Good vs. ICE: Jesse Welles Is Already There

 

by Pa Rock

Spectator

Rose, a close friend from college days in the 1960's, is a driving force in keeping me connected with some of the cultural milestones of the 21st century.    One phenomenon of the current decade which she follows closely in the skyrocketing career of protest and folksinger, Jesse Welles, an amazing young talent whom I have mentioned in this space on a couple of occasions.  

Last night, in the middle of the night, Rose forwarded a new music video by Jesse Welles that was performed in a remote, wooded setting where he often records, just him and a camera which he operates.  His new song was brief, poignant, straight to the point, and very, very current.

Jesse Welles new protest song is entitled  Good vs. ICE.  It poses as a recruitment tool for Immigration and Custom's Enforcement (ICE) that explains, in a cynical manner, some of the benefits of serving in our nation's new, secret paramilitary police force.   Welles' new song uses this week's killing  of Renee Good by an ICE agent in Minneapolis as an example and selling point.  It is very compelling, emotional, and unsettling stuff.

Good vs. ICE is all over the internet.  Check it out - and after you've had your anger over the killing of Renee Good reignited, check out some of Jesse Welles other great songs that so eloquently capture the tumultuous times in which we are living.

Ms. Good was killed this past Wednesday morning as she was driving home after taking her six-year-old son to school.   Jesse Welles watched the coverage and the videos of the shooting just as most of us did.  He internalized what he saw and heard, no doubt struggled with it internally, and by late Friday had penned his reaction into a song and had it filmed and posted on the internet.   That's almost as fast as some professional news organizations processed the same event, and Welles' take on the tragedy will resonate far longer than the "news" coverage.

For a unique and heartfelt perspective on the chaotic world in which we live, check out the works of singer/songwriter Jesse Welles.  He tells it like you have never heard it told before.