Anne Frank or Anna Francisco

 

"How much longer must we wait until your conscience bothers you before you start to change?" Dr. BLR

 

Several years ago, a colleague and I accompanied about 30 students on an overseas trip to Germany, Amsterdam, and Brussels. It was a great experience for all of us as we visited several police departments, courthouses, museums, and Prinsengracht 263 in Amsterdam. You may ask yourself who lived at that address in Amsterdam. That was the first thing I thought when the tour guide led us there and said it was where Anne Frank wrote her famous diary. If you don’t know who she is, you will need to do a Google search or read a book to find out, because this isn’t what this essay is about.

As many of you may know, the city of Minnesota has been inundated with a few thousand ICE agents, who are allegedly looking to arrest and deport undocumented immigrants. If this were the case, there would be no need for me to share my thoughts, but this is the furthest thing from the truth. 

A few weeks ago, a YouTuber, Nick Shirley, posted a video titled “I Investigated Minnesota’s Billion Dollar Fraud Scandal,” which was either seen by or reported to President Trump. As a result, the Somali community became the next group to be targeted, on top of the Hispanic community. Sadly, several members of the Hispanic community resorted to hiding family members from capture. 

This behavior is reminiscent of Anne Frank, who was hidden in her father’s business building from July 1942 to August 1944, until she was arrested by the Gestapo. She wrote her famous diaries while in seclusion. However, she was later transported to concentration camps with other family members, where they died. As sad as this was then, it may be a new reality for members of the Hispanic community.

The new version of those needing to be stowed away resembles young, primarily Hispanic, boys and girls, who are being hidden by their parents, fearing that ICE agents will break down their doors and take everyone away or even kill them, as we’ve already seen. This isn’t Germany or Amsterdam, and America shouldn’t accept this level of government ruthlessness.  

We should be asking ourselves what the fuck is going on and how much longer we will put up with this nonsense. The bigger picture needs to be examined. There will be a midterm election in November, and President Trump has already said he believes that if the Democrats win, he will be impeached and that all his plans will go by the wayside. 

Politics should never take precedence over human beings. What is happening is immoral. History will judge this administration unfavorably, and, more importantly, I hope karma doesn’t hit those who voted for President Trump too hard. I cannot imagine this is what you wanted. What y’all need to do is find those hidden children and parents and offer a sincere apology for what they’ve endured at the hands of inconsiderate ICE agents. 

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