From inherited Holocaust trauma to ICE raids and Nazi-echoing slogans, America’s warning sirens are screaming again; and this time the uniforms say “homeland security.”
I'm sitting here crying. I am not literally the child of Holocaust survivors — my great grandparents escaped the shtetl in what's now Belarus ahead of the Russian army back in 1870-something. (In 1941, the children and grandchildren of their friends who didn't leave were rounded up by the Nazis, herded into a ditch outside town and slaughtered, the same thing that happened at Babi Yar in Kiev where I once lay in the grass weeping.) But my whole life was impacted because of my classmates in grade school and high school who were the children of Holocaust survivors. It was unknown to us then because you didn't talk about it in the 1950s and 60s but I learned about it at subsequent class reunions. Toni's parents were so shut down she never knew where they were in the camps but she knew she was born in Germany. She was so damaged as a child by her family pathology that she ruined my life from 6th grade through high school. We talked decades later; she grew up and changed into a valuable person. Bonnie's parents were in Auschwitz; she was born in Poland. These were bobby sox-wearing, teased-hair, American Bandstand-watching teenagers, Beatles-loving 60s teenagers — with a dark dark past.
At the last reunion Toni told a couple of us that her father said that back in Germany in the 1930s, they didn't take Hitler's talk seriously because, he said, "We may be Jewish but we are Germans too."
Then she threatened to unfriend a classmate who, she discovered, supported Trump (luckily rare in our circle).
True, but pay special notice to your statement "as Trump’s grip on power weakens".
Trump is following the classic cycle of dictators, which includes shows of force against the people. Foreign wars. Corruption and oppression... The cycle repeats, with each cycle becoming worse... Until the people revolt. The weaker the Dictator is, the harder they oppress and steal and go 'bigger'.
Trump is a bully and bullies are cowards. Bullies are frightened of the day when their victims realize the bully was ruling with fear, not power.
ICE 'surged' in Minneapolis because Trump could no longer commandeer the national Guard, and because only with a surge with ICE, deliberately staffed with jerks and Racists, could he hope to oppress a city. Problem they ran into was of their own making. When they decided to protect the murderer of Renee Good, they activated the public. They had gone too far. The mass mobilization of the people in the city shows who has the real power.
Yes, ICE has very big guns and COULD open fire with mass murder, but the reality is, that would justify the mobilization of the National Guard, and I am certain many states would gladly loan more troops and police if asked. With mass murder as a new policy, even Republicans in Congress might have to react. So, while the big guns are scary, it is a bluff they dare not follow through on. Not in this nation. Not as Trump grows weaker. Not with our ability to communicate despite the (too often) complicity of Main Stream Media, owned by the super rich.
If only you had a magic wand to make that happen now. It will get worse before it gets better. Collapsing dictators tend to increase their mania and cruelty before collapsing
That is what I have been saying since the beginning of this term. I totally agree with you. I can pray that even our worst citizens (in ICE) and our most cowardly politicians (Republicans in congress) and most corrupt (Conservatives in SCOTUS) will find a line they can not cross. It happened for most of Trump's cabinet in his first term.
But the people are our final line of defense, and in Minneapolis at least they are doing their job. Showing us how it's done.
You support Nazis and Fascism, though as liberalism paves the way for it. Liberalism and Fascism go hand in hand.
Getting rid of Trump and voting in democrats won’t solve anything. Furthermore. If a Democrat were in office, you liberals would be supporting every atrocity here and abroad as you happily support imperialism and fascism when a Democrat is the one selling it to you. Well disciplined leftists don't support the democratic party, Reformist/Trotskyist individuals and organizations, the US military and empire, NATO, No Kings, Mamdani, Bernie, AOC, mRNA's the TQIA+, etc. The fact of the matter is that getting rid of Trump and voting in democrats won't solve the problem. That of capitalism. The US was a terrible country long before Trump, nor was the United States a democracy before him, either. This is the harsh reality of it all, which is that the United States can be considered the following: an oligarchy, a corporatocracy, an inverted totalitarianism system, a gerontocracy, a kakistocracy, a kleptocracy, and/or a techno feudalist society. But It is not a democracy, nor is it a republic. Moreover, in a 2014 Princeton Study, it showed that public opinion has a “near-zero” impact on U.S. law. Furthermore, it's important to note that the constitution isn't designed to serve the people as a whole. 📕 Book Recommendation: We the Elites: Why the US Constitution Serves the Few by Robert Ovetz. The thing is, liberalism, which you support goes hand in hand with Fascism which you claim to oppose, but you don't. You Democrat supporters are poorly informed and propagandized on many a topic. Unlike you liberals, I have factual and educational material. Moreover, because you haven't developed the skill of critical media literacy, you always seem to assume that those who are reporting factual and educational material are they themselves lying because you simply don't know any better. Only focusing on the terrible things the Republican Party is doing and ignoring what the Democrats do makes you not all that different than the Trump cult. Refer to the information I've collected on my website via my profile regarding the evils of capitalism. Start with the Dialectical Materialism page. While you're there, educate yourself on other topics as well. Oh, and stop assuming and calling everyone a Trump supporter who disagrees with and knows more than you. It's incredibly childish.
In terms of the United States. We must never salute and show respect towards the American flag. The United States was founded on genocide and built with slavery, with the United States empire responsible for countless deaths. The American flag is soaked in blood. The only time to smile when in the presence of the flag is when it's on fire or being torn to shreds. When it comes to holidays like Independence Day, Memorial Day and Veterans Day, that they are not worth celebrating as they are about brainwashing people that the United States is a great country and reinforcing that lie for those who already believe it. These holidays, I would argue, are primarily about selling and reinforcing the lie that service to the United States military industrial complex somehow made the country and that of the world a better place. After you take the time to learn about the history of the United States and its actions, you'll hopefully come to the same conclusion that I have, which is that there is NOTHING honorable about choosing to be a pawn for the military industrial complex in service to the bourgeoisie, or capitalists if you prefer. The fact of the matter is that the United States bullies and terrorizes the rest of the world as it refuses to take care of its own citizens, because of this I can't help but look at the United States' flag in disgust. The ONLY time when it was acceptable to support the troops and that of the military was during WW2. That's it. But even then, the United States didn't win the war. The Soviet Union did. The United States just swooped in at the last minute to do some minor cleanup and took all the credit. Almost immediately after the dust settled, the bourgeoisie wasted no time in stabbing the Soviet Union in the back by spreading anti-communist propaganda to get the public to fear and hate everything that gave power and any resemblance of freedom and prosperity to the proletariat. Now, if you know someone who has "served" and was injured or killed. Don't get mad at me for speaking truth to power. Direct your anger towards the United States government for sending them off to die in a pointless war, conflict, or military operation that the United States instigated. Let me be absolutely clear. Although I disagree with Veterans and military personnel, in general, for their choice to be a willing pawn for the military industrial complex who I feel are undeserving of an honor, that does not mean I hate them. Unless they were participants in war crimes and are proud of slaughtering people, whether directly or indirectly, that's a different story. People who are proud of killing others who wish they could do it over and over again, those are sick and twisted individuals. That caveat aside, I believe everyone deserves to have their needs met with a government that actually cares about the well-being of people both here and abroad. In conclusion, the underlying reason for all these wars and conflicts is that the United States needs oil to back up the petro dollar. Without the dollars influence and buying power, the United States loses most, if not all, of its hegemony and economic stranglehold over others. So, basically, the problem is that of capitalism. With that said, though, by no means does that mean other countries are innocent in their foreign affairs, but the United States is by far the worst. It's not even a contest.
■ Military Empires: A Visual Guide to Foreign Bases
The thing is that I’ve put in the time to develop my critical media literacy and in turn have escaped the peasant mindset. You on the other hand haven't. Currently. You're more comfortable with various lies you've been told and would rather believe in those then to have your understanding of the world shattered. I suggest that instead of making assumptions and whatnot that you put in the time as I have to learn about different things from trustworthy sources, as well as listen to those like myself who have done a majority of the leg work for you by essentially providing you a cheat sheet of information so that you don't have to look things up as much. (Link in profile)
My heart breaks every time I hear someone screaming as well as seeing how horrible they are being treated by ICE. It must stop. These people are not violent, they have green cards or some are waiting on their immigration dates in court. This must stop. The US was built from immigrants since the very start. With the exception of the indigenous people. Even the indigenous people are being removed to consentration camps. VOTE BLUE 🔵🇺🇸 to help save America.
How much longer and how much more will it take for the Senate, House, SCOTUS and Military to start doing their jobs!!! This evil regime and all connected to it needs to be prosecuted NOW!!
This isn't creeping in, this is marching lock step Nazi style with masked jackbooted thugs called ICE instead of SS. There is no difference and they are HERE NOW
Thank you for your sharing, Michael...the horrors are unimaginable and we need people like you to yank us back into reality...this vigilante administration all need to be rounded up, thrown in detention, and made to pay restitution (money and otherwise) to our country for all of the damage they have done and continue to do. Thank goodness we still have decent judges who can halfway do their jobs, but I'm afraid SCOTUS will continue to undermine them. We must keep up the good fight and hope to God that our "former" allies will stand up for the good people of the USA.
Thank you. I really feel for you. Being a child of holocaust survivors would have made your imprisonment and solitary confinement all the more painful!
I am also a child of holocaust survivors, though my parents fled to Shanghai where I was born in a Jewish ghetto during the Japanese occupation. They lost much of their family in Austria and a three year old child in Shanghai. I, too grew up with their trauma and have worked hard to live today with open eyes, while not pretending the trauma is there.
I recall being good friends with an older couple who had both survived Auschwitz. When I visited the husband, a brilliant man, in a retirement home he was still quite lucid and present. But all of a sudden he stared and said, "They're coming back. They're coming back."
You are a gift and your writing during this difficult time is so important. Please take care of you emotional and physical health. We need you.
I had a friend who was the only child of Auschwitz survivors. When her father died a few years ago, I learned from his but that he was one of the original Schindler Jews. Her mother used to say, "Madeline, do I survive Auschwitz so you don't clean your room? Do survive Auschwitz so you date a Catholic boy?" Her father just looked at us, oh, these American kids, what do they know... I can still see his soft look. Madeline became a therapist. Many people in the neighborhood were survivors, the shopkeepers, friend's parents. No one talked about it. Cherry Hill,NJ, 1953-1971.
If you are trying to scare me with these posts it is working. I am scared of what is happening in our country. And I am not one that scares easily after spending a career in law enforcement and the fire service.
It's amazing how Trump lies about stuff and so many believe him. Even when it come to the economy people are hurting but they will still say he's done great. Which is bs big time.
This shatters my heart and makes me 😭
I'm sitting here crying. I am not literally the child of Holocaust survivors — my great grandparents escaped the shtetl in what's now Belarus ahead of the Russian army back in 1870-something. (In 1941, the children and grandchildren of their friends who didn't leave were rounded up by the Nazis, herded into a ditch outside town and slaughtered, the same thing that happened at Babi Yar in Kiev where I once lay in the grass weeping.) But my whole life was impacted because of my classmates in grade school and high school who were the children of Holocaust survivors. It was unknown to us then because you didn't talk about it in the 1950s and 60s but I learned about it at subsequent class reunions. Toni's parents were so shut down she never knew where they were in the camps but she knew she was born in Germany. She was so damaged as a child by her family pathology that she ruined my life from 6th grade through high school. We talked decades later; she grew up and changed into a valuable person. Bonnie's parents were in Auschwitz; she was born in Poland. These were bobby sox-wearing, teased-hair, American Bandstand-watching teenagers, Beatles-loving 60s teenagers — with a dark dark past.
At the last reunion Toni told a couple of us that her father said that back in Germany in the 1930s, they didn't take Hitler's talk seriously because, he said, "We may be Jewish but we are Germans too."
Then she threatened to unfriend a classmate who, she discovered, supported Trump (luckily rare in our circle).
You support Nazis and Fascism, though as liberalism paves the way for it. Liberalism and Fascism go hand in hand.
The US is accelerating towards tyranny as Trump’s grip on power weakens he’ll resort to increasingly extreme measures.
True, but pay special notice to your statement "as Trump’s grip on power weakens".
Trump is following the classic cycle of dictators, which includes shows of force against the people. Foreign wars. Corruption and oppression... The cycle repeats, with each cycle becoming worse... Until the people revolt. The weaker the Dictator is, the harder they oppress and steal and go 'bigger'.
Trump is a bully and bullies are cowards. Bullies are frightened of the day when their victims realize the bully was ruling with fear, not power.
ICE 'surged' in Minneapolis because Trump could no longer commandeer the national Guard, and because only with a surge with ICE, deliberately staffed with jerks and Racists, could he hope to oppress a city. Problem they ran into was of their own making. When they decided to protect the murderer of Renee Good, they activated the public. They had gone too far. The mass mobilization of the people in the city shows who has the real power.
Yes, ICE has very big guns and COULD open fire with mass murder, but the reality is, that would justify the mobilization of the National Guard, and I am certain many states would gladly loan more troops and police if asked. With mass murder as a new policy, even Republicans in Congress might have to react. So, while the big guns are scary, it is a bluff they dare not follow through on. Not in this nation. Not as Trump grows weaker. Not with our ability to communicate despite the (too often) complicity of Main Stream Media, owned by the super rich.
If only you had a magic wand to make that happen now. It will get worse before it gets better. Collapsing dictators tend to increase their mania and cruelty before collapsing
That is what I have been saying since the beginning of this term. I totally agree with you. I can pray that even our worst citizens (in ICE) and our most cowardly politicians (Republicans in congress) and most corrupt (Conservatives in SCOTUS) will find a line they can not cross. It happened for most of Trump's cabinet in his first term.
But the people are our final line of defense, and in Minneapolis at least they are doing their job. Showing us how it's done.
Even run dr;7: throw d 4.pr
Your meaning is too arcane for me to decipher.
You support Nazis and Fascism, though as liberalism paves the way for it. Liberalism and Fascism go hand in hand.
Getting rid of Trump and voting in democrats won’t solve anything. Furthermore. If a Democrat were in office, you liberals would be supporting every atrocity here and abroad as you happily support imperialism and fascism when a Democrat is the one selling it to you. Well disciplined leftists don't support the democratic party, Reformist/Trotskyist individuals and organizations, the US military and empire, NATO, No Kings, Mamdani, Bernie, AOC, mRNA's the TQIA+, etc. The fact of the matter is that getting rid of Trump and voting in democrats won't solve the problem. That of capitalism. The US was a terrible country long before Trump, nor was the United States a democracy before him, either. This is the harsh reality of it all, which is that the United States can be considered the following: an oligarchy, a corporatocracy, an inverted totalitarianism system, a gerontocracy, a kakistocracy, a kleptocracy, and/or a techno feudalist society. But It is not a democracy, nor is it a republic. Moreover, in a 2014 Princeton Study, it showed that public opinion has a “near-zero” impact on U.S. law. Furthermore, it's important to note that the constitution isn't designed to serve the people as a whole. 📕 Book Recommendation: We the Elites: Why the US Constitution Serves the Few by Robert Ovetz. The thing is, liberalism, which you support goes hand in hand with Fascism which you claim to oppose, but you don't. You Democrat supporters are poorly informed and propagandized on many a topic. Unlike you liberals, I have factual and educational material. Moreover, because you haven't developed the skill of critical media literacy, you always seem to assume that those who are reporting factual and educational material are they themselves lying because you simply don't know any better. Only focusing on the terrible things the Republican Party is doing and ignoring what the Democrats do makes you not all that different than the Trump cult. Refer to the information I've collected on my website via my profile regarding the evils of capitalism. Start with the Dialectical Materialism page. While you're there, educate yourself on other topics as well. Oh, and stop assuming and calling everyone a Trump supporter who disagrees with and knows more than you. It's incredibly childish.
■ Liberalism and Fascism
https://youtu.be/6ceSi2hLQ7g
■ Critique of the Western Left
https://youtube.com/shorts/k_aCwWTGgXQ
■ Battling the Fake Left
https://www.youtube.com/live/_O8UFkoPhz8
■ A Dark Money Group Is Secretly Funding High-Profile Democratic Influencers
https://www.wired.com/story/dark-money-group-secret-funding-democrat-influencers/
■ No Kings Protests and The Democratic Party
https://youtu.be/hUa2Lr6em3Q
■ A March About Nothing
https://youtu.be/WDISVEdlLJs
■ Why The 'No Kings' Protests Didn't Matter
https://realleecamp.substack.com/p/why-the-no-kings-protests-didnt-matter?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&triedRedirect=true
■ Zohran Mamdani and Democratic Socialism
https://youtu.be/wyIxCAZ4vlY
■ The Folly of Greens and Social Democrats
https://youtu.be/BRkUl-ZaU1g
■ Marxism Vs. Liberalism
https://youtu.be/lc3_z9Vhihw
■ Marxism and the Bourgeois Left
https://classconsciousnessproject.blog/2025/11/05/marxism-leninism-is-not-part-of-the-left/
In terms of the United States. We must never salute and show respect towards the American flag. The United States was founded on genocide and built with slavery, with the United States empire responsible for countless deaths. The American flag is soaked in blood. The only time to smile when in the presence of the flag is when it's on fire or being torn to shreds. When it comes to holidays like Independence Day, Memorial Day and Veterans Day, that they are not worth celebrating as they are about brainwashing people that the United States is a great country and reinforcing that lie for those who already believe it. These holidays, I would argue, are primarily about selling and reinforcing the lie that service to the United States military industrial complex somehow made the country and that of the world a better place. After you take the time to learn about the history of the United States and its actions, you'll hopefully come to the same conclusion that I have, which is that there is NOTHING honorable about choosing to be a pawn for the military industrial complex in service to the bourgeoisie, or capitalists if you prefer. The fact of the matter is that the United States bullies and terrorizes the rest of the world as it refuses to take care of its own citizens, because of this I can't help but look at the United States' flag in disgust. The ONLY time when it was acceptable to support the troops and that of the military was during WW2. That's it. But even then, the United States didn't win the war. The Soviet Union did. The United States just swooped in at the last minute to do some minor cleanup and took all the credit. Almost immediately after the dust settled, the bourgeoisie wasted no time in stabbing the Soviet Union in the back by spreading anti-communist propaganda to get the public to fear and hate everything that gave power and any resemblance of freedom and prosperity to the proletariat. Now, if you know someone who has "served" and was injured or killed. Don't get mad at me for speaking truth to power. Direct your anger towards the United States government for sending them off to die in a pointless war, conflict, or military operation that the United States instigated. Let me be absolutely clear. Although I disagree with Veterans and military personnel, in general, for their choice to be a willing pawn for the military industrial complex who I feel are undeserving of an honor, that does not mean I hate them. Unless they were participants in war crimes and are proud of slaughtering people, whether directly or indirectly, that's a different story. People who are proud of killing others who wish they could do it over and over again, those are sick and twisted individuals. That caveat aside, I believe everyone deserves to have their needs met with a government that actually cares about the well-being of people both here and abroad. In conclusion, the underlying reason for all these wars and conflicts is that the United States needs oil to back up the petro dollar. Without the dollars influence and buying power, the United States loses most, if not all, of its hegemony and economic stranglehold over others. So, basically, the problem is that of capitalism. With that said, though, by no means does that mean other countries are innocent in their foreign affairs, but the United States is by far the worst. It's not even a contest.
■ Military Empires: A Visual Guide to Foreign Bases
https://worldbeyondwar.org/military-empires/
■ Companies associated with the military industrial complex
https://www.militaryindustrialcomplex.com/companies.php
■ The Myth of Western Civilization Exposed
https://youtu.be/OtJcXrpVZsA
■ Mapping US Imperialism https://www.globalresearch.ca/mapping-us-imperialism/5782752
■ US Spreads Misery across the globe
https://covertactionmagazine.com/2023/01/02/u-s-spreads-misery-across-the-globe-by-imposing-sanctions-on-a-third-of-humanity/
■ US sanctions kill 500k+ a year
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X%2825%2900189-5/fulltext
■ An estimation on the Death Toll of Capitalism
https://youtu.be/rIB4e8AfPcM
The thing is that I’ve put in the time to develop my critical media literacy and in turn have escaped the peasant mindset. You on the other hand haven't. Currently. You're more comfortable with various lies you've been told and would rather believe in those then to have your understanding of the world shattered. I suggest that instead of making assumptions and whatnot that you put in the time as I have to learn about different things from trustworthy sources, as well as listen to those like myself who have done a majority of the leg work for you by essentially providing you a cheat sheet of information so that you don't have to look things up as much. (Link in profile)
ICE HAS TO GO. TRUMP HAS TO BE REMOVED NOW. CONGRESS STOP FUCKING AROUND REMOVE TRUMP NOW.
AND HIS MINIONS!!!!
My heart breaks every time I hear someone screaming as well as seeing how horrible they are being treated by ICE. It must stop. These people are not violent, they have green cards or some are waiting on their immigration dates in court. This must stop. The US was built from immigrants since the very start. With the exception of the indigenous people. Even the indigenous people are being removed to consentration camps. VOTE BLUE 🔵🇺🇸 to help save America.
1942, America, Japanese born American citizens. EO 9066. We have traveled this road before
So well written. I’m with you 100%. It hasn’t arrived where I am . YET… I’m also PISSED OFF.
L’Chaim, Michael! You’re a Mitzvah to us all….❤️✡️
How much longer and how much more will it take for the Senate, House, SCOTUS and Military to start doing their jobs!!! This evil regime and all connected to it needs to be prosecuted NOW!!
Michael, well written. Succinct and to the point.
This isn't creeping in, this is marching lock step Nazi style with masked jackbooted thugs called ICE instead of SS. There is no difference and they are HERE NOW
You support Nazis and Fascism, though as liberalism paves the way for it. Liberalism and Fascism go hand in hand.
Why did so many people ignore the warnings in 2024?
Hopefully 2026 will be different!
Thank you for your sharing, Michael...the horrors are unimaginable and we need people like you to yank us back into reality...this vigilante administration all need to be rounded up, thrown in detention, and made to pay restitution (money and otherwise) to our country for all of the damage they have done and continue to do. Thank goodness we still have decent judges who can halfway do their jobs, but I'm afraid SCOTUS will continue to undermine them. We must keep up the good fight and hope to God that our "former" allies will stand up for the good people of the USA.
You support Nazis and Fascism, though as liberalism paves the way for it. Liberalism and Fascism go hand in hand.
Thank you. I really feel for you. Being a child of holocaust survivors would have made your imprisonment and solitary confinement all the more painful!
I am also a child of holocaust survivors, though my parents fled to Shanghai where I was born in a Jewish ghetto during the Japanese occupation. They lost much of their family in Austria and a three year old child in Shanghai. I, too grew up with their trauma and have worked hard to live today with open eyes, while not pretending the trauma is there.
I recall being good friends with an older couple who had both survived Auschwitz. When I visited the husband, a brilliant man, in a retirement home he was still quite lucid and present. But all of a sudden he stared and said, "They're coming back. They're coming back."
You are a gift and your writing during this difficult time is so important. Please take care of you emotional and physical health. We need you.
With love,
Padma Felice Wick
I had a friend who was the only child of Auschwitz survivors. When her father died a few years ago, I learned from his but that he was one of the original Schindler Jews. Her mother used to say, "Madeline, do I survive Auschwitz so you don't clean your room? Do survive Auschwitz so you date a Catholic boy?" Her father just looked at us, oh, these American kids, what do they know... I can still see his soft look. Madeline became a therapist. Many people in the neighborhood were survivors, the shopkeepers, friend's parents. No one talked about it. Cherry Hill,NJ, 1953-1971.
We need thousands to sign up at your local government office to get deputized by your sheriff, police chief, mayor, governor to be
badged,
unarmed officer assistants to public safety
front line of peacekeeping when violent agitators and terrorist agents are present
Doing live video recording
reporting to emergency command center
calling in police and state troopers
I am not a fan - but this is really well written and so on point. Thank you.
If you are trying to scare me with these posts it is working. I am scared of what is happening in our country. And I am not one that scares easily after spending a career in law enforcement and the fire service.
Michael, I always read your posts before I read any others. Thank you.
It's amazing how Trump lies about stuff and so many believe him. Even when it come to the economy people are hurting but they will still say he's done great. Which is bs big time.