Stop Being So Nice When It Comes to ICE
Let go of the “catchy” picket sign, and potentially save a person’s life, and/or their families.
Photo via The New York Times
This Friday, we’re set to have a nationwide strike against ICE—which means no work, no school, and no purchasing. As said, police and ICE forces will be extra present and more aggressive. While there have already been endless violent attacks and murders on protestors, there will be a lot more this weekend and beyond.
We’ve seen a plethora of video evidence of ICE abducting people off the streets, out of their cars, and out of their homes. We’ve also seen multiple angles of these abductions and several people filming at once. Instead, we need to be doing everything in our power to de-arrest the people ICE is kidnapping. We can continue to point cameras in their faces to identify and help those being kidnapped, but if you’re standing close to the incident and have the opportunity to de-arrest someone, do it.
ICE is breaking the law by kidnapping people without a warrant, so preventing someone from being abducted by unidentified, masked “agents” is looking out for the community’s best interests. Yes—it is a huge risk to de-arrest someone, but it’s even riskier to allow someone to be taken to ICE detention centers, which serve as the textbook definition of concentration camps.
When it comes to actual protesting, we need to eliminate the concept of “protest etiquette.” There is zero effectiveness of marching with signs with “clever” quotes, such as “I’d rather be at brunch,” or “ICE is not invited to the cottage” (Heated Rivalry innuendo). We need effective tactics: Real anger, community-centered gestures, barricading protestors from ICE, looking out for your comrades, causing a diversion during raids, and even deterring tear gas canisters.
What ICE is doing every day throughout the country is unfathomable, and we need to get angrier about what is happening. You should’ve been radicalized a long time ago (i.e., the Black Lives Matter movement). But if you weren’t until now, now is the time to put your phone down, let go of the “catchy” picket sign, and potentially save a person’s life, and/or their families. As you go out and protest, it’s crucial to protect yourselves and your comrades, take weather precautions, and know your rights.
