While I think more people have heard the story of Minnesota’s continued possession of a Virginia Battle Flag that was seized by the 1st Minnesota Volunteers on July 3rd, 1863. What I think is important to also know is on July 2nd, 1863, they held a gap in the union line despite hugely outnumbered and experiencing an 82% casualty rate. This remains the highest single day casualty rate experienced by any surviving US military unit ever. The men and teenage boys of the 1st Minnesota Volunteers walked into certain death to bring Democracy to the United States. They sang “As He died to make men holy let us die to make men free” and then died gruesome, bloody deaths. That’s why we have a country and why they still have that flag.
#seen a lot of people talking about how unsustainable this is. correct. #we’ll do it anyway #every minute of delay saves lives #every day of frustration makes fascism that much harder to implement #there is no other option and there is nothing more important than this. #minnesota occupation (tags via @stopthatimp)
Reblogging with a link to the artist, Emily K., who’s based in Philly and is firmly anti-AI! You can print this piece (and some others) for free for use at protests and such!
Feminism isn’t about doing whatever feels good and fuels your specific personal interests btw sometimes you do in fact have to change how you think and behave
In case people don’t realize the full extent of what’s going on, we are under siege in Minnesota. I live in an affluent, majority white suburb of Minneapolis, and ICE is all over the place terrorizing people. They showed up at the library, kitted out in their Temu tactical gear, and stormed it.
The library. Please let that sink in.
They’ve pulled weapons on legal observers and physically attacked them. They’re threatening teenagers and children with death. One woman told a story at my, again, affluent, majority white suburban town’s city council meeting this week of being shoved from behind so hard that she fell down by an ICE agent, who then said to her, “Stop touching me.” A man, in tears and begging for our city government to do something to help our neighbors, described having a baton pulled on him. They’re luring people out of their workplaces with lies about “hitting someone’s car in the parking lot” and then abducting them. Citizens and legal residents are being detained. People are being racially profiled and snatched. A teenager (a US citizen) working at Target got dragged out and shoved in a car, then dumped a mile away in a Wal-mart parking lot, beaten up and crying. And all of this is after they murdered Renee Good.
I don’t emphasize the demographics of my particular suburb to say “but this shouldn’t be happening here, we have money!” but to illustrate that the Trump administration has declared war on a US state. Even if you stick your head in the sand because you’re white and won’t be directly targeted, ICE is running traffic lights, speeding, tearing the wrong way on one way streets, and causing nasty accidents because they think they’re above the law. They think it doesn’t matter who they hurt or kill, because they’re being told straight from the top that they can do whatever they want to whoever they want.
We are all under attack, and this is coming to a city near you if we don’t stand up to it. Please stand with Minnesota, as well as LA, Portland, Chicago, and every other place DHS has sent their COD cosplay gestapo. I don’t know what that looks like for you but please, please, don’t ignore this.
I live in Minneapolis. OP is not being dramatic. We will continue this fight, but please everything you can to stand with us because nobody in this country is safe if they get away with these crimes against humanity.
