Fresno Residents Object to Authoritarian Rule
As authoritarian rule is consolidated in the United States, and as the President exhibits clear signs of dementia, Americans continue to protest nationally and locally. On July 4, there were more than 300 protest events in the United States, dubbed as “Free America” and organized by the Women’s March.
Locally, more than 300 community members rallied in front of Fashion Fair Mall. It was an energetic and diverse crowd of all ages.
Nine-year-old Thiajo Evo was there with his mom. “This [rally] is great! Immigrants are a nice thing,” he said. “It’s like a big family reunion today.”
Seventy-nine-year-old Susan Mills said that “it’s important to be out here to stay sane. The more people that do what we’re doing helps wake people up. I am very hopeful.”
“We made a social contract,” notes Randy, 72, from the Fresno area, “and it is broken when Trump violates the Constitution. We need the military to step up for the people and the Constitution—not for this guy. He’s an idiot!”
Heather Pedersen is a young neuropsychologist with a private practice in Fresno. “I’m out here because of the budget bill,” she said.
“The healthcare cuts in the bill are devastating. Hospitals are going to be ruined. Our reimbursements will be ruined. People are going to die. It’s a disaster.
“I’ve already been getting notices about denying payments. People who need disability health services, stroke services, dementia services and many other vital services are going to get hurt.”
“Look what happened when they chased the strawberry pickers out of the fields,” said Steven Webb of Fresno, speaking in defense of immigrants.
“People know that if these workers are not here fruits and vegetables are not going to get picked. People are afraid to go to work; it will affect the food supply.”
ICE Out of Fresno
On the afternoon of July 4, several hundred demonstrators rallied in front of ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) headquarters in downtown Fresno.
Eduardo Medrano of Fresno was there. He said that “their movement and their agenda is the most un-American and anti-Christian movement ever. It will go down alongside McCarthyism as a very unfortunate aspect of American history.
“There has to be grassroots resistance because the Democrats are feckless; they do nothing to fulfill their oath to the Constitution.”
Ronnie Kassis, a member of the Chukchansi spirit nation, said, “We connect with our ancestors and we are already home. Our allies here with us need to know that they can speak with us, not for us.
“It’s indigenous land and we are taking it back, one day at a time. The rainbow people are here. They can’t break our spirit.”
Cleo, a young woman from Fresno, said, “Community is the way you rebuild. They don’t want us to be connected. Connection is what is going to save us. Community is all we have left.”
A man going by the name L said, “It’s a real shame that we are celebrating the Fourth of July this year considering the current state of affairs in our country and around the world.
“Whether here on the soil of America or across the seas in Palestine where people are losing their lives and homes, repressive regimes of any sort have no right to exist in modern days and they are all interwoven in a big web of fascism.
“The next generation will suffer because of the decisions being made today.”
It is clear from such comments that we are in a crisis and must act accordingly. When people are being literally kidnapped and disappeared to known and unknown concentration camps with life-threatening conditions, being undocumented can be a death sentence.
We must continue to protest and organize to save lives and prevent immense suffering. We must form a community of non-cooperation now to interfere and block the fast moving trend toward total fascism before it’s too late for us all.
America’s Concentration Camp
A general definition of a concentration camp is a place where large numbers of people, especially political prisoners or members of persecuted minorities, are deliberately imprisoned in a relatively small area with inadequate facilities, sometimes to provide forced labor or to await mass execution. Torture is often practiced in concentration camps.
Democracy Now reported on July 9 that immigrants jailed in Florida’s new concentration camp, called “Alligator Alcatraz,” say conditions of their confinement are a form of torture.
In a phone interview with CBS, immigrants described being served maggot-infested food, a lack of access to water for sanitation and the denial of medical care and religious rights. There have also been reports of flooding near electric cables.
Telemundo 51 reported that an Alligator Alcatraz detainee is raising the alarm about conditions inside. Cuban artist Leamsy Izquierdo told Telemundo 51 that he hadn’t showered in days. “There’s nothing to brush your teeth with,” he said. “They don’t even let you outside for a minute to get some fresh air.”
Izquierdo estimated that around 400 people were being detained at the facility and said they only receive food once a day. He added that some of the food they’ve been served had worms in it.
Izquierdo also said that the tents in which detainees are kept are freezing, and the detention facility keeps the lights on constantly. Surrounded by the Everglades, the mosquitoes, he said, are “the size of elephants.”
The facility is basically tents with cages in them. Officials claim that the tents will withstand Category 2 winds, however, it sits in a hurricane-prone region that easily floods. In a major hurricane of Category 3 or higher, it would be destroyed. Flooding would also increase the risk of alligator encounters.
“The overwhelming majority of those being detained right now for ICE have no criminal charges,” Anna Eskamani, a Democratic Florida state legislator, said.
“They are construction workers, they are plumbers, they are roofers. Majority Latino, majority men and in some cases they’re originally asylum seekers, TPS, maybe they missed one court appointment.”
Cruelty Is the Point
Trump supporters and many Republicans are touting the cruelty by supporting online merchants now selling merchandise that promotes “Alligator Alcatraz.” The Florida GOP’s website is promoting a shirt, a hat and a cooler featuring an image of a nondescript building in a swamp with an alligator and a snake in front of it.
Alligator Alcatraz shirts and hats are also being sold by merchants on Amazon and Etsy, featuring everything from a buff alligator with a gun to one dubbed “retro vintage,” which features a sunbathing alligator.
What brings about the direct cruelty that we see in the MAGA movement? Why are they so gleeful to throw people into cruel internment camps? The idea of a detained person being killed and devoured by pythons and crocodiles makes them joyful. What’s going on?
Dr. Russel Razzaque, a writer, media commentator and practicing psychiatrist, attempts to explain this phenomenon. “Authoritarianism is clearly a major factor in their personality. It’s literally a personality disorder.
“Factors contributing to cruelty under fascist rule are dehumanization and the ‘us vs. them’ mentality, fascism thrives on creating a myth of victim-hood for the dominant group, attributing their decline to minority groups or external enemies [and] propaganda plays a crucial role in dehumanizing these ‘out-groups,’ portraying them as a threat to the nation’s well-being or even as less than human.
“This dehumanization can lead to a reduction of moral concern towards the victim groups, making it easier to justify inhumane treatment and even violence against them. The power of propaganda and manipulation, often simplified and emotionally charged, can distort reality and create a narrative where cruelty is seen as righteous and justified.
“This can lead individuals to participate in acts they might otherwise find reprehensible, believing they are acting for the good of the nation or to punish an enemy.”
By continuing to shed light on this topic, we can turn the tide toward total fascism and expose the true motives and character of the MAGA movement and Republican Party: total control over your life in every way, total control over the government and its policing agencies, and total control to completely destroy the earth and civilization itself.
