Houghton resident Barry Fink also commented on her reason for attending the vigil.
"It was inspiring to see so many people turning out on a snowy day to demand justice," Keith told Keweenaw Now. "No one in Houghton knew Renee Good, but we all know someone like her: a mom in a minivan, getting her kids to school, worried about her neighbors. When someone like her isn't safe from armed half-trained cowards thinking they're above the law, no one is. Coming together as we did Saturday is the first step in doing the best thing we can do: demanding accountability from our leaders and cleaning house of those that enabled all of this."
During the vigil, Beth Flynn of Hancock Township also commented on Renee Good's innocence.
"ICE agent Jonathan Ross’s video of his encounter with his victim, Renee Good, makes clear that she meant him no harm ( she says that), but his response, 'Bitch,' makes clear that he paid no attention to her words and expressed his anger by shooting her in the face," Flynn noted. "Ross is here to protect us? He is supposed to make us feel safer? He is obviously a menace to our communities and should be indicted for his crime."
Carol Ekstrom of Houghton had a brief, but poignant, comment to add during the vigil.
"ICE under the present administration does not belong in this country. Melt it out," Carol said.
Many of the vigil participants remained to join the rally in defense of Venezuela, organized by Keweenaw Socialists, at the end of Shelden Avenue near the Portage Lift Bridge.
On Saturday afternoon, Jan. 10, Local Keweenaw residents rally together peacefully in opposition to the administration's aggression against Venezuela. (Video by John Peiffer for Keweenaw Now)Griffin, a member of Keweenaw Socialists, spoke at the rally, connecting the U.S. violence against Venezuela with the violent behavior of ICE toward innocent people.
"It's important to remember that the violence we have seen perpetrated against Venezuela by the United State military this past week and the violence we are continuing to see perpetrated by ICE against the American people are connected," Griffin commented to Keweenaw Now. "Fascism is imperialism turned inwards. The violence wielded against us here in the imperial core was crafted and honed repressing the imperial periphery. Both must be resisted and resistance to both is part of the same fight."
Joan Chadde, a local community member, also expressed her concerns about both the ICE issue and Venezuela.
"I am very concerned about what is happening," Chadde said. "Our country has attacked Venezuela without declaring war or getting congressional approval and killed more than 300 Venezuelans. The Administration has spent more than $800 million on actions against Venezuela in the past year, while cutting food assistance and healthcare funding for U.S. citizens, including treatment for those impacted by drugs. The killing of Renee Good in Minneapolis by ICE agents sent by our government is absolutely frightening! There are more than 125 people protesting today. That could've happened to one of us, if we were in Minneapolis."
Alan Salmi of Hancock also participated in both the vigil and the rally.
"When over a hundred people gather silently in a rural community, it’s a sign that awareness is growing and that concern about ICE violence and U.S. actions in Venezuela reaches far beyond big cities," Salmi noted.
Some residents traveled a good distance from Keweenaw County to Houghton to participate in the Jan. 10 vigil and rally.
Jean Ellis of Eagle Harbor asked a question and found an answer to why she joined the vigil against ICE.
"What’s the point of standing ankle deep in snow, holding a sign while your fingers freeze?" Ellis asked. "Wouldn’t it be better to just keep your opinions to yourself rather than risk offending someone who doesn’t agree with you?
"The answer to that comes loud and clear from German Pastor Martin Niemoller, regarding the Nazi rise to power:
'First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out --
Because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out --
Because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out --
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me -- and there was no one left to speak for me.'"
Ellis concludes, "Speaking out or, in the case of demonstrations, standing up is not always comfortable. But as each person stands up, another may be encouraged to do the same. When Constitutional rights are violated, people must stand up and speak out. And in the case of the demonstrations against ICE, ironically, there was the added challenge of having to do that in the cold and snow."
Keweenaw resident Michael Gage posted on Facebook his reaction to the Jan. 10 vigil and rally.
"People, Hello we need to Wake up!! This is not American!" Gage wrote. "This is not making America great, at all. We don't need dictator Trump and his little army of federal law enforcement scaring and bullying people! We the people will not stand for this and other illegal things, like stealing oil from Venezuela."
*Editor's Note:
Vigil organizer Keweenaw Indivisible (KI) organizes, mobilizes, and empowers the Copper Country to challenge corruption, defend democracy, and support those most harmed by regressive political agendas. Learn more about their work and how to join at linktr.ee/KeweenawIndivisible.
Keweenaw Socialists, organizers of the Hands Off Venezuela rally, are dedicated to promoting socialist ideas, engaging in mutual aid and disaster relief, and organizing community defense against the threats of fascism and white supremacy in the Keweenaw Peninsula community. They believe that a better world made by and for working people is both possible and necessary. To learn more about them and their positions on these recent events, visit https://keweenawsocialists.org/
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