Something to Think About . . .

Humanity's weakest souls will always cling to the words, “I was just following orders.” They cower behind those words, making a virtue of their own weakness, lionising brutality over nobility.

– Fred Bowens
via Facebook
July 24, 2020

Image: Nathan Howard / Getty Images.

Related Off-site Links:
Trump’s Paramilitary Units Trained at the Border for the Assaults on Portland Moms – Linus Chan and Carrie L. Rosenbaum (Slate, July 22, 2020).
From the Administration That Brought You Kids-in-Cages, It’s Tear-Gassed-Moms – Tim Dickinson (Rolling Stone, July 22, 2020).
Moms, Tear Gas, and Flash Bangs – Just Another Night in Portland – Justin Grinnell (PSU Vanguard, July 21, 2020).
In Pictures: “Wall of Moms” Joins Portland's Anti-racism Protests – BBC News (July 22, 2020).
In Portland’s So-Called War Zone, It’s the Troops Who Provide the Menace – Nicholas Kristof (The New York Times, July 25, 2020).
Paramilitary-Style Tactics in Portland Mirror Decades of U.S. Violence on the Border and Abroad – Democracy Now! (July 23, 2020).
MSNBC Analyst: Trump Sending Feds To Portland As “Trial Run” to “Steal” Election – Jake Thomas (The Intellectualist, July 23, 2020).
Do Americans Get That Trump Is Instituting Martial Law? – Umair Haque (Medium, July 23, 2020).
Trump Is Using Federal Agents as His “Goon Squad,” Says ICE's Ex-Acting Head – Daniel Strauss (The Guardian, July 24, 2020).
“Wall of Veterans” Arrives in Portland to Protect Black Lives Matter Protesters from Trump’s DHS Troops – Colin Kalmbacher (Law and Crime, July 25, 2020).
Imperial Wars Always Come Home – Patrick Wyman (PatrickWyman.com, July 23, 2020).
American Catastrophe Through German Eyes – Roger Cohen (The New York Times, July 24, 2020).
A Photographer Says He's Traumatized By What He's Captured in Portland – Amber Jamieson and Gabriel H. Sanchez (BuzzFeed, July 21, 2020).
Videos Show How Federal Officers Escalated Violence in Portland – Ainara Tiefenthäler, Evan Hill, Drew Jordan, Malachy Browne, and David Botti (The New York Times, July 24, 2020).
Local Police Unions Are Colluding With Trump’s Secret Police Force – and Not Telling Elected City Officials – Travis Gettys (Raw Story via The New Civil Rights Movement, July 26, 2020).
The Ugly Terror of a Fascist Abyss Lurks in the Background of This Pandemic – Henry A. Giroux (TruthOut, July 25, 2020).
Understanding Trump’s Game Plan in Portland Could Be the Key to Preventing a Coup in November – George Lakey (WagingNonviolence.org, July 25, 2020).

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• “Fascism Is Upon Us”
• Trump's Playbook
• Progressive Perspectives on the Rise of Donald Trump
• Progressive Perspectives on the Election of Donald Trump
• On International Human Rights Day, Saying “No” to Donald Trump's Fascism
• Trump's America: Normalized White Supremacy and a Rising Tide of Racist Violence
• Global Condemnation for Trump's Latest Ignorant and Racist Comments
• Quotes of Note Regarding the Impeachment of President Trump
• Quotes of Note Regarding the Senate’s Impeachment Trial of President Trump
• Progressive Perspectives on Corruption in U.S. Politics
• Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor: Quote of the Day – June 9, 2020
• Marianne Williamson: Quote of the Day – June 2, 2020