Taking My Chances With Civility, Being Nice To I.C.E.

I HAVE ONLY HAD a few encounters of any kind with police officers, and for that I should perhpas praise God, or praise myself, for good behavior, or at least good enough to keep me out of jail, with the exception of that one unfortunate incident involving alcohol and poor judgment. The encounters that I have had have tended to be rather pleasant. Nowadays, and for the past few years, I have made a point of thanking each and every officer for merely doing what they do. They seem to be glad to hear it. One thing I am sure of; If I ever get stopped dead in my tracks, so to speak, either on foot or in a car, by an officer of the notorious "I.C.E." agency, I would instantly smile at the officer and treat him or her in the friendliest possible manner, and cooperate fully with the entire process,since I have a birth certificate and nothing to hide. That might not guarantee me a favorable outcome, but it would help, I should think. I remember the time I got pulled over by a nice young officer for doing forty in a thirty, and I smiled at him in my rear view mirror as he approached the car. He smiled back, and let me off with a warning. And hell, I aint even a good looking young lady...Niceness has benefits...If I were an illegal alien apprehended by ICE, I would, on the spot, on my way to the detention center, again in court if I got the chance, or while being excorted out of the country, make the point that I have spent the last few years working as a farm laborer, a vital job with a shortage of workers, have paid taxs, and broken no laws. The United States is desperate for agricultural and industrial workers. Without immigrants, we'd really be in a pickle, so to speak. If we kick all illegal immigrants out of the countyr, the American economy and perhaps teh world economy collapses,point blank. The harm to this country, in financial fraud, theft, malfeasance, and the like, is being done not by the often stigmatized working poor or illegal immigrants, but rather, by the wealthy elite top one percent, flat out, no question. An I am oh so sorry to burst your delusional right wing bubble concerning the virtue of succeeding according to the "gospel of wealth", with money as Christ's reward for spreading the faith, living the good life, and voting republican. A good friend of mine, a fellow anti-Trumper, praised me for being, as he said, more conciliatory than he. Thinking of my attacks on Trump on this website, I almost replied that if I am "conciliatory", then I'd hate to see myself if I actually become belligerent. But indeed I am conciliatory, or try to be, including with Trump and his MAGA insurrectionist mob. Why? Its the only way to be, in my book. Also, being conciliatory does not, repeat does not preclude one from or stifles or impede in any way one's capacity and opportunities for strong self expression. it merely ameliorates any anger somewhat, and gives one the high ground by maintaining civility and decency in verbal debate, a subtle form of combat. I can remind folks that Trump is a convicted felon and confirmed liar, and that his words and deeds are always suspect, factually, without any added unneeded acrimmony. Let them raise their voices. I can be civil towards them, no matter how vile their politics. I personally would feel "weird" supporting a politician who tried to overthrow the government and has been convicted of thirty four felonies and , many more, but, hell, maybe that's just me. Meanwhile, I'll take the side which doesn't have to defend a convicted criminal, and take my chances.