Military and Police Comment on ICE

The indoctrination in the armed forces is getting more obvious by the day.

Over the past year I’ve reconnected with a lot of people I served with, and most of them have slid into hard‑right, MAGA, cop‑worshipping nonsense.

A disturbing number are in law enforcement now, which just doubles the threat.

For anyone who doesn’t know me: I wasn’t some background extra in the Marine Corps.

I lived at the top of the stack.

First‑class physical fitness scores, top shooting scores, every school they sent me to I finished at or near the top.

I was a non‑commissioned officer in about a year and a half, and a staff NCO for my last years, leading Marines in the infantry and teaching at infantry schools.

I was a 21‑year‑old platoon sergeant over machine gunners, mortarmen, and anti‑tank/assault Marines.

I ruled with an iron fist because I didn’t yet have the emotional tools to lead any other way.

If you disobeyed, we settled it at the lowest level of conflict, resolution, with our hands.

Right or wrong, that was the culture and I thrived in it.

I stayed in constant trouble with the UCMJ for disrespecting authority and refusing to just salute and smile, but my performance was so strong I still got meritorious promotions and selection by the board at Headquarters Marine Corps.

To Staff Sergeant E6 I was dominant in the best and worst senses of that word.

Now I watch some of those same people (snipers, grunts, “warriors”) running cover for ICE, cheering state killings, and parroting every right‑wing talking point.

One of them, who went to sniper school with me and is now a highway patrolman, still can’t cope with the fact that I graduated number one.

He’s got a whole story about some test or technicality.

I don’t remember his version or that he was even in the running, I just know that I was number one.

I’m writing this where they can all see it and fact‑check it, because they know damn well I’m not lying about who I was in that uniform.

They also know exactly how it feels to come in second to me.

Here’s what they hate most: I’m liberal as fuck.

I protect my brothers and sisters that are members of the queer community, I stand with the poor, with the marginalized, with the folks getting crushed by the same systems these guys now serve.

I despise Donald Trump and the MAGA movement.

I may be an old man now, not out throwing hands, but the dominance is still there, only now it’s aimed at protecting the people they target and dismiss.

So let it be crystal clear for anyone from my past who’s lurking on my page: I was dominant then, and I’m dominant now, not because I fell in line, but because I refuse to.

You can put on a badge, a campaign hat, or a red hat.

It doesn’t change the facts.

And for those I served with:

I know you’re watching, and I know you hate seeing this.

If I’ve said anything that isn’t true, correct me publicly.

Shame me if you want—that’s what I’d deserve if I were lying.

But you and I both know you’re going to read this, grit your teeth, and stay quiet, because that dominance you remember is still very much available.

Deuces

ICE Agents Catch Hell From U.S. Marine

Former U.S. Sniper "Deuces"

"I'm liberal as fuck."

Former combat veteran Dave says, "I'm having a hard time seeing the difference beteen ICE and ISIS"

Ray Richards

I need to say something that's been bothering me for a while, and I'm saying it as a Marine Corps veteran who leans center-right.

This isn't partisan. This is observation.

We've slow-faded into accepting militarized police as normal, and nobody seems to notice or care.

Even as a USMC pilot, I went through six months of infantry training as an officer before flight school. I've worn the gear. The helmet, the tactical vest, the whole kit. And I can tell you from experience, it changes you.

There's a psychological shift that happens when you strap that stuff on. You feel different. You carry yourself different. You start seeing the environment differently. In the Marine Corps, that shift was appropriate because it's a combat culture and organization.

But these are American streets. American citizens. And we've got law enforcement dressed like they're kicking down doors in Fallujah to serve warrants in suburbia.

What happend to high standards and real policing tactics?

Think Adam-12...Officers Reed and Malloy. Crisp uniforms. A revolver. A baton. High standards and professionalism.

They looked like public servants because they were public servants. They de-escalated. They talked to people. They were part of the community.

Now? Tactical gear, beards, ball caps, Oakley sunglasses, sleeve tattoos, and a tactical kit that would make special operators jealous. And we've turned it into a fetish. We celebrate it. We assume that because someone looks hard, they must be a professional.

They're not.

I loved the Marine Corps. But I'll be honest, I was also blinded by it for a while. Mission first. Unit over everything. And that mentality made sense in that context.

But law enforcement doesn't get that critical examination. "Back the Blue" has become a shield against accountability. A blanket assumption that a badge plus gun equals hero. That tactical gear equals competence.

It doesn't.

Most people who join law enforcement aren't special operators. They're average people who desperately want to belong to something bigger than themselves. I understand that impulse deeply, it's why I joined the Marines. But wanting to belong doesn't make you qualified. Looking the part doesn't mean you can perform under pressure. And wrapping yourself in warrior aesthetics doesn't make you a warrior.

Old school law enforcement represented something. Standards. Bearing. Discipline. Professionalism that was demonstrated, not costumed. A revolver and a baton meant you had to rely on your training, your words, your judgment, not overwhelming firepower.

What I see now in law enforcement is the costume without the culture. The gear without the training. The authority without the accountability.

Are there good people in law enforcement? Of course. I know some personally. But this reflexive "law enforcement can do no wrong" mentality is lazy, dangerous, and intellectually dishonest.

A woman is dead. And before we sort ourselves into teams and start assigning blame, maybe we should ask harder questions:

Why do we accept a militarized police force as normal?

Why do we assume tactical gear equals tactical competence?

Why have we let "Back the Blue" become a substitute for actual standards?

I wore the uniform. I went through the training. I know what that gear does to your head.

It shouldn't be normalized on American streets against American citizens.

And we shouldn't pretend everyone wearing it is qualified to carry it. The fact that he called her a “fucking bitch” after he shot her three times should be a huge red flag for all of us.

U.S. MARINE CORP VETERAN RAY RICHARDS