***. “Tyrants forego all respect for humanity in proportion as they sink beneath it. Taught to believe themselves of a different species, they really become so, lose their participation with their kind, and in mimicking the god dwindle into the brute.” [ William Hazlitt ]
This post is the 14th in a series from the Minnesota WAR ZONE – and. – a WARNING. – YOUR state too, could suffer a MILITARY. occupation by ICE thugs thinking they have “immunity” to do ANYTHING, including arresting and assaulting U.S. citizens – because they are ‘on a mission” to. “Make America Great Again.”
This post presents excerpts from: “Culture of community, caring makes Minneapolis strong”. { Eric Roper; Minnesota Star Tribune; 2/1/26 ]:
1] “They can’t seem to believe it. Federal officials, talking about Minneapolis all over the place, keep stressing just how UNUSUAL this resistance is. They’ve never seen anything like it.”
2]. “In one city – in one city we have this outrage and this powder keg happening,” Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said recently on Fox News. “and that’s not right. And it doesn’t happen anywhere else.”
3] “But the federal cowboys who flooded Minnesota streets actually ran headfirst into the state’s formidable civil society – a network of civically engaged people and organizations that makes this a risky place for the federal government to pick a fight. And the bold response has set an example for the rest of the country that may complicate the Trump administration stomping on some other state.”
4]. “Just listen to the protestors in Boston chanting: “We’re not cold, we’re not afraid! Minnie taught us to be brave!” Or Bruce Springsteen’s new protest song, “Streets of Minneapolis.”
***. “The most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the minds of the oppressed.” [ Steve Biko; 1971 ]
5]. “The resistance movement rooted in Minneapolis went mainstream because the Trump administration overplayed its hand, deploying the largest-ever surge of immigration agents as part of a “retribution’ campaign.”
6]. “That outsized intrusion was ostensibly payback for the massive theft of federal welfare dollars by members of a refugee community….The resulting racial profiling and excessive violence by federal agents became an urgent call for action for a community..”
7] “More importantly, they didn’t grasp that Minnesotans are unusually plugged in. They vote and volunteer more than almost every other state’s residents, a reflection of Minnesota’s participatory and collectivist Scandinavian roots. They support a robust local media ecosystem to foster community and scrutinize the government.”
8] “Loads of people grabbed whistles and joined encrypted chats to follow and document ICE activity. As far back as December, a reader emailed me in disbelief at the hundreds of people who packed into ICE observation training at a church in Uptown – training events that are common now. All these vigilant eyeballs left few shadows for ICE to operate in.”
***. “Rulers are the servants and agents of the people; the people are their masters.” [ Patrick henry; 1788 Virginia Ratifying Convention ]
9] “Behind all this conflict have been extraordinary efforts of neighborly support, such as the massive food collection drives to benefit immigrants unable to work or leave their homes. Or the large employers who chipped in to help struggling small businesses. or the people escorting kids to school to protect their parents.”
10]. “This is such a deeply moving experience to watch a community that has had such divisions find each others’ hands,” said former Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak, who grew up in the city. “It’s been the most powerful collective experience I’ve ever been a part of.”
11] “The Trump administration’s focus on Walz and Frey, who have become household names for Fox News viewers, reflects a very Trumpian philosophy about who holds the power in a democratic society. The Minnesota resistance to ICE has been a bottom-up movement driven by constituents, who have emboldened their leaders to stand their ground.”
*** “These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the services of the country but he that stands it NOW deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.”
[ Thomas Paine, 1776 ]
[ NOTE: for more stories of the bottom-up Minnesota reaction to the Trump DICTATORSHIP’s ICE thugs, read any of the following articles. More and more are being written – because the TRUE story is “soccer Moms” and suburban Dads becoming so outraged at Trump DICTATORSHIP cruelty, inhumanity, un-American behavior, they did something.
A. “With a jackboot on our necks, the North Star state rises’ [R.T. Rybak; Minnesota Star Tribune; 2/1/26]
B] “Resistance working from the bottom up”. [Evan Ramstad; Minnesota Star Tribune; 2/1/26]
C] “suburban dad inspires others to take to the streets”. [Rachel Hutton; Minnesota Star Tribune; 2/7/26]
*** “I predict future historians, political scientists and even business executives will study and model how everyday Minnesotans outsmarted and discombobulated federal agents and the vast propaganda machine supporting them.” [Even Ramstad: “Resistance working from the bottom up”; Minnesota Star Tribune; 2/1/26]
With Justice For All 