ICE Storm
The day after Christmas I was supposed to go back to work. It was a Friday and according to my contract, I only get Christmas Eve and Christmas Day off during the holidays as well as New Years Eve and New Years Day. If one or both of those days falls on a weekend, then I get an additional day or two off in the week.
Normally, it isn't that big of a deal, but when the holidays fall in the middle of the week and it splits your time off up so that you have to work Monday, Tuesday, and Friday over the holidays, it is kind of lame. Thankfully, I still wasn't feeling the greatest after having been sick over Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
I decided to use a personal day (I don't get sick days, just personal days), partly because I still wasn't feeling great, and partly because we had about an eighth inch of ice dumped on us the night before. They actually closed down several of the major highways in our area due to the roads being so bad. I stepped outside to take some photos of the aftermath.
Unlike some other unfortunate people, we never lost power from the time the ice came until the time it was fully melted. That was a real blessing, though we have a generator, so it wouldn't have been the end of the world, just more inconvenient than anything else. Although I wasn't feeling 100%, I still made the short drive down the road to the store to grab some ice-melt to make our driveway and front walk a little safer.
Although it was less than a mile to the store, the roads were in bad enough shape that I was glad I didn't attempt the half hour drive into work. It likely would have taken me three times that long to get to my office.
You might gather from the title I have alternate intentions for writing this post. I was honestly on the fence about whether or not I wanted to turn these beautiful photos into a political thing, but here we are. It seems like turning everything political is pretty much the norm these days.
Honestly, I'm not looking for a debate. I just wanted to make some observations about thoughts that have been bouncing around in my head for the past week or so.
It was right before the holidays that my sister in law texted us to let us know that they were doing ICE raids at the school district where she works near Columbus, Ohio. While we weren't overly concerned about our family getting picked up (we don't fit the "profile"), it was the first instance of someone so close to us having that close of an encounter with ICE.
Lucky for us for sure. We live and work in a pretty rural area, unless they are going to come gunning for migrant workers, they are probably going to be out of luck in our neck of the woods. Plus the fact that it isn't crop season means many of the migrant workers have moved along anyway.
I think what bugs me the most about all of this is the amount of value we have placed on human life these days. Trust me, I know the drill. I called it even before the official statements came out. The car was a deadly weapon, blah blah blah.
The funny thing is, I've seen enough police shows (like Cops, not fictional dramas) to know that they call off police chases all the time out of concern for collateral damage. This definitely seems to be a case where the agent could have just let her go or used some form of less lethal force.
I have zero doubt how accurate it is when they say that people in these positions have to make split second decisions and it's easy to pick it apart after the fact. The problem is, most of those people in that position usually have proper training and hopefully years of experience to apply in those situations. A quick fact check from a non biased source shows that these agents have been rushed into the field without proper training or vetting, which basically equals a virtual powder keg of crap to hit the fan.
It was honestly just a matter of time and likely won't be the last sadly.
@mrsbozz has been saying for a while now that she feels it should be mandatory for a properly trained social worker to ride along with every L-E-O (Law Enforcement Officer). Someone who understands the fight or flight response that takes place in the amygdala and how no matter how much you try to reason with someone, they basically can't hear you until their amygdala comes out of that state.
She actually deals with it every day at school where she works. Teachers get frustrated because a student freaks out and won't listen. She tries to explain to them that in that moment the student isn't physically capable of listening (or perhaps complying), but everything is either black or white, cut or dry for them and they just can't see it.
She often gets accused of "rewarding" students for bad behavior, when really she's just getting them into the state where they can actually be talked to and understand what is being said.
I apologize though, I've kind of went off on a tangent. Like I said though. Whether it is a political coup, assassination, or a domestic murder, the lines are drawn with zero compromise and zero DMZ. I think it's ridiculous to even tie the words domestic terrorism to what happened in Minnesota, but people are buying it hook line and sinker, and the world is going to hell in a handbasket.
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STOPWe've had a pretty mild winter here so far. In fact, I expect it to turn just about any time now to something terrible, but yet...today says a high of 51 degrees which is unseasonably warm. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop :D
We just had a little warm snap that took us into the 50's and melted most of our snow, but then things dropped on the weekend and we got a couple fresh inches. We will see if it makes it to the end of the season.
Our winter hasn't been too bad at all. It has been a little cold, but not entirely intolerable with the proper clothing.
As far as the shooting, totally avoidable.
I'm glad it hasn't been too miserable for you! We still have about three months left though!
Yeah, I am afraid that we are still going to get hammered eventually. Hoping you keep that crap up there :-)
I think you probably can guess my opinion of ICE. I look at what is going on with a mixture of disgust and horror.
That was one heck of an ice storm there. Glad you could take a personal day and skip the risk of driving long distance.
Haha, yeah, it was nice. I got to spend more time with my grand niece as well, so that was more than worth it! It's scary what we are becoming.
Those ice storms really suck. I haven't been in one of those since I interviewed for a position in Kansas City, Missouri many long years ago. They even had a plane slide off the runway... Good thing you have a generator, it can be a life saver when the temperatures are really low!
I agree that social workers need to be used much more. Many of these disputes could be deescalated before they turn deadly, the problem is when you feel your life is in danger you defend yourself. When you have a firearm at the ready the result is often lethal. Can social workers fix all situations? Absolutely not, if someone is drugged up or very violent they will only endanger themselves. But police shouldn't ever be the first ones sent to domestic disputes, they aren't trained for it. Social workers should respond to those, if they feel law enforcement is needed they should make the call. Using that tactic would decrease police related killings by at least fifty percent.
It's sad we live in a world where people just can't talk things out and resort all too often to violence. I guess underneath it all we have the genetics that predispose to violence. It kept our ancestors alive, but it's a curse on our modern world.
Yeah, I was going to add a comment in there about someone being hopped up on PCP, but I forgot to throw it out there. It's just sad. I mean, I think there was a better way to deal with illegal immigrants in the first place and if that had been followed, then nothing that happened after would have either. It's this stupid "shock jock" mentality versus taking a calm and discerned approach to things. But we all know shock jock tactics get likes, so :P
Ice in general sucks!!! Ice storms are worse. Be safe
Thank you!
That sucks you don't get sick pay and I don't think ye typically get annual leave either, just 2 weeks if you're lucky. Is that true?
We get 27 days annual leave in my job and another 10 bank holidays, which is pretty good.
I'm glad the power didn't go out for ye and good shout not driving to work in that, not worth the risk.
We get national holidays and I get 27 personal days. That's it. My wife gets the summer off, but I usually have projects I am working on. Plus, I am technically an administrator, so I have to be in the building. The PTO days I don't use I get paid for at 75% of my hourly salary, so I try to use them sparingly!
Ah OK makes sense. Much better than I thought and pretty sweet to have the option to work them for some extra Spondulicks 👌
So exactly what is personal days? Is that the same as what we call annual leave? Paid days off. What happens if you're so ill you can't get out of bed? Do you still not get sick days off?
They call it PTO, so paid time off or personal time off. It's basically a catch all versus calling something a sick day specifically. When I had Covid I had to use five of my personal days to be off for the week. It ended up leaving us a little short for the summer when I was scheduling all of our camping trips.
I hope you're feeling better. From the look of that ice a personal day was a good decision. It's a shame what's happening. I feel that most of these ICE officers have way too little training and to learn the officer who shot the citizen here had just gone through a traumatic incident this past summer begs more questions about PTSD influencing his actions in this case. With more agents being deployed here today we all are praying for peace. They were going door-to-door here yesterday looking for people.
I think the aggressiveness in general is a sign that something is clearly wrong. You can still do your job, but in a nice way. That being said, I think they specifically picked people with a certain temperament for clear reasons. I haven't really dug into it because I am tired of the rhetoric, but I would love to see folks on the other side actually speak out against this instead of playing follow the leader.
Yes, I just wonder how far the envelope will need to be pushed before people fully supporting this start realizing it's going too far. I try to keep tabs on both sides of the narrative and, so far, they've been able to sufficiently demonize the immigrant population in the eyes of their political base by stressing anyone they're going after is a hardcore criminal and these criminals were specifically brought here to increase the Democratic votes. Locally, on the ground, we're witnessing something more than this. A friend of a friend who had been here for years on a valid work visa was picked up a few days ago and is being extradited and I'm hearing other stories like this as well. There's also protestors who are being injured and detained. I'm afraid when all the dust is settled this will fracture our community and there will be an even deeper divide between the two sides. If this is about getting rid of fraud and crime (which we all can agree is wrong) the heavy-handedness isn't doing any favors for the cause.
I'd say we need some instance where it is irrefutable that they acted in the wrong, no way they can claim deadly weapon or anything, but my fear is that even if that were the case people still wouldn't believe it because they have been so indoctrinated to think everything is a lie. I worry about the community @kommienezuspadt has found there in Minneapolis and whether they are being targeted as well. I'm kind of happy I don't live near a bigger city, but I have a feeling if I did, I would be tempted to protest and end up getting myself in trouble.
😦
In the midst of a storm like that, what many of us would want is to be at home, as that alone provides us with a great deal of protection and peace of mind. On the other hand, it's good that you didn't have any problems with the power, as that's one of the things that also causes the most stress in situations like this.
Yeah, it was nice to just relax at home for the most part.
I saw those ICE footage and it seems those officers don't hesitate to draw their weapons. I get they feel their life could be in danger when there's someone behind the wheel, but surely you'll know if you shot straight in the car you're going to kill someone? I dunno, they could have stopped the vehicle by shooting say the tyres?
If they were properly trained. I don't think they were though. Sadly, with it being political, the truth will likely never come out.
I mostly agree with everything you said, but I would like to point out that the officer in question is actually not one of those new recruits but a veteran ICE employee. Also, what was striking is that the video from his phone shows that the woman says to him "I am not mad at you dude" and less than thirty seconds later he is firing his first shot from what looks like a very side angle following up with a couple more into the open driver side window...
Did I get it right that it was his words after shooting her "F****** B****"?
I hadn't heard the first part, but I had heard the last part. It's pretty sad all around.
You got it right...
Thank you for speaking out. Most of us don't want to create a fuss. I like to coast and not irritate people. But, sometimes, you just have to speak out. We really do have to have a little bit of courage.
Thank you again.
Great Post, thank you very much. After the strikes here I wrote a post about the other side, what brings people in police or military to kill in these situations. There's so much more at play than people on both sides realize, so much to consider in either human. Both the officer and the woman have the fight or flight response. But the officer should be better trained to withstand it.
It's easier for people to think of the woman as either 'innocent angel' or 'domestic terrorist', and the officer as either 'heroic patriot' or 'evil murderer'. Obviously, the truth is neither.
It would be great if socially trained people could ride along. But as long is the money is spent on more and heavier equipment instead of better training, that's a long shot.
The USA has adopted "Comply or Die" as its motto.
Parere aut morere
Or something like that. I don't know of Google Translate can be trusted with the nuances of classical languages.
Domestic policy, foreign policy, it all boils down to this. And the masses cheer.Trump is doing it now. Biden did it. Obama did it. Bush did it. Clinton did it. Hell, we can go back at least to Nixon kicking off the modern "War on Drugs."