Judge Shocks Conscience over ICE, Mainstream Media Shocks No One
The Hill reports a federal judge in Chicago ruled that ICE agents' use of force, including pepper spray and tasers against immigrants, 'shocks the conscience.' This comes from a 2019 incident where agents stormed a residence without a warrant, escalating to violence. While the judge's indignation is noted, it's worth considering what doesn't 'shock the conscience' of mainstream reporting: the
routine, taxpayer-funded 'use of force' sanctioned globally. One might wonder if the conscience-shocking threshold is higher, or perhaps just redefined, when the violence occurs thousands of miles away. The US government, after all, routinely greenlights arms sales to regimes notorious for human rights abuses—weapons that lead to civilian deaths, displacement, and systematic oppression. These
actions, often facilitated by politicians who receive substantial lobbying funds from entities advocating for such foreign policies (like AIPAC, which poured $18 million into federal elections in 2022, according to OpenSecrets.org), rarely elicit headlines about 'shocked consciences.'