Protests and Division in the United States
- Brian
- 4 days ago
- 12 min read
Article Type: Fact & Opinion
Disclaimer: This article contains a mixture of facts, supported by 3rd party references, and constructive opinions of the author. These are meant to be done in a thought-provoking and non-confrontational way. If you disagree, that’s okay, just be kind in your responses.
First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out–because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out–because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out–because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me–and there was no one left to speak for me. – Martin Niemoller, German Pastor from WW2.
Divisive States of America
Division in the United States, radicalism, extremism, and hatred have been growing for many years, hitting a flashpoint when Donald Trump took office for a 2nd time as the 47th President of the United States in January 2025. The country was already divided on his return to office, with both sides holding strong opinions on his stated goals, his past history, and the state of the union. At the core of his detractors is ultimately his management style being one of extreme authoritarianism fraught with behavior akin to schoolyard bullies. Mr. Trump often harshly states what he wants and uses extreme methods right out of the gate to try and accomplish his goals.
Upon entering office in an already fragile political climate, Mr. Trump proceeded to issue executive order after executive order on a wide breadth of topics from tariffs to illegal immigration. Instead of calmly going through lawful and traditional political channels, Mr. Trump immediately began harsh rhetoric attacking citizens and allies alike. He gave swift orders to begin expatriating illegal immigrants and did it with methods that, aside from questionable legalities, borderline on morally absent. Even if his core goal is pointed in the right direction, the manner in which he goes about it causes hostility, fear, and division.
Despite Mr. Trump being the most visible face and loudest voice, he is not alone in the increasing divisiveness transpiring around us all. Ordinary citizens have turned to extreme methods to get their points across. Social media is influencing opinions and actions. We seem to have entered into a time period by which we are no longer the United States of America, and instead have fast become the Divisive States of America (DSA). Intelligent conversation, reason, and calm have fallen victim to the louder voices of hate and discontent.
Illegal Immigration Flashpoint
One of the hot points today is around illegal immigration and what to do about it. There are estimates that there are 10.99 million illegal immigrants living in the United States*. Although that number is debated, it is technically an official and supposed to be trusted publication.
What I do agree with Donald Trump on is that something must be done about illegal immigration. After all, it’s called illegal immigration for a reason. The law says the way they entered and then reside within the country is, well, unlawful/illegal. Allowing illegal immigrants to stay in the country, especially while others are struggling to enter legally, is unfair and unjust. However, how can you just remove 10.99 million people from a country? That’s the challenging part that must be done with thought and care.
In theory taking action on those 10.99 million people comes down to just a few choices:
Remove all the illegal immigrants (peacefully, not by extreme force)
Give an easier path for those already in the USA to apply for legal status and a reasonable timeframe & tools to do it in
Change the law. Right now the Trump administration is on the path of #1, but going about it in a ruthless and totalitarian way.
These choices aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive, and all can be done peacefully and legally.
If we were to say we’re going to implement the first option of removing illegal immigrants, this can begin by making publishing that anyone who is arrested by police for any offense and is also an illegal immigrant will be swiftly and immediately deported to their home country at their expense without the possibility of applying for U.S. citizenship at a later date. No need for ICE raids. No need for force. It can be fairly peaceful process. Break the law & aren’t a legal citizen? You’re gone. Sounds simple. But what if that person has a family in the USA? What if their children have no other caregivers in the USA? That’s where it gets messy, especially from a purely moral and ethical view. This could be handled by having police pickup their children or dependents and deport them peacefully with their parent or caregiver. Again, sounds simple but very difficult to do in reality & ensure that families are kept together and treated with some dignity. And, handling this way wouldn’t round up 10.99 million people quickly.
Unfortunately, none of this has actually happened in peaceful or practical ways. That has led to protests and other casualties nation-wide. That’s where today’s issues are coming in.
The Murder of Alex Pretti by Government Officials
Today’s radical and divisive environment can be summed up in one recent event: the murder of Alex Pretti by ICE agents on January 24, 2026. During an ICE protest in Minneapolis, MN, Alex Pretti and countless others were on the streets holding signs, chanting, and filming agent activities. Alex was one of several citizens filming another civilian being detained by ICE agents. When the civilian was pushed to the ground & sprayed with pepper spray by ICE agents, Alex tried to help them stand up. That’s when things became deadly. ICE agents—7 of them—push Alex and eventually pin him to the ground and spray him with pepper spray. One of the agents then approaches and grabs Alex’s personal handgun, which was holstered on his hip, and runs away. Then an agent who is the closest begins firing at Alex at close range. Then as agents move way, another agent begins firing at Alex’s already lifeless body. 10 shots from multiple ICE agents into 1 person who was only trying to help another citizen stand up. That’s murder.
If you don’t agree with my statement that Alex was murdered, watch the slew of videos that were captured from multiple angles and it’s pretty clear that he was protesting but was not violent. Every single one of the ICE agents involved should be fired from their jobs and thrown in jail for life. Homeland Secretary Kristi Noem should also be fired and jailed for her misinformation to the American public, claiming that Alex Pretti was hostile, which only sows further division in the country and creates an environment where the people no longer trust what their elected officials say.
Ultimately, Alex, not unlike many others, should have just stayed far enough away from agents and not interfered or gotten close enough that it looked like interference. Alex also should not have brought a gun to a protest even though he was legally licensed to carry it. But no matter what, the officers had no right—legal, defensive, or otherwise—to commit murder.
I encourage you to do your own additional research on this topic as well. Be open minded and look at things from all angles, sand ee both sides of the picture. I’m reasonably confident that you’ll also conclude that this was cold-blooded murder.
The Murder of Renee Goode by Government Officials
Earlier in January 2026, another murder took place in Minneapolis when ICE agents fired on Renee Goode and killed her. This, just like Alex, was nothing short of murder. Renee drove up and unfortunately began yelling at officers in protest. This was taken as interference, most likely heightening the sense of danger that officers probably felt. When she began to drive off, very close to officers, is where things went awry. But no matter what, make no mistake, that nothing transpired that required the use of deadly force here. Watch the countless 1st-hand videos for yourself and make your own conclusion.
De-escalation Is Everyone's Responsibility
Everyone, from the Federal Government on down to every United States Citizen can, and must, be responsible to de-escalate the current environment. Words are powerful and actions can be equally powerful.
If you are out protesting, the number 1 thing you can do to de-escalate is to stay away from law enforcement officers (including ICE) & don't interfere no matter how wrong you think their actions are. Stand 20+ feet away at a minimum, don't interfere. You can, and should, record as much as possible on video so that if something does go awry it's captured and those responsible are punished according to the law. Interfering or getting involved only escalates an already bad situation and will lead to violent reactions from law enforcement. The worst thing that can happen is that law enforcement gets a feeling of being threatened. After all, they are human and at some point, no matter the law, human instinct will kick in and then mistakes happen.
If you are being approached by law enforcement officers, or potentially being arrested, the best thing you can do is to cooperate and then get a lawyer and fight the charges afterward. Resisting arrest will only escalate the situation. If you feel the situation is especially dangerous for you, if there is anyone else around, ask for everything to be video taped. Ask for family or friends to reach out to authorities and government leaders for assistance.
Perhaps the most important single person in de-escalation is the United States President, Donald Trump. If Mr. Trump is in fact a true "leader" then he needs to speak and act like one – in a tone and with messaging that calms people, conveys clear and verifiable facts, and is not charged with vendettas or other personal missions. So far, every word out of Donald Trump's mouth contains messages of hate, bullying, and undertones of violence. It is my opinion that, no matter what his underlying intentions are, his words are inciting violence not only in the United States, but sowing division worldwide, and he must be impeached immediately. IMPEACH TRUMP AGAIN – visit the site and help take action.
Although this is nearly impossible, I believe that all current Representative, Senators, and even Federal Supreme Court Judges need to be all impeached and replaced because inaction and complacency against evil will only lead to even worse things down the road. Complacency, Inaction, and Silence is what allowed the Holocaust and other genocides to occur.
Just Following Orders
Mr. Trump is not the only one creating division. He's at the core, being the leader of the "free world," but not the only one. Everyone surrounding him, helping him, following him, is party to the growing division, hatred, and events of today. Each of these people seems to forget the impact their actions have not only on the present, but tomorrow. Each of them, from an outsiders perspective, seem to be just following his orders—whether out of fear, belief, or otherwise is irrelevant.
The age-old phrase of “I was just following orders” is no longer—and never should have been—an excuse for breaking the law or doing immoral or unethical acts. This was ultimately the same defense many Nazi’s gave when they went on trial in the Nuremberg Trials and others. That did not absolve those officers then and it cannot and should not absolve anyone of wrongdoing today.
Recently, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said that everything she has done was at the direction of Mr. Trump and his cabinet secretary. This is effectively her saying that she was “just following orders.” Phrases like this beckon a few things, such as what fear of reprisal she may have felt if she went against Trump. That fear, however, cannot stop anyone in any position or level of citizenship from doing the right thing. Even if Trump is following the letter of the law, at some point people must stand up and say, "Is this ethical?"
The Failure of Social Media
With each event, like those described earlier in this article, comes a wave of social media posts. Social Media is simultaneously a wonderful tool and a powerful lie. These tools have become a go-to for a large percentage of people seeking to know what’s going on in the world around them.
The addition of artificial intelligence (AI) into social media is only adding to a spread of disinformation. I have personally seen countless Facebook profiles & postings generated by AI tools where the photo, the comments, the information presented, or all 3 are partially or blatantly wrong.
One such example of AI tools sowing disinformation was a post I saw about ancient Roman amphitheaters. The photo presented was wrong, and the information shown was also 50% incorrect. The core problem with this is that many people seeing and responding to the posts simply trusted it as accurate and real and never did research on it. A few people ended up responding trying to correct it and show people what was real, but unfortunately the damage was done and many others tried to say that the real information was fake. Although these are small things, imagine applying false information to a flashpoint topic, such as immigration. All of sudden mass amounts of people are getting incorrect information and spreading lies without necessarily realizing it.
Another example is a recent photo of Alex Pretti circulating almost everywhere now. The image was generated by A.I. to make him look more "appealing" instead of using his real photo. While ultimately minor, it's a good example of the quick spread of misinformation. In the photo, the one on the left is real, the one on the right is AI.
I don’t think the world is ready for widespread adoption of artificial intelligence given that it can be so easily fooled and create inaccurate responses. This is a potentially great emerging technology, but must be treated almost like a child where you can take the basis, but need to verify and then correct its output using trusted sources before posting any of it.
The Failure of Eduction to Teach Research & Trusted Sources
All of this ultimately comes back to another age-old topic of research and trusted and verifiable sources of information. When I was in school I remember being told countless times to “trust, but verify” and to utilize “trusted sources” for information. From what I’ve seen even with my own children, this appears to be either no longer taught or not a large enough part of school projects anymore for people to understand the meaning.
Trusted sources are those such as dictionaries, encyclopedias, peer-reviewed scientific articles, and similar publications. With the onset of social media, expanded use of the internet, and artificial intelligence, it seems that many people have forgotten how to properly research, verify, and cite references to ensure truthful and accurate information. Instead, opinions and fiction stories are being treated as fact on social media. Those are then being seen by artificial intelligence and used to generate so-called “factual” information presented by those AI tools. It also is not about only using or trusting even just 1 "trusted source." Things should, and really must, be verified across multiple trusted sources before truly believing it.
Requiem for Tomorrow
Any and all actions of today impact tomorrow’s world. The murder of now 2 civilians, forcefully dragging families and people from their homes or cars or places of employment using blatantly illegal methods or even immoral methods, and more is having a detrimental impact on the entire country.
We must all remember that our words, our actions, everything we do today can either lead us to a peaceful and prosperous life or send us barreling toward unrest or worse, war. It is everyone’s duty to think through, even in moments of stress, what the consequences of your next actions will be. Will your words hurt someone? Will your words start a fight? Will your actions cause harm? Quick thinking and cool heads must prevail or we are all doomed. Before we even get to those flashpoints, we all should use methods as simple as stating our opinion, backing it up with trusted facts, providing a calm legal and ethical solution, and speaking to one another as equals.
Speak Up. Speak Up Early. Speak Up Often.
Protest. Protest Peacefully & Without Interfering With Law Enforcement.
Ultimately, every government official should keep in mind: they were at one point just a regular citizen. Their family members are regular citizens. How would they want their government treating their own family members who are regular citizens? How do they want to be treated when they return to civilian life? Governments that fail to foster successful environments for its people are always defeated. The famous quote is true: “People should not be afraid of their government. The government should be afraid of its people.”
Contact Your Representatives and Senators
It's every citizen's responsibility to contact your local government, and especially your state representatives and senators if there is something that you agree or disagree with. Express your opinions, but also be sure to back them up with as many facts and references as you can find. Lastly, don't harass your representative or senators, but remember that these are elected officials and part of their job is to talk to the people that elected them. If they don't respond, politely send a follow-up request. If they still don't respond, post about it on social media with some factual context to apply pressure that they either need to be responsive or get out of office. And as a last resort: VOTE. You can vote them out on the next election cycle.
References
Examples of Trusted Sources
Examples of Base Sources (Must Be Verified First)
These are examples of sources that good for some base context, but cannot be utilized as the whole truth. Anything you read here should be cross-referenced with multiple trusted sources before believing it.
Corporate Documents
Examples of Untrusted & Untrustworthy Sources
The following sources are ones that I view as untrusted and untrustworthy sources of factual information simply due to the litany of opinions posted and the lack of references made to real trusted sources.
Facebook
Instagram
ChatGPT, Grok, Anthropic, and all other AI tools