Resisting Apathy in America

This morning I was sleeping, when I heard what sounded like distant gunfire. My mind questioned, maybe fireworks? I was tired so I drifted back to sleep. I heard it again. I just lay in the dark for a moment, barely awake and decided it was far off and I was safe. Later, when I heard the sound I realized it was a neighbor shoveling snow. Winter storm Fern hit my Maryland suburb hard yesterday, leaving piles of snow in it's wake. I was comforted that a neighbor was simply scraping a shovel against the pavement, to free their car from the snow.

Once I was up, I questioned why the sounds of possible gunfire didn't alarm me more. I have lived in neighborhoods where hearing a gun would have prompted me to call the police. I once lived next to gang members. I remember how the sound of a gun close by sounded. The police came, and fortunately no one had been shot. We were told to go inside, stay safe. I did not willingly choose to live in close proximity to a gang, by the way. I went to a new town and found a house I could afford. Fortunately I got out of that neighborhood and into better housing.

I think that I didn't respond because the sound was far away. Like the sounds out of Minneapolis. The people there are literally fighting for their lives against ICE. If I become sad or overwhelmed by the images I see of citizens being shot for protesting, I can turn off my TV or phone. But the people of that city are my fellow Americans. If ICE continues to be funded, they will continue to kill people in other cities.

In my city, a warehouse was recently sold and many here believe it is to be used as an ICE detention center. There have already been protests about it here. We must fight back and we are not breaking the law, according to the First Amendment. What gets in the way of pushing back is apathy, or a lack of concern. I think we also think, what can I do?

First of all, take notice of your neighbors. Show kindness to others. We all need to be loved and supported. But also, their are ways to reach your Senators and representatives in Congress. They are voted in to office, and supposed to represent your State's best interests. An app a friend suggested called 5 Calls will give you the names and numbers of your State's senators and congressmen.

Right now, Congress has already approved legislation to fund ICE. Let your Senators know to vote no on this funding. You and I can make a difference in this fight. Call, write, protest. We need to believe our eyes and not be gas lit into believing the excuses given by the Trump administration for the needless killing of citizens.

America has always had the demon of racism to fight. Attacks on brown and black people go back to the beginning of this nation. But the people have fought back and won many times. The Civil War and the Civil Rights Act, were meant to bring equality to Americans. Our current struggle is not only racist, it is against anyone who disagrees with the current President. The last two people shot in Minnesota were white.

A famous poem written by a German pastor after WWII, ends with, "Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak for me." Martin Niemoller. The tactics used by this President are ones used by Adolf Hitler, and the world around us sees it and mourns for us.