General Discussion

just saw this post on bluesky which articulates my feelings about this better than I could....... this is being done to get protestors and the media to back off, but no one should be naive enough to think that the brutality and terrorism of ICE is going to stop.......

The biggest risk in this moment is something sociologists call “symbolic compliance.”

That’s when an institution that is violating civil rights gives the public just enough symbolic victories that accountability efforts lose steam before there has been any meaningful change.

— Nicole Bedera (@nbedera.bsky.social) 2026-01-26T23:35:45.955Z

The problem with symbolic compliance isn’t just that they fall short of ending violence.

It’s also that people duped by the symbols will switch sides to defend the oppressor, emboldening them to become more violent and violate more civil rights than before.

— Nicole Bedera (@nbedera.bsky.social) 2026-01-26T23:37:04.834Z

So keep pushing. Anything short of ICE’s abolition isn’t nearly enough.

And I’d say that even ICE’s abolition should only be the start of ending the violence that came to feel “normal” under Trump.

— Nicole Bedera (@nbedera.bsky.social) 2026-01-26T23:38:13.286Z