Theater of the Grotesque

A Play in Three Acts

He asked, “Should we do this?” The kid smiled and nodded.

I said this Angry Shmo Substack would advocate for our public land, veterans, and for women. This three act play doesn’t deal with those topics. But there is a common thread here. All three acts of this play make me sick to my stomach.

Act 1

The Secretary of Homeland Security stood in front of the jail cell in El Salvador with a $60,000 Rolex on her wrist. She bragged that sending you off to foreign prison was what you get when you come to America illegally. The deportation to that prison of the alleged Tren de Aragua gang members was done under the authority of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, a wartime law.

First, Congress hasn’t declared war. In a week where we bombed the Houthi rebels in Yemen via Signal chat, we did so (I guess) under the auspices of the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force. The last time the US Congress declared war was in 1942 against Romania during WWII. I know for sure that Congress hasn’t declared war on Venezuela, where this gang is from.

Second, whether you are a citizen or not, whether you are here legally or not, whether you have a criminal record or not, in America, you have the right to due process via the 5^th Amendment. It’s in that pesky part of the Constitution called the Bill of Rights. You know, in the Constitution that Republicans claim to love. Antonin Scalia, Supreme Court Justice, wrote in the decision for Reno v. Flores in 1993: “it is well established that the Fifth Amendment entitles aliens to due process of law in deportation proceedings.” The Republican administration admits that “many” of these Venezuelan deportees had no criminal record. The government’s logic was that they would have a record, but the only reason they didn’t is they haven’t been here very long. “If the witch drowns, they’re innocent.” Truly absurdist, Catch-22 stuff. Maybe you are a person with no criminal record. How would you feel with your head shaved in a foreign prison after being denied your day in court to prove you don’t belong to a gang?

Third, they flew these people to El Salvador in defiance of a court order. These “law and order” types sure don’t appear to give a shit about laws.

Act 2

ICE agents accosted a foreign student on a sidewalk in broad daylight in Massachusetts and took her into custody.

First, and most chilling to me as a writer, they did this because they didn’t like a piece she wrote for the Tufts University paper that criticized Israel. How much longer before something I write gets me thrown in jail?

Second, 5^th Amendment. See Act I of this play.

Third, these law enforcement officers were in plain clothes and were covering their faces. If a bunch of people came up to me and started grabbing me wearing hoodies and masking their faces without showing ID, they would’ve had to prove they could run as fast as a 57-year-old marathoner.

Fourth, a judge ordered them not to fly her out of the state. They defied that court order. She was denied the opportunity to talk to a lawyer. She is being held in an ICE facility in Louisiana. I guess they believe “law and order” for thee, but not for me. Our own federal government is telling judges to fuck off.

Act 3

The president walked into the room to sign an executive order to dismantle the Department of Education. This will particularly affect poor, rural, and disabled children. There were a bunch of small children arrayed at little desks around a central table. As he walked in, he pointed at the children to one side of the room and asked, “Should we do this?”

I saw one little boy wearing a tie. He smiled and nodded his head. I felt a wave of nausea.

The guy announced he’s going to screw the kid right to his face. The innocent child smiled and nodded.

It was grotesque.

Review of the Three Act Play

Acts 1 and 2 had a lot of similarities. Both say there’s an urgent need for deportations. Both ignore the Constitution’s 5^th Amendment. Both acts included giving the finger to the judicial branch. Act 2 had some spicy parts with law enforcement covering their faces and imprisoning a person for their speech without due process. Really entertaining.

The play closed strong. Act 3 was the pièce de résistance. Pure unadulterated revulsion. The urination on innocence. Magnificent debasement.

Kudos, fascists. Overall, this was strong work.

Calls to Action

It only took about two months for MAGA Republicans to start disappearing people like Pinochet in Chile. Using wartime laws during peacetime. Violating the Constitution. Ignoring the law. Ignoring court orders.

Let your elected representatives know what you think.

Call to Action: Let your elected representatives know you aren’t okay with the deportation of people without due process.

Call to Action: Protect Free Speech: Stop Unlawful ICE Detainment of Immigrants.