I always find it interesting to listen US citizen answer "What would it take for you to not consider your country a democracy?" and admire the wide range of answers and denials.
replyRight, as if _this_ is straw that breaks the camel's back, and not the pile of hay the camel has been carrying for decades.
replyMany proudly and loudly claim the US is a "republic".
replyIs it not?
replyJust a few dozen more scenarios like this and we might have to start thinking something is wrong.
replyAnd then it would be finally time to send "thoughts and prayers".
replysecret police kidnapping people off the streets didn't clue you in?!!
replyIf you're referring to ICE, that's gross hyperbole, and honestly a little insulting to people who live / have lived in regimes with an actual secret police.
replyThe US is still a rights-based state, which means that when they arrest someone (legitimately or not), lawyers and human right advocates can eventually track them down.
When a secret police disappears someone, they actually disappear. Families can spend years wondering if their loved one is still alive, or was murdered by organized crime, or ran away, or was secretly taken by the state. The US these days is pretty bad, but it's nowhere near that bad.