Mike German, an ex-FBI agent, said immigration agents hiding their identities ‘highlights the illegitimacy of actions’

Some wear balaclavas. Some wear neck gators, sunglasses and hats. Some wear masks and casual clothes.

Across the country, armed federal immigration officers have increasingly hidden their identities while carrying out immigration raids, arresting protesters and roughing up prominent Democratic critics.

It’s a trend that has sparked alarm among civil rights and law enforcement experts alike.

Mike German, a former FBI agent, said officers’ widespread use of masks was unprecedented in US law enforcement and a sign of a rapidly eroding democracy. “Masking symbolizes the drift of law enforcement away from democratic controls,” he said.

  • limer@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    10 hours ago

    The one I’m on is anarchist , and is rather chill. There are actually many small servers that are left, but not authoritarian.

    If you like larger, I think the reputations of ml and hexbear here on world are not realistic. More of a scary bedtime story libs tell their kids. But there are a few users there who drift into what you might not like.

    • BootyBuccaneer@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      7 hours ago

      the reputations of ml and hexbear here on world are not realistic. More of a scary bedtime story libs tell their kids.

      What, because it hasn’t happened to you? Good for you. Lol

      • limer@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        7 hours ago

        I’m not a bellicose type, or a lib, and I’m not an imperialist, so I’m a decent fit with most communities there.

        It’s far easier for me to ignore most oddball stuff in those two than things that drive me crazy here.

        • BootyBuccaneer@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          7 hours ago

          And neither am I, but that didn’t stop Hexbear and lm users from misinterpreting what I was saying and getting all trigger happy and obnoxious at me.

          • limer@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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            7 hours ago

            Hexbear has thousands of users who have written 5 million comments; some are crazy.

            Personally I can deal with hexbear crazy better than I can deal with some crazy in other communities, but everyone is different

            • BootyBuccaneer@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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              7 hours ago

              Sure, but that doesn’t mean people are making things up. One thing is tolerating weirdness and another is getting caught up in it and targeted.

              • limer@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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                6 hours ago

                I think that is all too frequent throughout the entire fediverse; just the topics change.

                I have blocked entire popular communities on many servers to not get caught up in that.

                There are some topics I just have to type a few keystrokes and I manage to attract controversy. And I do not understand why. What’s the big deal? Why do people hate me? And some instances are just weird to me, but others love it and find them important. Some instances are more in touch with my own weirdness.

                I think if I have learned anything by my adventures, is not to demonize any instance used by a large group of people, but recognize there are different types of oddballs lurking there, waiting …