What’s happening in Minnesota is having a chilling effect on what is happening right here in our own backyard. 

While all the headlines and viral videos show the ICE agents pepper-spraying, beating, and even killing alleged illegal immigrants and citizen protestors, the fear has spread to Omaha and other cities across America.  

Allow me to explain.

Yesterday I ran into an acquaintance.  This man is a real estate investor that owns a couple of houses that he rents out.   As such he has a need for a handyman.  His handyman is a hard-working Hispanic man who has been in America for years and has never been in trouble with the law.  I don’t know if his handyman is here legally or not.

His handyman has a brother-in-law that owns a cleaning service along with his wife. The brother-in-law has also lived in America for years and has never been in trouble with the law as well.  

The other day after leaving a convenience store an ICE agent pulled the brother-in-law over and arrested him.   

I’ve seen the video of the arrest. The ICE agent wasn’t masked.  There was no pepper spray. The ICE agent didn’t beat him up. He just quietly arrested this poor man and took him away to who knows where. 

Here’s how what’s going on in Minneapolis is having the chilling effect here in Omaha. 

My acquaintance wanted to help this immigrant, but he was afraid to do so.  It wasn’t that he didn’t know what he could do to help. It was that he was afraid to help. He was afraid that if he were to support him or try to get him released, it could come back to hurt him in some way.  

Which goes back to what I’ve been saying all along.  What’s happening in Minnesota isn’t about arresting the worst of the worst.  It’s about putting fear into the hearts of not only immigrants or people of color, but into the hearts of all Americans.  

I know that if this man had been arrested prior to Trump’s second term, my acquaintance might not have known how he could help, but he wouldn’t have been afraid to help. He wouldn’t have been afraid to speak out.  

I understand why my acquaintance would be concerned.  He’s a small businessman with a family and a mortgage.  I don’t think he’s a bad person for being intimidated by the actions of this administration.  

But I do think he, like the rest of us, need to overcome that fear. 

Because we have a president with a lot of power that wants us all to be afraid.  

He sues corporations to get them to bow to his demands. He arrests journalists to intimidate them and their corporate bosses. He attacks universities, art institutions, and museums. He tries to get late night comedians cancelled. He threatens political opponents and allies alike.  

We cannot let this behavior and the fear of our government become the new norm.  

My acquaintance sent me the video of that man’s arrest.  He is supposed to send me other pertinent information about the man so I can reach out to some people for him. If he does, I’ll get the information to folks that might be able to help.

I won’t be afraid.

The man they arrested is not the worst of the worst, but rather a hardworking man that only wants what’s best for his family.   A man who only wants what the rest of us want. 

So much is being thrown at us it’s hard to keep up. You can become numb to all that is going on. Humans can become adaptable to their changing surroundings and forget about what life was like before masked men terrorized the streets. We can forget that it’s not acceptable for a losing candidate to confiscate ballot boxes. 

We can forget what life was like with a president that wasn’t best friends with a pedophile or praised other authoritarian leaders.

But we can’t allow ourselves to forget.  We can’t allow ourselves to shut down and ignore all the news that’s bombarding us. We can’t be afraid.

Some might think that what is happening in Minneapolis is happening to people in another state.  That it’s happening to people of a different culture. 

But it’s happening to us right here in Omaha and every other city and state as well.  

As we stand up to this encroaching tyrannical government it might serve us well to remember that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.  

Tom Becka is a long time Nebraska broadcaster who for over 30 years has been covering Omaha and Midwest issues on both radio and TV. He has been a guest on numerous national cable and news shows, filled in for nationally syndicated talk radio programs and Talkers Magazine has recognized him as one of the Top 100 talk show hosts in the country 10 times. Never afraid to ruffle some feathers, his ‘Becka’s Beat’ commentaries can be found online on Youtube and other digital platforms.