Newsweek Discovers 'Trooper Punch,' Forgets ICE's Own Record
Newsweek reports a 'Florida Anti-ICE Protester Arrested For 'Punching Trooper In The Face'' (Newsweek, 11/12/2018). This headline, of course, centers the narrative on individual transgression, conveniently sidelining the larger context that would give a reasonable person cause to protest ICE. One might wonder how many times ICE agents have 'punched' families apart, or 'punched' due process out of
existence. One might also wonder if Newsweek finds reports of ICE-operated detention centers where individuals 'allegedly' suffered medical neglect and abuse equally headline-worthy. The collective 'punch' of family separation policy, documented by organizations like the ACLU, leading to psychological trauma in thousands of children, somehow never quite makes it into the snappy, individual-focused
headlines. It seems a state trooper's alleged discomfort is more newsworthy than the documented humanitarian crises perpetrated by the very agency being protested. What does it take for systemic violence to be reported with the same urgency as a protester's alleged, single, physical act?