Two events, two separate attitudes

By Jim Thompson
HCP columnist

On Jan. 19, 2026, a group of activists (thugs) intruded upon Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, because a local ICE official serves as a pastor there.

Approximately 30 hours later and 1,772 miles to the southeast, the College Football Championship was played at 347 Don Shula Drive, otherwise known as Hard Rock Stadium, in Miami, Florida.  

This is the home stadium of the University of Miami, and the intruders were Indiana University of Bloomington, Indiana.

It is instructive to compare and contrast the intruders at both these events.

In the case of the intruders in St. Paul, they seem to adopt the attitude that if they do not like how affairs are being conducted, they have no intention of playing by the rules, indeed they will be as disruptive and disrespectful as they can be.

In the case of the intruders in Miami, they have been playing by the rules and continued to play by the rules Monday evening, despite their opponent, University of Miami, not being gracious hosts, in fact, after the game, reminding me of bullies on the school playground. Actually, during the game they were acting like this, too.

Based on their actions and comments, some of the folks on the Florida team should be asked to leave the game – permanently. The intruders in St. Paul should be introduced to tiny cells with vertical bars for at least five years.

Intruders, whether they enter our borders, break into someone’s property, or violate someone’s life have a lot in common. They just don’t comprehend playing by the rules. Yes, they feel entitled.

This is ironic, for many on the left side of politics (like the intruders in St. Paul) are often describing those of us who play by the rules as entitled. I don’t think paying my taxes, making car payments or house payments, nor any of the other things done by a majority of the population in this country are conditions of entitlement.

Here is where I feel entitled is in these two other conditions I was made aware of this week. First is a friend in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, who is trying to raise the funds for her son’s electrical technician classes this upcoming semester.  

Or the two men I was made aware of this week who earn a “living” ($3 a day each) digging and sorting gravel in a local river in Panajachel, Guatemala. They “supplement” their income by going to the dump on their way home from work each day and cutting the good parts out of the vegetables they find tossed out there. These two men were brought to my attention by a mission worker from Bloomington, Indiana, 80 years old, and in Guatemala for over 10 years now.

These people are all playing by the rules in their respective countries. What are you doing?

Jim Thompson, formerly of Marshall, is a graduate of Hillsboro High School and the University of Cincinnati. He resides in Duluth, Ga. and is a columnist for The Highland County Press.