Over the past few days I’ve regularly heard people call the random sweeping up of protesters in Portland “Gestapo tactics,” or things like, “this is how it begins.” And while I agree that these tactics are horrible and we should be wary of the growing fascism, we don’t have to go back to World War II to see these tactics and we should realize that this began long before Trump. I am appalled by what is happening in Portland, but I have seen it before, during my year in Iraq.
As a member of the battalion’s Scout platoon and Quick Reaction Force, we regularly detained people, often in the middle of the night, often on little to no intelligence. We would break down doors, scare the living shit out of families, beat the hell out of anyone who was uncooperative. Then we would drive off with all “military aged males” (being anyone who looked over 15), not telling the families where we were taking their loved ones, not telling them when they would be returned (if ever). Often times we would take them to our own detention rooms, they would be interrogated, and often shipped off to Abu Ghraib (and we all remember what happened there). I had been to Abu Ghraib many times, often dropping off prisoners or picking them up, they never looked the same when we brought them back. In Iraq and Afghanistan, we were the Gestapo.
For nearly two decades our country cheered on our military as they fought futile wars that only benefited the military industrial complex. Meanwhile, our constant cheers and the perpetuation of these wars has continued to militarize our society, from popular culture to our police forces. As I see the police today, I again am reminded of being in Iraq, as they wear the same gear that we wore in Iraq and carry the same weapons. So, I’m not surprised when they started using our tactics. Though, I often feel like they don’t have the discipline we had; I mostly say this because we had rules of engagement, albeit constantly changing rules of engagement, but we actually understood what an escalation of force was, unlike many of the trigger-happy police who fire the minute they’re scared. But alas, we were in a warzone, and the US should not be seen as a warzone, Portland should not be seen as a warzone.
Instead, many of our leaders and the police refuse to listen to the demands of the people as we call for a demilitarized police force and a demilitarized society. As we demand accountability. And all too often it is they who break the peace and escalate the violence, for fear of change and accountability. We must continue to fight back, by any means necessary. From marching in the streets to making our voice heard in local, state, and national politics. We must demilitarize our local police forces, prosecute police crimes, and we must stop being the fascist abroad. I urge you to get active in your community, help amplify the Black voices calling for justice. Call your congressional representative and tell them to repeal the AUMF which perpetuates wars abroad, and end the 1033 Program which arms our police with military weapons.
So while I completely condemn the Gestapo tactics of our government in Portland and absolutely worry that things will get far worse especially if we have another four years of Trump, we can’t absolve ourselves for what we did to allow this to go on for so long. But we can rectify it and fight back. We must stop solely blaming Trump, and look at our complicity, as well as the elected officials in both parties, who perpetuated this militarization of society.
