The civil war begins

By Albert DeSimone

I believe the cold civil war we have been experiencing over the last several years is turning hot. 

The predominant battlefield up to now has been social and legacy media platforms, but battles are starting to pour into the streets. 

The catalytic Fort Sumter moment was Los Angeles. Protests against immigration enforcement led to a military response from the Trump administration, a military response that included not just the National Guard but the U.S. Marines. This action was seen as a dramatic and unnecessary escalation of tensions by the White House. 

Like the American Civil War in the mid-1800s, a marginalized group is at the center of the controversy: immigrants today and slaves then. This sense of rightful indignation today, as in the past, is a strong motivator for action.  

Military actions in other cities, including Portland, Memphis, Washington, D.C., and Chicago,  are beginning to look more political than protective. It simply can’t go unnoticed that a Republican administration is focusing its militaristic actions on Democratic municipalities, which sound very much like the actions of a civil war. 

Actions that are possibly smoke-screened by the hunt for illegal/undocumented immigrants.

Albert DeSimone is a retired University of Georgia information technologist who resides in Bishop.