I had a strange, dissonant experience this morning – that led to a thought, a discovery and a question.
I’m on the U.S. west coast, so by the time my day begins the rest of the nation and the world has gotten quite a head start on murder, mayhem and natural disasters. Consequently, I try to avoid watching the news first thing when I get up, as too often I’m staring bleary-eyed at some horrific scene, sipping coffee and trauma and trying to get my sleep fogged brain to absorb whatever it is that is happening on the screen. Much easier to do after second cup of coffee, so even though my old mom already has the network news on in the living room when I wake up, I’ve been pretty successful at just sitting in the kitchen and tuning it out until I am ready.
This morning, however, as I wandered into the kitchen to get my first cup, out of the corner of my eye I caught the scene on the TV… people being rounded up and herded into buses. My stomach immediately dropped and I moved closer, trying to figure out what was going on. I heard only snippets – “… illegal immigrants… thousands… arrested… managers charged… ” because my mom, who was thoroughly appalled, was at the same time trying to tell me what was happening – “It’s going on all over the country! They are arresting them!”. Oh jeeze, I thought, what fresh hell, etc?
(there’s more on the flip)
The segment ended and I still had no clear idea of what was going on, so I did what any self respecting news junkie would do… I got online and went immediately to the news and blog sites, sure that it would be the talk of the town. NY Times first. Nothing. Washington Post. Nothing. Of course the LA Times would have something… nope. Tried a few blogs… nothing. Hmmm… so okay, either what I saw wasn’t what I thought I saw… or… well I wasn’t really awake enough to think of an or.
Finally I went to google news, put in “immigrants”, and found out about the raids at the IFCO plants, a Netherlands based firm, carried out by the DHS across the country. Quite obviously a political ploy (that has very real consequences for the people affected) in an attempt to raise Bush’s very dismal poll numbers. So… bad, but not nearly as bad as I thought.
You realize, of course, what I was thinking? Exactly. I’ve been haunted by these articles by Duke and Jeanne since reading them. (I wondered at the time if they were going to start with visibly Asian people as a sort of testing of the waters, considering the past). I also realized, when I was watching that segment that not only do I believe that it’s not a matter of if, but when… and that when the if happens… I don’t have a plan. I am not even sure what a plan would consist of, and this worries me.
I recently discovered that the fair grounds in my area had been used as a sort of holding station/way station for those on their way to the actual concentration camps. Like so much of US history, it’s been been covered over with flags and laughter and happy thoughts…but the ghosts remain. It’s all very well to declare “This can’t happen here again”, and to point to the apologies to the Americans of Japanese descent, and the acknowledgement of the injustices visited on them by our government and to a supposedly enlightened and changed populace, but… well, I just don’t buy it. And I’ve noticed that in many cases, all you have to do is change the target (preferably after constant demonizing and dehumanization), and many tend to fall right into line because this is not that… this is something different. Find the right hook and even some who consider themselves staunch liberals get dragged over to find “common cause, just for this”.
So… I live in California. We have something like 3 million unpapered Americans here, of various nationalities. Quite likely some of them are my neighbors. Or their families. And I really don’t have a clue what to do if some government agency starts disappearing them into “internment camps”, because they are “illegals”, and we must “protect our borders” and follow “the rule of law”. Oh, and “respect authority”.
At some point we’re all going to be required to make a stand, one way or another, and while I know I’ll stand on the side of the oppressed… I don’t know exactly what it is I will do, what will be the most effective.
I wasn’t alive at the time of the internment of the Japanese, and even if I had been I would have been a non-person myself, and so not had much power to change things. I am alive now, however, and while still not all that powerful I do have a voice and a vote and no doubt other resources that I’ve not thought of. I just don’t have a plan.
What is your plan?
crossposted at Human Beams – Stalking Sunlight blog