03/27/2025
"First they came for 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."
- Martin Niemoller, German theologian and Lutheran pastor, imprisoned in Dachau concentration camp for opposing the N***s' state control of churches.
This is what happens daily within authoritarian regimes—Iran, North Korea, and our new apparent BFF, Putin's Russia.
Rumeysa Ozturk is a Fulbright scholar from Turkey, here legally, getting her doctorate at Tufts. She’s peaceful, kind, and brilliant. Her “crime”? Signing her name to a campus op-ed affirming the dignity of all people.
Last night, six masked men grabbed her on a residential street and shoved her into unmarked cars. “We’re the police,” they said. No warrant. No charges. No explanation. A neighbor’s security camera caught the scene—it looked more like a kidnapping than an arrest.
Her lawyer acted fast. A judge ordered she not be moved out of state. ICE ignored it. Today she’s locked in a private prison in Louisiana. No charges filed. No access to her legal team.
Let’s recap:
- Ozturk is a legal visa holder.
- There was no protest activity. She didn't invade a federal building or threaten to hang a government leader.
- This was a peaceful op-ed.
- She was abducted by masked agents with no communicated charges.
- She was moved from Massachusetts to Louisiana in violation of a court order.
- Rumeyesa has been denied access to lawyers.
Financially-motivated prime time pundits on State TV are already trying to justify this: “She’s not a citizen.” As if being foreign-born cancels out your humanity. That logic isn’t just cold—it’s cowardly. And history has never looked kindly on the ones who stayed quiet while the machinery of injustice picked up speed.
If this doesn’t scare you, you’re not paying attention. Because if they can do this to her, they can do it to anyone who speaks up. You. Me. Your Family. Your Friends. Anyone.
This isn’t about politics. It’s about people. And whether we still have the guts to care. This isn't American. This isn't Christian or Christlike. And, our apathy or unshakeable partisanship only fuels behavior like this rather than discouraging it.
So stay loud. Don't be intimidated by the rising tide of authoritarian tactics. Call your reps. Check on your friends.
And if I suddenly go silent on here for speaking up against the false MAGA-version of Jesus, maybe the masked men in the black SUV showed up at my doorstep, too.
