We Aren’t Headed Toward #Authoritarianism. We’re Here
The U.S. has a long, dark history of deploying troops to attack #protestors that dates back to the 19th century. What can we learn from it to counter #Trump’s latest attacks?
Zeb Larson Jun 11, 2025
"On Saturday evening, Donald Trump announced that he was deploying 2,000 California National Guard troops to quell anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles. He did so using a rarely used law that allows the president to take control of a National Guard if there is a “a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States.” This is against the wishes of Governor Gavin Newsom, who has said that the troops will only inflame tensions. Protests continued throughout Sunday night and seem likely to escalate on Monday.
"This is a calculated attempt by the Trump administration to provoke a conflict. They hope to show cities in chaos in order to justify accelerating 'deportations.' Even though deportations remain stubbornly popular, approval over their methods is slipping, and the images of ICE agents raiding restaurants, immigration hearings, and schools undercuts the narrative about deporting criminals. #StephenMiller is reportedly angry at the 'slow' pace of arresting immigrants without due process and sending them off to brutal prison camps in foreign countries to which they have no association, like El Salvador, Libya, and South Sudan, and wants to speed them up to reach a quota of 3,000 a day. But to do that, they need to demonstrate greater urgency. They likely picked California because of the state’s size and prominence, and to undercut any attempt at states bucking or resisting immigration enforcement.
"This is an incredibly worrying step in the country’s march toward authoritarianism. The fact that the police are shooting rubber bullets at reporters is equally disturbing, as it seems clear that law enforcement will side with the federal authorities. We can’t rest complacently and assume that 'it can’t happen here.' It can and it is. And U.S. history offers plenty of past examples, with state militia and federal troops having been deployed against protesters as early as the 19th century. Back then, both were used to put down labor disputes and force striking workers back to work. Major strikes such as the #StrikeOf1877, the #GreatSouthwestStrike of 1886, and the #PullmanStrike in 1894 all ended by either federal troops’ or state militias’ force.
"At the turn of the 20th century came the massacres of African Americans. In 1917, strikes and labor disputes in East St. Louis, Illinois, erupted into one of the most violent race riots in U.S. history. African Americans fought back against white attackers, and the Illinois National Guard was called in to restore peace—but they chose in most cases to join in on the attacks or at the least, just stood back and allowed them to happen. Anywhere between 40 and 150 Black people died, and thousands more were left homeless. During the #TulsaMassacre in 1921, the Oklahoma National Guard disarmed Black citizens trying to defend themselves and marched them into detention camps, even after white rioters had commandeered planes from the local airfield and dropped bombs on their homes—an unprecedented act."
Read more:
https://www.damemagazine.com/2025/06/11/we-arent-headed-toward-authoritarianism-were-here/
#USPol #NoKings #Protest #Solidarity
#Immigrants #MassDeportation
#EndICE #StopICE #Project2025 #Trump #MAGA #ThisIsFascism
#ThisIsWhatYouVotedFor
#ElectionsHaveConsequences
#TrumpParade #SaveDemocracy
#USConstitution #DueProcess #FirstAid #JustFollowingOrders
#NationalGuard #Resistance #OathToDefendTheConstitution #FashPatel #TrumpIsANazi #StephenMillerIsANazi
OTD through 6/1/1921 Greenwood, Ok also known as Black Wall Street was burned to the ground by and mob of huite American terrorist. Never forget! #GreenwoodMassacre #TulsaMassacre
https://www.tulsahistory.org/exhibit/1921-tulsa-race-massacre/#flexible-content
This assault was met by a brave but unsuccessful armed defence of their community by some Black World War I veterans and others. 3/3 #America #Tulsa #TulsaMassacre #Racism #OnThisDay
Nine thousand African Americans were left homeless and lived in tents well into the winter of 1921.
This assault was met by a brave but unsuccessful armed defence of their community by some Black World War I veterans and others. 2/2
Y’all, Texas Paul has some words about O.W., Black Wall Street, the #TulsaMassacre and why Trumps order to AG Barbie to prosecute #DEI policies is pure racism from top to bottom. Do not believe them when they try to pit us against each other. We all have more in common with each other than any of us do to billionaires. War has been declared, by them against us. Remember who the real enemy is. #eatTheRich #classwarfare
In 1921, Tulsa’s Black Wall Street was thriving—until a white mob burned it to the ground. 300+ Black people killed. Generational wealth erased.
This is why DEI, reparations, & justice matter.
NYT Article - Gifted for 30 days.
TLDR; It was horrific, but there is no one left alive to prosecute.
Corollary:
In no way is the DOJ report on the #TulsaMassacre a complete justice for that horrible attack. But setting the record straight is an important and essential *piece* of restoring a just status.
Further steps would include:
- Posthumously naming some of the key perpetrators, especially gov officials
- Tracking down the largest caches of stolen money/goods and returning them (ala Nazi looted art)
- Reparations!
It's never too late to do the right thing!
Kudos to the #Biden DOJ for a true accounting of the #TulsaMassacre . Proof that law enforcement deputized the white mob that started the violence. Ultimately 10,000 whites participated in the violence.
Shame on the racists who cover this up for 104 years. And a crying shame we won't see any more of this belated justice any time soon.
Tulsa Massacre Was a ‘Coordinated, Military-Style Attack,’ Federal Report Says https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/11/us/tulsa-race-massacre-report.html
Tulsa Massacre Was a ‘Coordinated, Military-Style Attack,’ Federal Report Says
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/11/us/tulsa-race-massacre-report.html?unlocked_article_code=1.oU4.Nd7q.uK9WZ2oE7wcj&smid=url-share
#TulsaMassacre more than a hundred years later:
"The Friday DoJ report, however, acknowledged that the attack by white citizens on Black residents “was so systematic and coordinated that it transcended mere mob violence”."
#WhiteSupremacy #SystemicRacism
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/10/tulsa-race-massacre-report-doj
Map of Black Massacres
REALLY!? Just now identifying the first victim of the #TulsaMassacre (THAT HAPPENED IN 1921)!
Oklahoma identifies first victim in Tulsa race massacre mass grave
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jul/12/tulsa-race-massacre-graves
1921 Tulsa massacre--first victim identified as C. L. Daniel, a World War I veteran.
#1921TulsaMassacre #TulsaMassacre #Reparations
Worth checking out:
https://www.intermountainforensics.com/tulsadnaproject
Tesla shareholders approve giving Musk a $50 billion payday. Afterwards, he does a literal victory dance.
Meanwhile, the lawsuit of the last two survivors of the Tulsa Massacre is dismissed by the Oklahoma Supreme court.
Putrid corruption + decadence = The United States
The Oklahoma Supreme Court dismissed the last #TulsaMassacre survivor’s lawsuit
I’m am beyond… outraged. The truth will NOT be buried.
I agree with EVERY. SINGLE. POINT. Thomas The Villain makes in this video.
Upheaval is coming to the U. S. I may live to see it.