1. ICE has always been terrible. the INS was terrible before them. “chinga la migra” was a slogan before ICE even existed. Reagan was deporting Guatemalans back into a genocide so he could keep funding that genocide in the 1980s. there is nothing new under the sun.
2. What we are seeing now is a massive escalation in scale and tactics. There used to be rules against immigration enforcement going into schools, hospitals, or places of worship. People didn’t used to get detained AT THEIR LEGAL PROCEEDINGS. ICE did not pull over anyone who isn’t white, drag them out of their cars, and ship them out of state before anyone knew they’d been detained. INS agents never outnumbered regular police officers, in any city. And no, DHS agents weren’t shooting white people in the streets for no reason beyond “they weren’t deferential enough and we got mad.”
3. A lot of people have cared about immigration and about their immigrant neighbors for a long time. The size of the response has escalated as the scale of the repression has escalated. This is how things work.
4. so no, this isn’t a case of nobody cared until white people got killed. Ask Chicago, Charlotte, LA. Ask the people in my hometown in Indiana who have been organizing for years to help their immigrant neighbors get city IDs and rides to legal appointments and who are caring for the children of people in detention.
5. sure, the NRA only got worried when a legally armed white man got killed. Did you expect anything different?
I’m seeing a lot of agreement with number four in the notes from people who are saying “we” (meaning it sounds like you’re saying you’re white). I am going to say this as patiently as I can, which I point out because you need to understand that many Black and Brown people would/will respond with no patience for you and be completely justified:
Stop centering yourselves.
Number four is a variation of “not all ________” that completely disregards what BIPOC individuals are saying. We understand that there are many white people who have cared, but this is not about you. You are prioritizing white feelings over the words and emotions of BIPOC individuals, especially Black and Brown women, who have repeatedly explained this and been ignored.
If you cannot get over yourself enough to understand that “nobody cared until white people got killed” does not mean literally nobody cared until white people got killed, then now is the time to be quiet, listen, and learn. Amplify marginalized voices instead of adding your own.
This kind of post is a great example of why many BIPOC do not trust white people. Your example of why the response is bigger illustrated exactly what BIPOC individuals have tried to explain to you and why so many of us no longer have any patience for white people.
You said “And no, DHS agents weren’t shooting white people in the streets for no reason beyond ‘they weren’t deferential enough and we got mad.’” Well, you know who they were shooting in the streets for no reason beyond “they weren’t deferential enough and we got mad”? Black and Brown people.
“The size of the response has escalated as the scale of the repression has escalated” for white people. It was always at this scale for non-white people, and making a whole post about how “some of us have always cared” misses the point entirely. It caters to the hurt feelings of white people saying “wait! some of us cared even when it wasn’t happening to us :( you should acknowledge that!” The point is that not enough of you cared until it was happening to you.
If you are white, now is the time to shut up and listen.
The thing you will have to learn if you’re involved in on-the-ground activist spaces is that you have to take breaks. The voice in the back of your head saying “no, you have a moral obligation put this cause ahead of yourself” is evil.
You have a moral obligation to not burn yourself out, because whatever contribution to the cause you make by overdoing it now is orders of magnitude smaller than the contribution that’ll be lost when you’re burnt the fuck out and cannot contribute anymore.
The incredibly skilled leader who goes above and beyond every single day could be supported by the organization to go slightly less above and beyond, and be an amazing leader for multiple years longer instead of flaming out so badly they can never look at a report again.
Activism is not about winning one huge battle, it’s about long-term, sustainable work to make things better.
Seeing way too many people posting about politics this week without understanding that voting is public transit.
You don’t get on the bus and tell the driver where you’re heading for a perfect customized commute. You take the bus going vaguely in the right direction. You pick the available option that gets you closest to where you’re trying to get to.
it’s not like bucktommy is revolutionary or making history or something but their story is so fucking good. for a regular boring everyday characters in everyday life stories enjoyer like me. the romance, the queer themes, the second and third chances. no homophobia no closet no being outed. we get to have something fun and wholesome and sexy and messy and queer.
