What would MLK do about ICE?

"Democracy is the greatest form of government to my mind that man has ever conceived, but the weakness is that we have never touched it. Isn’t it true that we have often taken necessities from the masses to give luxuries to the classes? Isn’t it true that we have often in our democracy trampled over individuals and races with the iron feet of oppression? Isn’t it true that through our Western powers we have perpetuated colonialism and imperialism? And all of these things must be taken under consideration as we look at Russia. We must face the fact that the rhythmic beat of the deep rumblings of discontent from Asia and Africa is at bottom a revolt against the imperialism and colonialism perpetuated by Western civilization all these many years. The success of communism in the world today is due to the failure of democracy to live up to the noble ideals and principles inherent in its system.

And this is what Jesus means when he said: “How is it that you can see the mote in your brother’s eye and not see the beam in your own eye?” Or to put it in Moffatt’s translation: “How is it that you see the splinter in your brother’s eye and fail to see the plank in your own eye?”³ And this is one of the tragedies of human nature. So we begin to love our enemies and love those persons that hate us whether in collective life or individual life by looking at ourselves...." - Martin Luther King, Jr. 11/17/57, Sermon - Montgomery, Alabama

Sometimes, what looks like love and feels like love and acts like love isn't love at all, because love is a practice, but its also a state of being.  It's a way of living.  Not just at church, not just at work, not just at your kid's school, but WHO YOU ARE, all the time.  That means, if you are plotting ways to dox all the ICE troops, taking up arms to blow them all away - you're not really helping those you love.  While it sometimes feels like any and all action, with the intention of protection, is good action, we have to remember that this is exactly how we got here.  An eye for an eye is Jonathan Ross' whole argument.

If I am being totally honest, I have complicated feelings about MLK.  It's obviously not because of what he contributed to access to Civil Rights in the US, but because of the fact that he preached Jesus and love and cheated on his wife.  For obvious reasons, that hits very close to home. If King's ability to love when it came to his own home is less than perfect, does that mean we discount his impact on every generation, everywhere, since his passing?  I don't believe so.

As I am reading All About Love by bell hooks, (our core text for the DR retreat), I am confronted on every page with the same sentiment - lying is a result of patriarchy, and it isn't representative of love at all.  Though she often wrote about her respect for King's commitment to love as a political practice, I am struggling to understand how she reconciled what his love looked like on the Civil Rights battlefield vs. what it looked like in his own home.  I guess my greatest takeaway is that it is better to love as much as possible, as often as possible, and that includes finding forgiveness when possible.  I think hooks and MLK might agree on that.

I keep thinking about what King would do if he were in Minneapolis today. I don't believe he would encourage us to take up arms against ICE, but to lead instead with the loving support of our neighbors.  In honor of MLK, I wanted to offer some ways you can fight back without having to fight at all.  It might feel better, and have much greater impact.

• Go to a PTA meeting at your kids school, and ask to have PTA funds reallocated to support families in danger right now.  You can fund legal services, food delivery services, and provide car pools.

• Visit your neighbors who you know might be afraid to go outside.  Ask if they need grocery shopping or any help running errands.

• If you are bilingual, offer translation services to community members who might need it.

• It's extremely cold in some of the places where ICE is focusing their efforts right now.  Start a coat drive in your community - ask a local restaurant or school for donations

• Connect with local ACLU chapters to ensure that every American citizen who has been detained by ICE, and every human who has been harmed by ICE, can get legal support for Civil lawsuits and Criminal charges. 

At the end of the day, there are more of us than there are of them.  As a history teacher, I will tell you that your kids and grandkids will study this day in history, just like we study the time of MLK.  They will be given an assignment where they have to interview their family to ask them where they were and what they did.  Whether or not you are able to model telling the truth, as bell hooks would argue you should, is dependent on how you move in this moment.  I pray you can be honest on that day, and let them know that you took action with love at the forefront.

I hope this day of reflection on where we've been and where we are going is impactful for you, and for the world.

With Love,

Daniele