It Depends on Where You Stand

By Cal Thomas 

"For what you see and hear depends a good deal on where you are standing: it also depends on what sort of person you are." – C.S. Lewis, "The Magician's Nephew"

Let's start with the shooting of Renee Good, a Minneapolis woman killed by an ICE agent while attempting to drive away from the scene of an ICE operation. Moments after the first videos were available, the mayor of Minneapolis, Jacob Frey, and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz blamed ICE and called the shooting unnecessary.

The leftist activist group that Good was reportedly part of is dedicated to tracking and "resisting" immigration enforcement operations through apps and a rapid response hotline, according to the NY Post. Frey and Walz also claimed Good was trying to drive away. Frey added that the agent who shot Good "hopped" down the street. Perhaps he was limping after Good's car hit him?

Standing on the other side of the argument were Vice President JD Vance, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, current and former Border Patrol agents, and other conservative commentators on Fox News.

In Portland, Oregon, a CBP agent opened fire on a couple identified as members of the Venezuelan gangster group Tren de Aragua. A DHS statement said they had "weaponized" their car, fleeing a traffic stop.

If jumping to conclusions were an Olympic sport, these premature commentators who sought to create a narrative would receive gold medals.

The media and Democrats have driven much of this. For the media, it makes for good pictures. For Democrats and liberal groups who may provide them support money, it's a strategy they hope will bring President Trump and his administration down.

There are two ways to break the law. One is by breaking it, and the other is by ignoring it. The latter is mostly what the Biden administration did, letting in violent criminals who committed new crimes, including the murder of American citizens.

Investigations take time to sort out the truth, but in the instant communication age, many are impatient and produce their own "truth" to further personal political objectives.

DHS claims that ICE and other law enforcement agents are in more danger than at any time in recent memory. They are cursed in vile ways, bottles and bricks are thrown at them, and demonstrators demand they remove face masks so they can be identified and doxxed.

This disrespect for legitimate authority goes back at least in modern times to race riots and the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr., where riots and looting destroyed many Black neighborhoods and forced a call-out of the National Guard to maintain order.

Growing up in the Washington, D.C., area, I was taught to respect and obey police officers because they were there to keep order and apply the law. Then there was only one officer on the steps of the House and Senate. There were no metal detectors (those were for the beach to find loose coins) and no identification required.

If you seek to enter the Capitol Building today, there are stone-and-metal barricades blocking vehicles from getting close and x-ray machines to examine what's in your pocket as you enter on foot. Security cameras are everywhere.

This modern, anti-law enforcement attitude, I believe, comes from too many university professors and social media that teach a different American history and promote an America that resembles the countries from which these migrants come.

In Minneapolis, Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, we have seen ICE trying to arrest and deport people with serious charges and convictions. And now those who are to "protect and serve" are the targets of organized demonstrators, many of whom are breaking the law.

Readers may email Cal Thomas at tcaeditors@tribpub.com. Look for Cal Thomas' latest book, "A Watchman in the Night: What I've Seen Over 50 Years Reporting on America" (HumanixBooks).