At a time when the federal government is empowering its federal agents to kidnap, disappear and kill our neighbors, and the people have been left to defend their neighborhoods, I am utterly offended by the responses of Oregon’s state, local and federal leaders: mayors, chiefs of police, state representatives and congresspeople, U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden and U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley and even Gov. Tina Kotek.
Their statements have said what the federal government is doing is absolutely abhorrent and is against the law, and that they absolutely condemn what the Department of Homeland Security is doing, but it really stops there. They may file lawsuits or say they’re “continuing to have conversations with our federal partners,” but they don’t say local police will arrest law-breaking agents or that our people will be protected.
Instead, there is a constant reminder for people to “not take the bait” when they protest, creating a false comparison between protesters and U.S. Immigration and Customs enforcement agents, (“‘Straight out of the authoritarian playbook’: Oregon leaders react to shooting by Border Patrol in Portland,” Jan. 8)…