Originally published at: Remembering the Boston Massacre as Minneapolis Writhes Under Occupation - TPM – Talking Points Memo
Opposition to garrisoning soldiers in civilian towns was a cornerstone of the American Revolution as well as an essential element of the American civic tradition. The Boston Massacre was a key accelerating event in the build-up to the American Revolution. The 3rd Amendment bans the quartering of soldier in homes except under specific and limited…
There’s something that’s been nagging me that this article touches on:
The fact that we categorize them as a civilian policing force is irrelevant, a distinction that, again, didn’t even exist at the time. ICE and CBP tell their own story most clearly in their bearing and their garb. They dress quite literally like soldiers. You’d have a hard time telling them apart from the U.S. soldiers patrolling and mounting raids in Baghdad twenty years ago.
Well, yes and no. What’s struck me is that these ICE goons are wearing all sorts of stuff. They don’t look like they’re soldiers because a lot of what they’re wearing looks like it was just pulled out of their closet or picked up at Sportsmen’s Warehouse or a surplus store. In on photo I saw recently (I wish I could find it) this agent’s jeans had a hole right in the crotch showing his underwear. They’re not wearing uniforms, but they’re not exactly plainclothes either. It’s something in between. They guy who disarmed Alex Pretti before he was shot? He’s got dad-clothes on: grey parka, baseball cap, jeans, maybe hiking boots.
This may seem like a superficial issue, but I keep coming back to it. Is this intentional? Is having what looks like a gang of weekend warriors with a hodgepodge of different gear on part of the menace. I mean it all fits. The lack of discipline, poor training, lack of restraint. Is it all intentional goonishness? I think @josh_m is right on the money about us being too literal about what an army is. But I keep coming back to this. These agents do not look like someone patrolling Baghdad 20 years ago. It’s much more sloppy. Sometimes I can’t even tell in the photos who’s an agent and who’s a protester. They’re all wearing jeans and sneakers and backpacks.