On the not-at-all spyware app TikTok, keyboard revolutionaries have attempted to craft their own coded language to bypass alleged TikTok censorship. Many users have claimed the app is censoring political videos–specifically, Trump resistance content. They argue the reach of this content on TikTok’s ‘for you page’ –a page on the app that pushes content expected to resonate with particular audiences– is being gagged. So, they have begun employing ciphered language–the sophistication of which may only be breakable via a fleet of cryptography experts and all the financial support of the Pentagon–to avoid detection. What is their rallying cry? ‘Cute Winter Boots.’
This phrase has been used in an effort to promote resistance to Immigration and Customs Enforcement as they carry out the deportations of people who have broken the law. Now, there have been a lot of users, and some news outlets that are confused about what this little movement is proposing. According to the Independent, the phrase ‘Cute Winter Boots’ has been paraded with subsequent information in videos “detailing local protests and how to stay safe at demonstrations, how to deal with ICE enforcement officers and even questioning the legitimacy of the 2024 election.”
One user posted a video with the words ‘Cute Winter Boots On Sale Now,’ which accumulated more than one million views and over fifty thousand likes. In this video, the user flashes a series of messages warning where ICE is conducting deportations. One of the messages, for example, reads, “Ice in Michigan Very Active.” The mere fact that folks have enough spare time to waste on sabotaging ICE raids is really quite jaw-dropping. But, the vision for the nation undergirding these videos is more sickening.
The United States is a sovereign nation. It has its own system of government and laws. Some of these laws outline a detailed process whereby people may migrate to our country and become United States citizens. If non-citizens enter this country without adhering to the aforementioned immigration process, they are subject to the consequences of their actions just like any other lawbreaker.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement is simply enforcing the law as it currently stands. This is not new. This is not unique to the United States. If you do not like the law, vote. It is alarming so many people think that when you do not get your way, the answer is to undermine the law for ostensibly noble reasons. It never crossed their minds that proponents of deportations may have valid and moral reasons for their views, nor does it cross their mind that the active resistance to deportations can produce harm to the country and its population.
This enforcement follows the victory of a President who ran to enforce these laws and combat the breaches on the southern border. People who are actively attempting to subvert this are anti-American. They are not respecting law enforcement. They are not respecting voters. They are not respecting the United States’ sovereignty. They are not respecting the immigrants who navigated the rigorous process to legally become citizens. And they are not respecting the communities across the country afflicted by unvetted foreigners. Individuals peddling the ‘Cute Winter Boots’ nonsense ought to be mocked accordingly.
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