One of the men goes for her phone. The other grabs at her hands. Ozturk screams. Shock and fear ripple through her voice. Two masked women join them, tugging at her backpack, peeling the straps from her shoulders. “I’m going somewhere, I need to call someone,” she pleads. “We’re the police. Relax,” one of the men says in response.
They surround her. Then, one by one, they pull their neck gaiters up to cover their faces. “You don’t look like police,” a voice off screen says. “Why are you hiding your faces?” The questions continue, but the figures don’t respond. Instead, they cuff Ozturk, cross the street, and put her in an unmarked SUV. She is gone.
Makes me wonder if it would be a good idea to take down my “Hate has no home here” flag, that is prominently displayed in my yard.
We live in a very diverse neighborhood, and I’m happy to have this flag up. But I don’t need any billy-jackoffs coming around causing a fuss, or worse.
It is possibly all the more reason to keep it up. I don’t want to be a target either, but these people need to know when they have entered hostile territory.
Do not take it down! They are acting exactly according to plan and the next step is to have people like you be afraid to openly display your ideals. Taking down that flag would be a win for them.
I understand that it is frightening and the urge to fly under the radar is growing, but now isn’t the time to take those flags down. It’s the time to fly them high.