What's happening in MN isn't a protest, it's a resistance.

[Ocelot II]

Learn from it, because if you live in a blue state or city this mess is coming your way.

From Atlantic:

Behind the violence in Minneapolis—captured in so many chilling photographs in recent weeks—is a different reality: a meticulous urban choreography of civic protest. You could see traces of it in the identical whistles the protesters used, in their chants, in their tactics, in the way they followed ICE agents but never actually blocked them from detaining people. Thousands of Minnesotans have been trained over the past year as legal observers and have taken part in lengthy role-playing exercises where they rehearse scenes exactly like the one I witnessed. They patrol neighborhoods day and night on foot and stay connected on encrypted apps such as Signal, in networks that were first formed after the 2020 killing of George Floyd.

Again and again, I heard people say they were not protesters but protectors—of their communities, of their values, of the Constitution. Vice President Vance has decried the protests as “engineered chaos” produced by far-left activists working in tandem with local authorities. But the reality on the ground is both stranger and more interesting. The movement has grown much larger than the core of activists shown on TV newscasts, especially since the killing of Renee Good on January 7. And it lacks the sort of central direction that Vance and other administration officials seem to imagine.

At times, Minneapolis reminded me of what I saw during the Arab Spring in 2011, a series of street clashes between protesters and police that quickly swelled into a much larger struggle against autocracy. As in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, Minneapolis has seen a layered civic uprising where a vanguard of protesters has gained strength as many others who don’t share progressive convictions joined in feeling, if not always in person. I heard the same tones of outrage from parents, ministers, school teachers, and elderly residents of an affluent suburb. Some of the quarrels that divided Minneapolis city leaders only a few weeks ago, over policing or Gaza or the budget, have faded as people have come together to oppose ICE.

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/2026/01/minneapolis-uprising/685755/
https://archive.is/iq74B

I have been to one of the training sessions described in this article; it might even have been the actual one the author described, based on the date and location. We aren't playing. Please pay attention and get ready.

[Solly Mack]

1. K&R

[jmbar2]

2. Really important point on framing

Resistance, protectors, observers are scarier to the goons than protesters because they know that resistance to oppression is fundamentally patriotic.

They are on the wrong side of American core values.

[Clouds Passing]

3. Thank you O II. Important info.

Rwers I know literally believe that protesters are being paid by the vast left-wing conspiracy.

[Ocelot II]

4. I wish. It would be nice to get paid for freezing my butt while waving a sign in subzero weather.

[leftstreet]

5. DURec

[murielm99]

6. Thank you Ocelot.

We should all learn from you.

[peggysue2]

7. Minnesota is leading the way

Proving that resistance though dangerous is possible and is effective in waking the country up to the nature of this government's violent, corrupt overreach--abusive, cruel, intolerable.

The performances yesterday by Agent Orange's mouthpieces denying what Americans saw with their own eyes, the execution of another American citizen, Alex Pretti, for exercising his Constitutional rights, has exposed the Administration's players for the depraved miscreants they are. Bovino, Noem, Miller, Bessent et al lied their faces off while defending the indefensible.

Enough is enough!

to our Minnesota brothers and sisters. They're leading the way.

[yellow dahlia]

26. Minnesota is WE THE PEOPLE.

[gulliver]

8. Just what we need, "organized resistance" by "super smart, super right people."

That never caused any problems at all in history.

As usual, I have to say I like democracy. I am opposed to handing it off to self-selected "dedicated resisters on Signal." Elected leaders need to step up here. If that's forcing changes in ICE through legislation, so be it. But, I'm against the "Signal people."

After this latest "Pretti incident," our elected Democratic Party leadership should be thinking, "Whoa. Wasn't I elected by voters? I'm not on Signal. Who are these people?"

[Ocelot II]

9. Are you here? Do you know what's going on here?

Apparently not. Signal operations are only one small part of a much bigger movement.

[gulliver]

12. What's an objection to my point?

Can you share that with our fellow DUers? I think it excludes people from a reasoned discussion if we just say that something's "apparent" and we don't accept an obligation to say what it is.

I rec'ed your post because of the Nietzsche quote about art. It is also Schopenhauer's position. (No one cancel us philosophy fans please!)

[Ocelot II]

18. What's happening here is far more than monitoring ICE movements on Signal.

It's deep, organic and concerted action, most of which is invisible: Neighborhood watches, walking kids to school to keep them safe from ICE and CBP, church groups and others bringing food to families too afraid to leave home, giving rides to people who have to work but are afraid to travel on their own. All of this is done to protect our immigrant neighbors and resist the federal takeover of our community.

[gulliver]

22. Immigration reform would be a healthy thing to do.

I don't think what ICE is doing amounts to a "federal takeover." Does it look like that? Yes, to a lot of people it really does. It's a perceived threat, just as Pretti's behavior (although almost certainly not a threat) was, imo, a perceived threat. We get "stop the Nazis" and "he was 'brandishing'" garbage as a result.

I really think we need true immigration reform with a path to citizenship. Not having that is neglect, imo. But, as I've mentioned before, we've made leadership almost untenable. Everyone needs to chill.

[Ocelot II]

24. "Immigration reform" has been debated for decades and nobody's managed to fix it.

And if you were here you'd see that ICE's actions are, in fact, a federal takeover. But it's real easy to sit on the sidelines and tell us YoU'rE DoInG It wRonG. "Chilling" is not an option.

[Cirsium]

29. "Both sides" nonsense

Good grief. "A perceived threat??" And the actual murderous threat from ICE is equal to the lies from the administration about some imaginary threat posed by the victims?? Both sides "need to chill?"

"Stop the Nazis" and "he was 'brandishing" are both "garbage?"

WTF?

[electric_blue68]

30. Pretti's behavior "a perceived threat"?....

His gun was holstered. It's a open carry State, right, so is that so unusual?
And because he was helping the woman up that the ICE agents had pushed down? She was shorter, smaller than the agents. Plus ?5 of them, one of her?
She was no threat!

[WhiskeyGrinder]

10. I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not.

But, I'm against the "Signal people."

You're against neighbors feeding and protecting neighbors? Providing child care to neighbors? Shopping for and bringing vital supplies (TP, pads and tampons, diapers, formula) to people? Sitting with and being in fellowship with each other? If you're not being sarcastic, wtf is this shit right here?

[gulliver]

13. I'm not against any of those things.

I'm actually for them. It is the folks who organize (some on Signal) to subvert one-person-one-vote democracy I'm against. Vigilantism is the best term for it. I'm actually for human prosperity and am a liberal and a Democrat. I like our elected leaders running things. It's best for all. And it doesn't lose us unloseable elections.

I recognize that changes need to be made in things like ICE enforcement. I'm just calling for keeping our arguments on the table in plain transparency. I don't trust groups organizing and gatekeeping on Signal. Right or left. I'm against the Right's "Signal people" too.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

16. .

It is the folks who organize (some on Signal) to subvert one-person-one-vote democracy I'm against.

Oh I see, you've made up something to be mad about and brought it to this thread, which is not about subverting one-person-one-vote. Hope you find the thread you're looking for at some point.

I like our elected leaders running things. It's best for all.

Elected leaders are "running things" right now, and it's not working out for quite a few people.

I'm just calling for keeping our arguments on the table in plain transparency. I don't trust groups organizing and gatekeeping on Signal.

Follow your own call for plain transparency and say with your whole chest that you don't trust groups organizing or gatekeeping in general.

[gulliver]

20. I agree in general

Oh I see, you've made up something to be mad about and brought it to this thread, which is not about subverting one-person-one-vote. Hope you find the thread you're looking for at some point.

Now who's being sarcastic?! (Actually, it's not bad as rhetoric.)

Elected leaders are "running things" right now, and it's not working out for quite a few people.

This would be a good "gotcha authoritarian!" for me, but I know you don't mean to say that because democracy is not working for a lot of people we should abandon it. I happen to think that democracy is one of the best features of a system that isn't working for people for a whole lot of other reasons. We don't want to throw out democracy (and I assume you agree). That's like throwing the baby out and keeping the bathwater.

Follow your own call for plain transparency and say with your whole chest that you don't trust groups organizing or gatekeeping in general.

I don't speak from my chest. All of my trust is contingent. For example, the guy that climbed the skyscraper recently had much more trust in good "building workmanship" than I would ever have. I absolutely don't trust human groups that don't have good, solid constitution-like charters.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

28. .

but I know you don't mean to say that because democracy is not working for a lot of people we should abandon it.

You are the only person here talking about abandoning democracy.

I absolutely don't trust human groups that don't have good, solid constitution-like charters.

Family reunions? Pizza night at a friend's house? You don't trust other groups *at all*? Or you have a level of trust that tempered by your risk assessment?

[Ocelot II]

19. You don't seem to understand the reason for Signal monitoring,

which is to alert and protect our neighbors. It's not a political act and it's certainly not subverting democracy. I do not understand what you're complaining about, but I invite you to come here and help us. Maybe then you'd get it.

[haele]

25. I'm a systems engineer by training...

There's a difference between a critical system (like a democracy or a living body) operating in a compliance state environment and operating in a deviation state environment.
While I agree from a holistic sense that using the system to fix itself, there are times when a system must be placed into a sub-optimal maintenance mode to physically go in and fix it, then returned to normal (or improved) operating state.
Yes, there are risks to Democracy as we envisioned it in the past if we start operating it outside the normative way of thinking it should work. The people who have been profiting off the current blind spots are certainly operating extra-Constitutionally.
But it's really clear that significant parts were already failing with too many complacent people unwilling to address the flaw and weaknesses because they think Democracy will magically work on Autopilot - "that's the way it's always been".

There's a greater risk of losing Democracy as we need it altogether going on right now if we don't update the way we approach the damage going on.

[leftstreet]

11. You have more faith in the system than most

Not everyone will have the same response

[gulliver]

14. I see the system as really in trouble

And, as a software developer, I'm very focused on systems. This "Signal" stuff is asking to push the system into chaos.

[leftstreet]

17. What if The System itself is the virus?

If free, open source, private messaging is a threat to The System...you have to wonder

[gulliver]

23. There's no avoiding systems.

The "Signal" system we're discussing is also a system. All systems can be anti-human in their overall effect, imo. The "default system" is chaos (political anarchy), and it's worst of all. Why? Because all of the good things in life are also systemic.

[Cirsium]

27. What?

Can't believe I just read that here.

[MineralMan]

15. That's true.

However, it's unlikely that the distinction will be made by news readers and the like. The resistance does protest, as well as other actions, so it's not surprising that they're often called protestors.

When the word "Resistance" is used in such situations, people think about resistance movements like the French Resistance in WWII. That involved lethal actions on the part of the Resistance. For me, that is the difference.

[Ocelot II]

21. A better example would be the Norwegian resistance. It was highly effective

and mostly, though not always, nonviolent, because the Nazis had far superior firepower. One example is the teachers' resistance.

Norway was invaded by the Nazis on 9th of April, 1940. Within two months, the Nazis had crushed Norwegian military resistance and installed a puppet government. Norwegians responded to the occupation of their country both nonviolently and violently. Because of the unprovoked aggression that the Nazis unleashed upon them, many Norwegians felt that all forms of resistance were fully legitimate. However, most saw nonviolent resistance as the only practical option, given the massive military advantage of the occupying military forces. The protests were fueled by the presence of the Nazis and many actions of the occupation government, led by the fascist "Minister-President" Quisling, only increased the size of the resistance. For example, the creation of a compulsory fascist Youth Front led the Bishops of the State Church to resign.

The Teachers’ Defense of Education should be understood as a part of this continual resistance against fascism, which continued up through the liberation of Norway. Quisling and his Nazi backers wished to create a Corporative State, meaning a state where the entire society is geared towards fascist goals. When Quisling attempted to transform the education system for this purpose, the teachers responded with a very successful defense.

Quisling created a new Norwegian Teacher’s Union, to be led by the occupation forces, and required all teachers to join. Almost immediately, an underground group in Oslo sent out a short statement for teachers to copy and mail to the authorities stating their refusal to participate, with their name and address affixed. Between 8,000 and 10,000 of Norway’s 12,000 teachers participated.

The teachers’ action created panic in the Quisling government, and he ordered schools to be closed for a month. This decision sent the school children back home and 200,000 parents wrote letters of protest to the government. In addition, teachers continued to hold their classes in private, defying government orders.
Again, Quisling was outmaneuvered by the Norwegian resistance, and so the occupation government ordered roughly 1,000 male teachers to be arrested and jailed. Underground organizations continued to pay the salaries of the incarcerated teachers, removing financial pressure on the prisoners and striking teachers.

In April the government sent 499 teachers to a concentration camp near Kirkenes, in the arctic. When news of this action was leaked crowds of students and farmers gathered along the tracks to sing and offer food as the train passed. The teachers also formed their own choirs and gave lectures in order to maintain their sanity and pass the time. Around a month after their arrival in Kirkenes, word came in mid-May that the occupation government’s Church and Education Department had given up on creating a fascist teachers’ organization,

Eventually it became clear to Quisling that he would lose whatever legitimacy he had left in the eyes of the population and released the remaining teachers from the concentration camp. Thanks to Norwegian pride and fascist oppression, the people of Norway had solidified into a resistance movement that successfully defended the schools from incorporation into the fascist state. The people would continue to give Quisling so much difficulty that he was ultimately forced to give up on his idea of the Corporative State altogether.

[Tree Lady]

31. Well that would mean I am a bit safer in my red city

With my Prius hidden in garage….

I didn’t even know we had a ICE office here until I saw a news thing about some people protesting it. I think they have it to recruit since my area of Oregon there are almost no minorities.

I still attend the protests I find out about and so far local cops treat us fine but that could change.