Pivotal moment
We are at a pivotal moment. The level of violence and cruelty emanating from the federal administration is escalating. And so is the resistance. This past week people in and around Los Angeles offered us a glimpse of what is the best in us. People stepped forward to protect their friends and neighbors from tactics of terror.
On June 6, 2025 the federal government began a series of raids in workplaces dependent on immigrants. ICE agents aggressively invaded Home Depot stores, a donut shop, and a clothing wholesaler, to make “mass arrests” in the drive to meet the administration’s arbitrary goal of arresting 3,000 people a day.
This decision is an effort to increase the spectacle of decisive actions designed to feed the right wing base images of terrified immigrants being kidnapped by ICE agents and taken away. It is designed to increase fear and hatred, to project a false sense of strength and control.
Such obvious cruelty has provoked fear. But it has also provoked courage, compassion, and love. Crowds quickly formed to drive back ICE officials. In response, Trump took the unprecedented step of taking over the National Guard and calling for the deployment of federal troops. He did this over the objections of the governor, mayor, and local law enforcement.
This use of federal troops is unlawful. It is based on lies. It is the harbinger of what to expect as we go about organizing for a more human, just world. That world necessarily rejects the vision of the future/past of the right wing. It rejects the petty, vengeful culture of death that surrounds the authoritarian project. Rather it is a vision that embraces life in all its complexities and joys. It honors the dignity, rights, and responsibilities of human beings to create worlds of care, compassion, and peace. The clash with those who desire to protect the power and privileges of a few is intensifying.
Every day more and more of us are choosing to say that we do not accept this authoritarian vision dependent on persecuting people who only want a better life for themselves and their families. We do not agree with separating children and parents. We do not think young people who just want to go to school are dangerous or deserve deportation. We will protect the people we know. We will acknowledge our responsibilities to protect the dignity of all people, knowing our fates are tied.
In response to take over of the National Guard and the calling up of federal troops Judge Charles Breyer of the Federal District Court in San Franciso issued a scathing decision. He found that Trump had exceeded his authority and had illegally taken control of the National Guard. Even though this decision was temporarily halted by another court, it is essential reading.
Along with arguments explaining the scope of public protests, the Court noted the “traditional and strong resistance of Americans to any military intrusion into civilian affairs.”
The Judge further offered a strong defense of the responsibilities of speaking out against government policies. He affirmed that the vast majority of protests were peaceful and explained that mere presence of some acts of property destruction is no justification for a militarized response. He said:
There can be no debate that most protesters demonstrated peacefully.
Nonetheless, it is also beyond debate that some individuals used the protests as an excuse for violence and destruction. …Even accepting the questionable premise that people armed with fireworks, rocks, mangoes, concrete, chairs, or bottles of liquid are “armed” … the Court is aware of no evidence in the record of actual firearms—there is little evidence of whether the violent protesters’ actions were “open or avowed…there is no evidence of organized, as apart from sporadic or impromptu, violence.
It is essential that we escalate our commitment to the protection of our communities. Our future depends on what we do now.