Wednesday last, I captured a couple of quick shots of new murals in town.
Now there's Acorn Building One and Acorn Building Two!
With threats growing each day from this administration, the public response is increasingly pointing toward a path of basic compassion. By this, I mean that people—total strangers, but also fellow residents and neighbors—are taking a stand, including against the injustice, aggression, and cruelty of I.C.E.
Witness what happened in San Diego outside the popular Buona Forchetta restaurant in South Park. When I.C.E. showed up in its vans to detain workers—not criminals, but workers—the community did not stand idly by. They began to fill the streets, block vehicles, and were eventually dispersed with flash bangs.
These acts of peaceful civil disobedience may not stop detentions in the moment, but they accomplish three other very important things.
First, they show the nation—and our fellow residents under threat from I.C.E.—that others still have their backs, understand that what is happening is deeply wrong, and will put themselves on the line to help stop it.
Second, a public stand like this demonstrates what courage in the face of armed force looks like. That can spread quickly from town to town, city to city. If San Diego can resist, so can other communities. Courage is contagious.
Third, officials will understand that they will meet resistance and cannot assume a compliant citizenry. With enough pushback, they may choose to alter their practices—or, of course, escalate, which will only be met with greater resistance.
When people ask me what they can do today as ordinary citizens—beyond making phone calls and donating—I point to San Diego and say: “Get organized. Talk to your neighbors. Call a local community meeting and make a plan for peaceful resistance, including how to mobilize quickly. Know your rights, and come to the site of any I.C.E. raid prepared.”
I believe deeply in the goodness of people. I.C.E. raids are turning whole communities against this administration. There will be an electoral reckoning if we keep up the pressure and keep amplifying these stories..."
Jay Kuo and his two children
"... I know that America is still here, because I have seen and felt the power of its promise.
Have a great [Monday] (written on Sunday) and remember—each of us can play a part in making someone else feel safer and more secure.
Jay Kuo
Newsletter subscriptions to The Status Kuo are available on-line.
