New Haven Fights Back

Aaaaaand we’re back.

I apologize for the delay between posts. It’s been a rather hectic month. I’ve moved the site to a new host, which may have accidentally broken the site for a few days (my bad!). I’m trying to buy a house (which I’ll discuss later, I’m sure). Plus, you know. We live in… interesting times.

But it’s all good, cause we’re back now! And it’s time to get off your ass and fight for your beliefs. Or sit back on your ass and fight for your beliefs by donating to the ACLU. Or the Wall, I guess, if you’re into that kind of thing, you Jon Snow-loving mofo.

New Haven the Sanctuary City

Did you know that New Haven was the first city to issue ID cards to undocumented immigrants in the United States? Pretty neat, huh?

The idea was to protect undocumented immigrants from crimes by allowing them to, say, actually report crimes. And to be able to perform other nefarious acts, like get library cards and debit cards. Those criminal masterminds.

If you aren’t aware, Sanctuary Cities are cities which “protect unauthorized immigrants by not prosecuting them for violating federal immigration laws and by ensuring that all residents have access to city services, regardless of immigration status.”

That doesn’t mean we hide them from the FBI or ICE or whatever. It just means we don’t spend our own money arrested, detaining, and prosecuting people for their immigration status. Cause, y’know… we got other shit to worry about.

In case you haven’t noticed, President Donald Trump is not a fan of Sanctuary Cities. In fact, he has sworn he’s going to come after them by withholding federal funding. So what’d our Mayor say?

“I believe it’s unconstitutional. We will fight it. If you want to make your dream come true, if you want to be a contributing member of our community, you are welcome here.”

Fuck yeah, Mayor Harp.

We Will Fight Back

In the immortal words of the President in Independence Day, we will not go quietly into the night.

New Haven has had nearly daily protests, whether it was about the Muslim ban (“No we swear it’s not really a ban, though Christians are cool obviously.”) or the pipeline (turns out both parties aren’t the same), or just Trump in general (not sure about blocking traffic though).

The truth is, I have mixed feelings about protests. I understand the solidarity and making people understand that we stand together. But we’re a super liberal city in a super liberal state with super liberal politicians. You don’t need to protest City Hall, they’re already on our side.

North Carolina on the other hand. Yeesh. What is your problem.

Beyond protests, though, the city continues to organize. Last night, volunteers learned how they can help with deportations. I wasn’t there because I’m a terrible person. But a lot of good people were.

And it fills me with pride and hope that so many Elm City residents are doing everything they can to fight back, one fight at a time.

So… What Can We Do?

For one, I’d say… try not to suffer from fatigue. Dude’s been President for less than a month. I know, it feels like a year. But it isn’t.

There’s going to be a lot of terrible choices in the next four years. As outraged as you might feel about Betsy DeVos… it’s gonna get worse. A lot worse. So, you know… be ready for that.

Aside from that, there’s a lot you can do.

• Donate to the ACLU, who got an injunction against the Muslim/refugee ban.
• Get involved with the folks at Showing Up For Racial Justice.
• You can call your Congressperson and let them know where you stand (HAHAHHAHAHAHAHA yeah right)
• Donate to Planned Parenthood, which will almost certainly need your help.
• Stand up for people who can’t stand up for themselves. This means marginalized Muslims, women, the LGBTQ community, our fellow non-white Americans.
• Support news organizations like the Washington Post and New York Times, which have broken stories against the Administration and continue to investigate any wrongdoing.
• Get involved in local government and actually vote in local elections.
• Take a break and have a beer now and again.

Seriously, that last part is important. It’s easy to get caught up in the day to day madness, but you gotta take care of yourself, too. You got needs. And when you can’t fulfill them, you have beer.

It’s okay to take a break and enjoy the company of your friends and family. To rest and relax.

Cause tomorrow, we’ll keep fighting.

[FBW]