Masked thugs are cowards

Dear Editor,

We’ve seen it all too many times before.  Heavily armed men clad in battle gear going berserk on unarmed civilians.  We’ve seen them viciously beat people whose only weapon was their voice.  We’ve seen them body-slam elderly men and women. Thanks to the ubiquitous smartphone, now we’re seeing them kill people who had harmed no one.  What’s different today is that – with the blessing of their superiors – the thugs are wearing masks.  The street scenes of America are coming to resemble those of the world’s most notorious dictatorships.

The main reason a person wears a mask is fear.  As regards actions initiated by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE), the official rationale is that identities must be kept secret for the safety of the agents.  The Trump administration maintains that ICE agents operate in an extremely dangerous arena populated by ‘the worst of the worst.” You can add that to the endless litany of lies spewed forth by the flunkies at Homeland Security.

Every day, over 800,000 police officers across the nation go to work unmasked while facing a far greater level of danger than does any ICE agent.  A study of available statistics shows the casualty rate among state and local police officers to be 2-3 times that of ICE agents.  Even the ICE website concedes that not one agent has been killed by an immigrant during the past 20 years. Why then, are ICE agents so dangerously afraid?

Maybe it has something to do with the fact that they are hated in every city they attempt to subjugate.  Theatrical acts of humiliation and cruelty have been their calling-card. Every community they enter is worse for it. So far, ICE has shot 22 people, killing two.  At least 32 others have died while in ICE custody.  None of these people was found guilty of a violent crime.  The price-tag for the disruptions to local economies and the cost to taxpayers is staggering.  One can only guess about the impact upon the morale of police who have faithfully served the targeted cities, but it’s not likely that many were paid a $50,000 bonus just to sign up.

Among the more calculating of ICE agents, there my also reside the fear of retribution once the current regime is deposed.  Perhaps they’ve seen the black & white newsreels showing what happened to those identified as traitors in countries liberated from the Nazis.

So, if there’s fear among ICE agents, it has been well earned.  It’s what happens when you go into someone else’s home uninvited and start wrecking things.  Hiding behind a mask is the coward’s response.

Of course, there’s another reason for a person to put on a mask.  It’s when, in your heart of hearts, you’re ashamed of what you’re doing.  

Michael Brandt, Spring Green, WI