the Rolling Stones, about ’60s cops running amok with guns, with footage showing them going tightly to the wall, door to door and window to window, seeking out in a stealthy way those largely black anti-war protestors, and hunting and trolling.
But if it does come to tanks being used in the witch-hunt — OK even Trump would hesitate to go that far — who is going to foot the bill for the damage they could do to local streets and other property? Again, back to the Stones and Gimme Shelter, a protest about the Vietnam War, a fire rushing down my very street today, pointing out that while we sit in our often pristine houses, there are those slaving away for a better life that still has not come, who have now seen an end to their American Dream.
But back to tank tactics, and the way they could destroy infrastructure with their series of wheels — and not like the River Falls guy I profiled who ran about the north end of town with his hobby tank — I can somewhat see an emergency meeting of various City Councils to pony up significant funds to cover street damage, and not by horses or cars or people or even monster trucks, but where tanks turned blacktop into gravel. Maybe such a repair effort, if necessary in the name of justice for those living on such streets, might hypothetically even be prompted in an irony by Sarah Bruch, council member and daughter of Dan, with the torch passed, but even this measure would likely require yet another referendum to OK funds. School funding via such budget drainage might suffer, and forget putting to vote building and paying for more jails to house all those Trump wants to round up.
It should be noted that just because the military gets involved does not necessarily mean there will be tanks rumbling through parking lots here and there. But given Trump’s hardline stance shown in scores of ways, and the fact that he has been quoted across multiple sources saying he would use military assets to the fullest extent he can under the law — and it is these laws that he is re-creating — or he get away with, it paints an anything’s possible scenario for use of force, especially if his initial efforts do not pan out as he is certain they will. So he ramps it up and becomes more hardline. Trump reportedly has told troops that in response to unruly demonstrations, for example, “crack skulls,” and shoot with massive firepower. Of concern is that such directives were given in his first term to be an immediate response to looting, a crime against property and not necessarily harming people, the latter of which would seem to bring an even harsher action. Trump has said much the same as far as actions taken with even those protesting largely peacefully.
One wonders if there will be deferential treatment for those who were originally illegal immigrants who are now in high places, and maybe even cronies of Trump. Such as those now running big companies, who I get it might hide behind interlocking — that you for that insight Robert Conant — boards of directors. Or for star sports players in any of the bigger leagues or other types of entertainers, as say hey, the football playoffs, pro not as much as college, are upon us. Don’t you think there will be civil challenges, further backlogging an already clogged court system, some of them taking the form of massive protection filings, by those who have the means, protagonist or antagonist. Constitutional scholars will likely weigh in, sometimes with the courts, and some of them are beholden to Big Business and its Bureaus. The little guy gets the shaft, in part because he can’t afford an expensive lawyer.
OK, I went “off the rails” a bit there. But here are practicalities. Say you want to order that cool pizza or Mexican or other food from the people of multiple ethnicities who really know how to bake it. Come today they might have their doors shuttered, or even crow-barred shut, as the workers and maybe even the owner of the business have been sent packing. So tip these working poor well while you can. Extra towel service at your motel, or press your pants? Same concern. And maybe forget having OJ served with motel breakfast, and somebody has to pick them, and with climate change they might not be there for picking anyway.
And if there are “intensive” searches, will a landlord have to pay for a broken down window or door. Trump’s not gonna help. Oh yeah, they’re likely slum lords anyway. So just bring in the cold. But the good news is if you work for a company that specializes in barbed wire fencing, the border situation might bring you a lot more orders. But will the financial bombardment trickle down? And Musk may be given a monopoly for space machines.
And oh yeah, our already stretched military will also have a couple of wars to end — today. Yes, methinks that with this abomination, there might be a few more bombs blasting, but then gridlock. So why do we not employ those immigrants looking for work by giving them a gun? After all, it’s a question of, why do we always send the poor? Thank you for that analysis System of a Down. And maybe Musk can, from space, blow up all the bad guys. But if they are of the wrong ethnicity, there might not be “re-entry.”
Sunday in the pews
What did the majority of the diverse group of faith leaders say about all this yesterday, in services. I can see the evangelicals trying to spin their stance on the aggression and have it both ways, while assumingly Muslim, Buddhist and Hindu leaders are staying sitting on the fence with a wait and see attitude to this immediate crisis, as to my knowledge few of the countries with those as state religions have stepped up and agreed to take the inevitable flow of Mexican refugees into their arms.
It’s tricky to speculate on how God weighs in, although he seems to have a non-hawkish leaning to the whole situation. But the stance of his Only Begotten Son is made clear in multiple past statements, of “do not mistreat the foreigner.” The Holy Spirit is working on the minds of those who pontificate.
A better solution
Maybe a kinder, gentler America might get us further. Two suggestions: Work with governments of countries such as Mexico in a PR campaign to distribute, even if with leaflets and using multiple languages, information to dissuade people from trying to make the trek and come here in the first place.
Second, say if there is a charge such as a single disorderly conduct, just let immigrants stay here and don’t clog the jails and the budget, as it has been written that we will be at our debt ceiling only a day or so after Trump takes office. (At what level of crime is the tipping point for automatic deportation? Maybe put that to a vote.)
Meanwhile, many are already feeling fright about the plight of impending flight. And not just immigrants. A friend is being like a chicken and scraping up dough, making it a point to be sure that she’s buying plane tickets before Tuesday passes, as with inauguration it’s feared to bring with it much higher prices.