By David Futrelle
Just a quick post with list of things you can do to fight Trump’s horrific policy of separating children from their parents at the border.
CALL YOUR REPS: Call your Senators and Congressional representative. Go to 5calls here (they have several scripts you can use and all the phone numbers you need) or call the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121; they’ll connect you to the right people.
PREPARE FOR THE NATIONWIDE MOBILIZATION ON JUNE 30! Big demonstration planned for DC and in cities across the country, sponsored by Families Belong Together. Go here to find a demonstration near you.
FIND GROUPS DOING OTHER THINGS TO HELP. Here’s list of relevant groups and other ideas for activism on Slate.
Thank you, David.
Thank you for your information. It’s so angering that we have to know it.
I signed up for the June 30th protest earlier and recruited my mom and my friend to join me. If you have a lot of FB friends or Twitter followers, share the link.
One informal thing I think we can all do is be very clear and use very strong language that draws parallels between the way Trump and his people talk about immigrants and the way Hitler and his people talked about Jews when you talk to family and friends – especially low information/disengaged type people. It is crucial that we not let this be treated as a difference of opinion or a partisan issue. When Trump says “animals” and “infest” he is doing that to normalize eliminationist policies and we can’t let it escalate any more.
Be willing to lose friends over this. Don’t respectfully disagree about this issue.
I don’t know if this is any help; but perhaps it’s some ammo if you run into a “well it’s the law” type. Sorry for the format but I’ve just cut and pasted from a discussion elsewhere.
If you use Resistbot to contact your Senators, they will hand deliver a letter on Thursday!
This is all a nightmare, I am afraid that the cattle cars will be rolling. First minorities, then liberals and atheists. My voice, even amplified X 5, still feels very weak.
On looking at comments at various sites, I see a lot of Trumpanzees screeching about how ripping kids from their families is no big deal because Obama did it first. I’m sure this is a lie and even if it wasn’t it’s a terrible policy no matter who introduced it, but are there any resources out there for debunking this particular bit of propaganda?
It’s terrifying that no matter how terrible or damaging or downright cruel a Dump policy is, his personality cult will crawl up from the swamp to defend it just because liberals don’t like it.
@ kobun
This gives a bit of background to the Obama era policy.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/failed-experiment-immigrant-family-detention-n403126
Executive summary: generally the policy was to keep children and their mothers together; albeit in detention.
ETA: the Obama policy was pretty inhumane too. It replaced letting families stay free. I suppose one difference was that it was regarded as an embarrassing dirty secret, rather than something to brag about.
When there was an upsurge (I believe in 2013 or 14) in asylum seekers and unaccompanied minors coming to the border, those facilities were used. But kids were not taken from their parents unless there was an actual reason for it. The en masse family separation is all Trump and their is no law that requires the administration to do it.
The simplest debunk is no, the 100% prosecution and family separation policy is new and unique to Trump. It’s also worth pointing out that Republicans were the ones blocking immigration reform during the Obama administration.
Not that there aren’t legit criticisms of the way Obama’s administration did things. There are. But definitely not remotely equivalent to Trump.
Also, if it came out now that thr Obama admin was acting exactly as the Trump admin, I’d condemn that, too. I take issue with plenty of Obama era policies.
“So-and-so did it too!” Is a toddler argument.
The best response to that, in my opinion, is, “So what if it was? That means we shouldn’t stop it now? It’s happening now. It’s not okay to let it keep happening.”
But here’s some actual info on debunking these myths:
https://www.facebook.com/MIchelle.Martin15/posts/1852738241454566
Yeah, if the Obamas and Clintons really are the worst monsters in the whole world, as the right claims they are, they should be holding their own leaders to higher standards.
They’re also ignoring that Obama did get criticized from the left. Frequently. Including on immigration policy.
A vigil at our local ICE facility has evolved into a full fledged blockade; to date, ICE enforcers have been held inside the building for over 48 hours.
Thank you, David. It is hard to battle outrage fatigue, when there are so many important and outrageous issues; references lists like this really do help.
Here is another reference, for those who are able to help financially. (Via the Velveteen Rabbi, another favorite blogger with definitely my favorite name):
https://mashable.com/2018/06/18/child-separation-immigration-charities-donate/#Jw559nHgoqqL
I was just about to say the same thing, Dalillama!
My best friend lives in Portland, and she’s heading to the blockade now. Or is already there, I guess.
If you live in Portland, you should go! An ice cream truck stopped by to give free ice cream to protestors and a donor ordered some pizzas delivered and apparently other food has been donated as well.
Eat well! Express your outrage! Go Portland!
[also, I may be misunderstanding things, but I thought that they were only blocking vehicles from coming & going, so theoretically ICE employees could go home if they left their cars in the ICE garage. But again, I could be wrong.]
@Alan Robertshaw: you say that as if being nerdy were a bad thing!
@weirwoodtreehugger: re speaking up—yes, and thanks for saying it so well. (And your ‘nym is another favorite.)
I am so unbelievably angry right now. This story made Maddow visibly choked up and upset live on air, and she had to hand it off to Lawrence O’Donnell.
https://apnews.com/dc0c9a5134d14862ba7c7ad9a811160e?
Hey all you lovely people here. I’d love some advice on all this. My boyfriend isn’t helpful with this specifically because he feels ambiguity about it. Since I have bipolar disorder and a few other mental health issues he worries about me a lot which is totally understandable given my history.
I am totally worn out and overwhelmed and I know that’s exactly what they want but this is just the last straw for me. This is so horrific and appalling to me that I just want to stop. Stop following news, stop pay attention to any of this. I want to be completely oblivious to news like I was up to 2016.
I feel like going to all the protests in Union Square and call and call and call Senators over and over and sending messages, and talking and talking and talking about it to everyone trying to get them engaged has done nothing and one of my hardest things is trying to keep on and on and on when something’s seems like it’s not working at all. I’m really on the border and maybe even slightly past despair. Like it’s hard for me to think things will get better. It’s hard for me to even hope anymore and I think that’s almost the definition of despair.
I mean polling said that over half of the Republican Party totally support this. There are a lot of people who think this is appropriate behavior and I don’t understand how anyone can think this is not just okay but ideal. But apparently there are a lot of people who do and my heart is just broken about it. If there’s anything anyone could say that will make me even a teeny bit more optimistic I would so appreciate it.
My boyfriend seems how distressed all this makes me so he’s okay with me ignoring it. He says my health and mental state is more important than what one person can do about this. How do people here feel about that? Am I being lazy or a coward or weak or is wanting to just stop and sit in the corner and be crazy like I normally am and just play with blocks or Legos or something pleasant and utterly innocuous? Anyone who can say anything about this and have any advice about it I would really appreciate it cuz I just feel like I have nothing left. Thanks, love to everyone, Katie.
PS if mocking my own personal mental illness is a problem for anyone tell me and I won’t do it I’ve done it before and I don’t think it upset anyone but I know it’s technically against the comments policy. I personally mock my own mental illness because it makes me feel slightly more in control and better about it. I am specifically talking only about myself, I mean obviously. But if it bothers anyone, please tell me and I won’t do it no more on this site
Kirstjen Nielsen walks into a Mexican restaurant . . .
Democratic Socialists Ruin Family Destroyer Kirstjen Nielsen’s Dinner at a D.C. Mexican Restaurant
https://splinternews.com/democratic-socialists-ruin-family-separator-kirstjen-ni-1826971802
@Katiekitten420: If you are feeling burned out and worn down and despairing then yes, STOP for a while. Sadly, none of these problems are going away immediately, and there will be plenty of time to come back and re-engage with activism.
Remember that in the last analysis, anger and despair are signs that our expectations are out of line with reality. You are pushing and straining at the situation with your emotions because you’re frustrated at not having been able to change it with your actions.
But you shouldn’t expect that of yourself. This situation is just part of a very big problem, and it will take a lot of work and time on the part of a lot of people to bring about change. So don’t break your heart or give up hope because you haven’t yet fixed it. You’ve worked hard and you can come back later and work some more. In the meantime, play with some blocks!!
Thank you, Natasha Whilk!
PeeVee,
Meanwhile, over on Fox, Corey Lewandaski (don’t know or care if that’s spelled correctly) mocks a 10 year old girl with Down’s syndrome who has been separated from her mother. Tell me again, conservatives about how you’re the party of morals and family values.
Seriously. I’m afraid I will actually punch the next person who tries to tell me that Republicans are the values and morals party. That hasn’t been true since longer than I’ve been alive, but it’s even less true now.
Okay, it’s actually Matthew 25:45. Still true.
“You two WILL die some day, you know. How would you like it if I handed your judgement over to–oh, say–Rod Serling?”
BTW, guess who just suspended his law?
https://twitter.com/sfmnemonic/status/896884949634232320?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
I haven’t seen this twitter thread linked yet, and I think it’s important.
https://mobile.twitter.com/ImmCivilRights/status/1008902662828511232
It’s from an immigration lawyer who had (briefly) confronted Obama about this policy back when it was set up.
@Katiekitten420:
Burnout is very common among new activists, because they pour themselves into the cause and then can’t bear to do it any longer. It sounds like you’ve encountered this.
I would recommend that you go and play with Lego. Take a few weeks off if you need to. This isn’t cowardice: it’s self-care, and there can be no activism without self-care.
Remember that one of our causes is the survival and happiness of people like you. Make sure that you survive and you’re happy; this is as important as anything else we’re fighting for, and it’s something that you can have a personal impact in.