actions to take as ICE intensifies

ways to support MN and your own community

(Someone stands outside the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement building with a winter coat and hat holding a white flag with the word MURDERERS written on it in red. The US Flag is visible in the background.)

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In my tradition, the principle of pikuach nefesh–preserving life– comes before everything.

So here's a brief list of resources and action items, out of the cadence of regular publication. If you're new here, subscribe for free or more to get the fortification and tools we send out on the regular.

Rav Yehuda said that Shmuel said: If I would have been there among those Sages who debated this question, I would have said ... (Leviticus 18:5:) “You shall keep My statutes and My ordinances, which a person shall do and live by them,” and not that they should die by them. (Talmud Yoma 85b)

So. Especially for my U.S. based readers, but lots of things others can do from afar:

Some ways to be useful given the escalation of US state terrorism.

First. Face where we are. This, by M. Gessen, is required reading now.

This is a gift link article.

That's for everyone. All the rest of these are mostly a choose-your-own adventure so you can find the path for you given your capacity, skills, personality, etc.

Know that there's a place for you on deck.

It might or might not be some of these things, but there are links to other things to help you figure out your role if not these. I've got other missives come on other paths in.

And as always: THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO ARE ALREADY DOING THE WORK AND HAVE BEEN DOING IT A LONG TIME. They know the on-the-ground realities, the history, the context. If you're newer to this, your job is primarily to find them, be of service (move the chairs and pick up the coffee if you're able!) and certainly not to be one of the people in the spotlight. AND every specialized skill has a place to be at this moment; eg, every movement needs data nerds.

Get harassing your reps back into your routine if it ever stopped

Or start now, if you haven't gotten into the habit. Calling your elected reps isn't INSTEAD of doing other things, it's back to that daily practice you do in addition to whatever else. Harangue. Abolish ICE. Prosecute everyone involved. Impeach Trump.

And don't forget, as the wise Twin Cities-based Rev. Bromleigh McCleneghan put it: A lot of politicians social media are saying all the right things, but they're not using their actual legislative authority to do what needs doing. They work for you.

Get trained up.

(All these trainings are virtual)

Tonight, 1/25, 8pm ET National Faith Call to Action: Mourn, pray, mobilize.

1/28 7pm ET ICE watch and community defense
1/29 7pm ET Noncooperation 101 - some key stuff in fighting authoritarianism, by an org that includes Maria Stephan, Erica Chenoweth's collaborator
2/4 9:30am ET Bystander training/ best practices for early childhood educators and caregivers
2/5 4:30pm Bystander training / best practices for early childhood educators and caregivers
2/6 4pm ET Community defender training focusing on parents' & kids' rights in arrest and detention.
2/10 12pm ET Bystander training on responding to antiblack police violence (hasn't stopped!)
2/25 3pm ET Bystander know your rights training
Various dates and times (including for youth!) bystander intervention to support the im/migrant community
Various trainings in the 1:1, a key piece of organizing, here.

(I'll keep my eye out for other pieces of the puzzle; to my dismay, many folks whose stuff I'd love to share have not updated their websites.

“Nonviolence is not a vibe.
Nonviolence is a discipline.”
– Eric Ward

@mspackyetti For all of us NOT in MN right now, some lessons I want to offer as a Ferguson protestor and organizer: O. THIS IS WORSE THAN BEFORE. 1. There is something for EVERYBODY to do NOW. ESP $ Follow LOCAL voices, livestreams & news. Mainstream WILL get it wrong, especially now. 3. Your armchair activist critique & online debate from afar is NOT. HELPFUL. IT IS DISTRACTING. Use your platform for information & activation for the GROUND. 4. Amplify the most marginalized voices-Black & indigenous.

Be part of keeping your community safe and ready against incursions.

Whistles remain an indispensable tool in this fight. Genuinely, everyone should have one on their keychain at this point imho. There are 3D printing files and here's an overall guide.
Learn about Rapid Response Networks, what are they and how you can start one.
Here's a good doc with best practices for neighborhood or area patrol if ICE might be coming to your neighborhood. Here's one about school patrols.
Consider getting trained to be a legal / constitutional observer. This handbook offers a good overview.
Consider turning your workplace into a 4A Workplace– one that trains staff to uphold workers' rights against illegal search and seizure. There's a virtual training on 1/29.

The [laws of] the Shabbat are suspended in the face of a danger to life, as are [the obligations of] the other mitzvot... When there is a doubt, [Jewish] law [is] suspended even when there is merely a question of danger to a person's life…
(Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Shabbat 2:1)

Hold corporations accountable.

Here's one toolkit for hitting the big corporations.
Here's a list of all the hotels in MN housing ICE agents, if you feel like making some phone calls /send some emails letting them know what you think about that (while remembering that the folks answering those phones aren't the ones making those decisions– ask to speak to their bosses at minimum.)
If you have a Ring camera, know that ICE uses it to surveil.
This is a map of businesses said to be profiting from ICE (including many local to you if you're in the US),
This IG account has some great alternatives to companies behaving badly.

That said, I want to acknowledge that
a) our individual choices matter and do have an impact, but also that
b) the real issue is the larger systems and structures, and things like labor laws and corporations are permitted to buy politicians and destroy the planet. So do the best you can, particularly if there's a targeted (heh) campaign going on, and remember:
Even small shifts in how you spend can support real pressure on businesses.
Privilege shapes how you can engage with this activism (shocking!)– Things like access needs, transportation and what one can afford all impact whether someone can fully avoid a company. (That said, some big corp alternatives aren't more expensive, so worth checking.)
If you're able to play, get clear on one or two areas where you can start shifting how you spend to be more in alignment with your values—whether that’s switching brands, buying secondhand, or supporting ethical businesses (particularly those owned by traditionally marginalized folks). And then go from there.

b.sharise: Not enough Americans equate 100 years of Jim Crow Laws with fascism and that bothers me. Utilizing imagery of Anne Frank and the gestapo instead of lynchings, forced sterilizations (the Mississippi Appendectomies), internment camps, and sun down towns adds an unnecessary layer of distance. It incorrectly asserts that fascism is this foreign thing that the US has never known, much less allowed. That could not be farther from the truth. @seastersjones

Support those under siege in Minnesota financially, if you're able.

There are a couple of helpful listings of funds and mutual aid projects, including orgs that are crowdfunding, here and here.

Keep Learning.

This curriculum is great:

And I made you a book list:

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