What’s it like living in Minneapolis / St. Paul right now?

@regordane @noodlemaz @inthehands
The point is to draw more people into the fight! The “street stones” function the same way that “Fight Back” wall murals by street artists do. Declare this space or territory “ours!”

@inthehands @Netux sure.. i get it. And i'm not saying I'm for it.. but at what point do people break?

At a certain point, making a clever sign and going to a protest feels insanely inefficient..

@codemonkeymike @inthehands @Netux it might feel inefficient, but have a read about the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3.5%25_rule

@paul_ipv6 @inthehands honestly, I've been wondering that for a while. If there is a masked, unidentified person abducting people in broad daylight, isn't it supposedly the police's job to stop them? I mean could be anyone, without a badge we can't know for sure, after all.

(And I know, expecting the police to actually do their job instead of committing crimes themselves is a tall order, but still)

@sophieschmieg @paul_ipv6 @inthehands

polices job is to stand between homeless people and shelter, as well as starving people and food

@gbargoud @inthehands @Nerde

We have seen now from the many phone calls made to 911 that the police will not get involved. We are on our own when it comes to ICE.

What’s it like living in Minneapolis / St. Paul right now?

This weekend, ICE abducted two people straight out of a car near where I live. Just straight up stopped the car and took them.

I found out because neighbors were trying to figure out what to do with the car, which ICE just left there blocking the street.

1/

@lor @gbargoud @inthehands @Nerde@beige.party that "protect & serve" nonsense is looking pretty shaky right now...

@regordane @noodlemaz @inthehands
The point is to draw more people into the fight! The “street stones” function the same way that “Fight Back” wall murals by street artists do. Declare this space or territory “ours!”

@gbargoud @Nerde
Yes, a big question here is what •kind• of protection we’re demanding and from •whom•.

The Minneapolis Police have very low trust. They’re officially forbidden by the city from assisting ICE, but…few people imagine they’re not on ICE’s side. Some argue we should demand their protection anyway to force the issue; others don’t want to touch them with a 10 foot pole.

Gov Walz has talked about mobilizing the Minnesota National Guard to keep the peace. That’s a more credible idea — they’re a lot less fashy than the Mpls Police — but still not clear that would be welcome. One idea I’m warm to is having •unarmed• NG protecting vulnerable locations.

@Radaghaz @noodlemaz @inthehands

No. They really really don't. The street stones serve as a memorial and a reminder to those who already know, after the enemy has been defeated. At this stage they would be a complete irrelevance and would not even be noticed by those who need to be mobilised

@inthehands @gbargoud @Nerde

Trump is a wannabe mafia don.

His enforcers are hired for their thuggery, not long-term thinking.

Every democracy faces that difficult decision of recognizing when a supposedly public service funded by taxpayers, is turned into a system of support for public graft.

Police inaction in the face of violations of Constitutional rights, begs the question "What the Heck are We Paying You For?"

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jun/04/uvalde-police-training-school-shooter-response-time

@Npars01 @inthehands @gbargoud @Nerde
US police don't exist to protect you from criminals; they exist to protect wealthy people from YOU.

The car appears to be a rental. It had Amazon packages in the back seat — just received? Or (more likely) being delivered? Probably these were people just out there doing their delivery job, try to make ends meet.

But we don’t know, because nobody was able to find out who they are.

I hope they get out. I hope they get their car back. I hope a lot of things.

3/

@regordane @Radaghaz @noodlemaz

There has been talk here about putting “ICE abducted someone here” signs out around town. That would have a very different tone and a very different purpose from stones placed solemnly after the fact. I hope we can agree that all these different things have their place, and that the folks dealing with ICE right now have the capacity to choose what works in the place where they live.

@inthehands Keep hoping Paul. It’s important.

@inthehands @regordane @Radaghaz @noodlemaz

Tbh, Stolpersteine specifically shouldn't be used for this, for the reason Hilary mentioned, but I very much like the idea of putting up signs. It's much easier to ignore or downplay this when you just hear some numbers in the news or "a friend's cousin of my aunt said..." When you drive down a road on your way to the grocery store and keep seeing these on regular buildings looking just like your own, it might feel different for some.

However, I wouldn't put one specifically in front of houses with names and all but maybe on the corner of a street, as number of people who have been taken from the neighbourhood or so. As much as one would like to hope this wouldn't happen, some people out there truly have no shame and would consider this an invitation for looting, or vandalizing in case of MAGA heads.

The car appears to be a rental. It had Amazon packages in the back seat — just received? Or (more likely) being delivered? Probably these were people just out there doing their delivery job, try to make ends meet.

But we don’t know, because nobody was able to find out who they are.

I hope they get out. I hope they get their car back. I hope a lot of things.

3/

@inthehands Dunno if you saw this yet.

https://flipboard.social/@newsguyusa/115884608879121797

@inthehands - We had that here, too. People just weren't there anymore.

About 50 years later, people started remembering. After some fights with local governments, it has become typical to place brass cobblestones in front of their houses with names, birthdates, and the Concentration Camp where they were murdered or perished.
You can find them on many inner city sidewalks.

The degree to which they are hated by some is testament to how necessary they are.