The Unwelcoming Society

The Unwelcoming Society

by C. A. Matthews

When my mother first got off the ship in the United States of America, I wonder… Did she feel welcomed?

It was right before the start of the second World War. Mom had lived in Brazil all of her young life. Now, her parents thrust her into a strange, new world full of different people, weather, flora and fauna. Being scolded by her mother to “speak only English,” she soon lost the ability to converse in Portuguese, remembering only snatches of songs and nursery rhymes in later years. Mom learned that she had to speak English only because now she was American, for better or worse.

Nowadays, it almost always seems to be “for the worse” whenever an immigrant attempts to enter the US. They may be desperate to escape persecution and violence in their home country, but once they arrive in the US or at its border, their fears not only aren’t relieved—they’re often magnified.

I wrote about the end of the infamous Title 42 program and the new Biden Asylum-Transit ban a couple of months ago in The New Title 42. The mainstream media’s continual emphasis on the urban myth of the US southern border becoming inundated with immigrant hordes after the pandemic ban was lifted has not happened. However, the re-traumatization of asylum-seekers seeking safety has just begun.

How welcoming is that?

From the terrorists masquerading as Customs Border Patrol agents at our borders, to the outright Jim Crow decrees from our state legislatures, it can’t get much more unwelcoming in the United States of America in the year 2023 CE. If you think I’m kidding, get a load of this:

A group of Chinese citizens who live, work, study, and raise families in Florida, as well as a real estate brokerage firm in Florida that primarily serves clients of Chinese descent, are filing a lawsuit to combat Florida’s discriminatory property law, SB 264. Signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, the legislation unfairly restricts most Chinese citizens — and most citizens of Cuba, Venezuela, Syria, Iran, Russia, and North Korea — from purchasing homes in the state. Unless the courts act, the law will take effect on July 1, 2023…

Today’s lawsuit argues that SB 264 will codify and expand housing discrimination against people of Asian descent in violation of the Constitution and the Fair Housing Act. It will also cast an undue burden of suspicion on anyone seeking to buy property whose name sounds remotely Asian, Russian, Iranian, Cuban, Venezuelan, or Syrian. 

Gov. DeSantis has argued that this law is necessary to protect Florida from the Chinese Communist Party and its activities. But this misguided rationale unfairly equates Chinese people with the actions of their government, and there is no evidence of national security harm resulting from real estate ownership by Chinese people in Florida. From Chinese Immigrants Sue Florida Over Unconstitutional, Discriminatory Law

This horrible law brings to mind the first immigration law passed in the United States, The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882:

From 1882 until 1943, most Chinese immigrants were barred from entering the United States. The Chinese Exclusion Act was the nation's first law to ban immigration by race or nationality. All Chinese people--except travelers, merchants, teachers, students, and those born in the United States--were barred from entering the country. Federal law prohibited Chinese residents, no matter how long they had legally worked in the United States, from becoming naturalized citizens… The Geary Act, passed in 1892, required Chinese aliens to carry a residence certificate with them at all times upon penalty of deportation. Immigration officials and police officers conducted spot checks in canneries, mines, and lodging houses and demanded that every Chinese person show these residence certificates. --From Digital History

We’re really come a long, long way in the good ol’ US of A, haven’t we?

Working in immigration advocacy, I am always shocked at how woefully ignorant most Americans are of how poorly we treat and have treated immigrants. Consider this sobering fact: It wasn’t until the middle of America’s involvement in World War II (1943) that Chinese-American persons—people of Chinese ancestry, born and raised in families that had lived for several generations in the US—were allowed to become naturalized citizens.

Just because your last name was Li or Chin, and it wasn’t Smith or Schmidt, you couldn’t vote even though you were born in the US, went to school all your life in the US, and raised your own family in the US. You and your children weren’t entitled to any benefits of citizenship simply because your ancestors were born far, far away, across a big, wide ocean. Funny how those “Smiths” and “Schmidts” whose ancestors also came across an ocean were able to claim US citizenship and vote without any problems, though.

Wonder what the big difference is between these two groups, persons of European ancestry and those of Asian ancestry? Hmm... Do you think it has anything to do with their skin color perhaps?

And you think the Chinese had (and still have) it bad? When did American Indians become US citizens? Their ancestors have dwelt on the North American continent for tens of thousands of years, but most who live within the boundaries of the USA were not able to call themselves American citizens until… No, not 1776 or 1865, but 1924. It actually took until the second decade of the twentieth century for Native Americans to be considered “American.” 

Now, convince me just how “welcoming” American society is if it can't even acknowledge the original inhabitants of this continent or keep any of the treaties it made with their leaders. I'll wait.

The US is so “welcoming” that we don't even believe that having enough food to eat is a human right. Imagine that! We voted against that proposal in the United Nations, of all places. That attitude certainly goes a long way in explaining our homeless and hunger problems, doesn't it? It's not that Americans can't feed and house our own people, it's that we don't want to.

But it isn’t always about race and ethnicity in the US when it comes to being unwelcoming. Senator Rick Scott (another Floridian) this past week has decided that those who are professed “socialists” aren’t welcome in his state. This announcement has really put a crimp in my vacation plans. I wanted to go south and visit my aunt, uncle and cousins in Florida, along with my sister and brother-in-law who recently retired there. Senator Scott says he doesn’t want any of my no-good socialist money in his state. It’s not good enough for the likes of Florida, like Chinese people’s money isn't, or Cubans’, or Venezuelans’, Syrians’, Iranians’, Russians’, and North Koreans’ money.

If you are trans or non-binary, you’re not wanted in the Sunshine State, either. It’s almost as if your gender identification is seen as a contagious disease. Give Florida its due—they’re racist, fascistic, and terrified of people who don’t meet their expectations of what a boy or a girl is supposed to be like. You could call it “Equal Opportunity Bigotry.”

I know it’s not only the state of Florida that has passed these prejudiced decrees recently, but it is the perfect example of evil in action. Florida is full of hateful opportunists who are riding a wave of terror of “otherness” and hoping to make a profit while doing so. Look at what color Florida is on this map and what it stands for:

It's nothing to be proud of, in my opinion. I wouldn't be planning a vacation to Disney World or Universal Studios, in other words, unless you're a raving homophobic/transphobic, anti-Asian, anti-socialist. Then, by all means, go right ahead! (Just don't bother to return home. We can isolate all you bigots in Florida with a simple “border wall” at the top of the peninsula. We don't want your kind of “immigrant” in our states.)

A year ago, it was all “Hate the Russians! Love Zelensky! Who needs to spend billions on universal health care when America can spend it on the military-industrial complex and make our Congress members with insider stock trading deals richer!” And soon it will be, “Stop eating Chinese food and hate the Chinese! We’re at war with China over… over...”  

Gee, I forget! Why is the US mad at China? Is it because the have decent reserves of lithium? Silicon chip manufacturing? Or because they’ve been trying to bring about a diplomatic end to the conflict in Ukraine, saving lives and ending the madness in the process?  

It doesn’t take much to start a hate campaign against another country or ethnic or racial or political or gender group in the US. I sure wish our so-called “leaders” could do something to stop all this hate-mongering and sit down like rational adults and work out their differences with others in the best interest of every living thing on the planet before a nuclear war breaks out. (And no, corporations aren’t people, so they don’t count as “living things.”)

You could say that I’m just more than a little tired of the United States leading the way in all this worldwide nastiness; aren’t you?

The initials “US” are very appropriate. The initials “US” can also stand for the “Unwelcoming Society.” It's what we've become—or perhaps we've always been this way? It's time we stopped and took steps to reverse this horrid trend, don't you think?

 

Related Articles and Articles of Interest

Digital History: The Chinese Exclusion Act https://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=2&psid=3291

Chinese Immigrants Sue Florida Over Unconstitutional, Discriminatory Law https://popularresistance.org/chinese-immigrants-sue-florida-over-unconstitutional-and-discriminatory-law/

ICE, Homeland Security Accused Of Targeting Outspoken Migrant Worker For Deportation https://scheerpost.com/2023/05/27/ice-homeland-security-accused-of-targeting-outspoken-migrant-worker-for-deportation/

Afghan families traverse most of Latin America to seek asylum at the US border https://theworld.org/stories/2023-05-17/afghan-families-traverse-most-latin-america-seek-asylum-us-border

Why are these Afghan refugees still stuck in limbo? https://responsiblestatecraft.org/2023/05/24/two-years-after-us-withdrawal-afghan-refugees-still-stuck-in-limbo/ 

Dozens of GoFundMe Users Seek Funds to Flee States Passing Transphobic Laws  https://scheerpost.com/2023/05/31/dozens-of-gofundme-users-seek-funds-to-flee-states-passing-transphobic-laws/

Target Accused of “Selling Out the LGBTQ+ Community to Extremists”  https://scheerpost.com/2023/05/27/target-accused-of-selling-out-the-lgbtq-community-to-extremists-after-pulling-pride-merchandise/

 

Many transgender health bills came from a handful of far-right interest groups https://apnews.com/article/transgender-health-model-legislation-5cc4a7cb4ab69150f670d06fd0f361ab

About Quislings
https://popularresistance.org/about-quislings/

East Palestine, 100 Days Later
https://scheerpost.com/2023/05/25/east-palestine-100-days-later/

US Troops To Train Peruvian Armed Forces, Proves US Behind Coup  https://popularresistance.org/us-troops-to-train-peruvian-armed-forces-proves-us-behind-coup/

$1.1 Trillion Was Spent On Militarism And War Last Year
https://popularresistance.org/new-report-1-1-trillion-or-62-of-the-federal-discretionary-budget-was-spent-on-militarism-and-war-last-year/

 

Washington-Insider Jeffrey Sachs on US Provoking Ukraine War | SYSTEM UPDATE https://youtu.be/kU7UzrJeX6E

Ukraine: Why Negotiations Are the Only Rational Option in the Face of Climate https://scheerpost.com/2023/05/25/ukraine-why-negotiations-are-the-only-rational-option-in-the-face-of-climate-chaos-and-nuclear-dangers/

 

Yes, Those Bioweapons Labs in Ukraine are a Real Thing

https://joebrunoli.substack.com/p/yes-those-bioweapons-labs-in-ukraine-are-a-real-thing-fad3785f3818

Media's Complete U-Turn After Russia Wins Bakhmut
https://youtu.be/O3kr4ZZl5FA

Fossil Fuel Companies Owe $5.4 Trillion In Reparations, Study Says
https://popularresistance.org/fossil-fuel-companies-owe-5-4-trillion-in-reparations-study-says/

10 Years After Snowden: Some Things Are Better, Some We’re Still Fighting For https://scheerpost.com/2023/05/23/10-years-after-snowden-some-things-are-better-some-were-still-fighting-for/

The Democratic Party’s Crucifixion of Matt Taibbi https://chrishedges.substack.com/p/the-democratic-partys-crucifixion

Manufactured crisis over US debt ceiling sets stage for bipartisan assault on Social Security and Medicare https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/05/25/pers-m25.html 

Kissinger vs. ‘The Most Dangerous Man in America’ https://scheerpost.com/2023/05/28/kissinger-vs-the-most-dangerous-man-in-america/

Coming soon, the first book from The Revolution Continues blog:  The Little Red Book of Revolution

How can you get your e-copy? The easiest way is to subscribe to The Revolution Continues on Substack as a paying subscriber. Choose what level you'd like to subscribe at via the buttons on any post online at https://therevolutioncontinues.substack.com

More details to come. Power to the people!

Human Trafficking Isn't Funny

photo: Dominic Chavez/Getty

Human Trafficking Isn't Funny

 An open letter by Redd Phlagg

 

Dear Governor DeSantis:

You don’t know me, and you probably don’t listen much to anyone who doesn’t live in Florida and wouldn't be willing to vote for you (I wouldn’t), but I thought you should know a few important facts. Your recent stunt flying approximately fifty immigrants to Martha’s Vineyard (from the state of Texas, no less) under false pretenses makes me think you don’t understand some very basic legal concepts, especially in regards to immigrants.

Human trafficking isn’t funny. In fact, it’s against the law. It’s what you did to those poor people. Don’t believe me? The US Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) defines human trafficking as follows:

Human trafficking, also known as trafficking in persons, is a form of modern-day slavery in which traffickers may lure individuals with false promises of employment and a better life.

Noncitizen victims of human trafficking and qualifying criminal activity may not have immigration status in the United States and may therefore be fearful of working with law enforcement. Traffickers and abusers often use a lack of immigration status to exploit and control victims. In addition, language and cultural barriers may make it difficult for victims to reach out for help after experiencing victimization.

These immigrants aren’t “illegals” or undocumented persons as you seem to claim. They aren’t refugees, so they wouldn’t receive the benefits you claimed they would in a misleading brochure you had your flunkies give them. They are asylum seekers. The difference between a refugee and an asylum seeker is a very important legal distinction. According to the USCIS web site:

Refugee status is a form of protection that may be granted to people who meet the definition of refugee and who are of special humanitarian concern to the United States. Refugees are generally people outside of their country who are unable or unwilling to return home because they fear serious harm. For a legal definition of refugee, see section 101(a)(42) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).

You may seek a referral for refugee status only from outside of the United States.

Asylum status is a form of protection available to people who:

• Meet the definition of refugee

• Are already in the United States

• Are seeking admission at a port of entry

You may apply for asylum in the United States regardless of your country of origin or your current immigration status.

These folks were primarily from Venezuela and all had applied for asylum. They were awaiting their court dates in San Antonio, Texas to present their cases. By luring them away with a fake brochure full of false promises of jobs and a better life in “Massachusetts” (without event attempting to help them understand how the US immigration system operates), you committed human trafficking, a form of modern-day slavery.

You've always wanted to be a slave seller, didn’t you, Governor? I can tell.

You exploited and controlled these innocent victims by taking advantage of the fact that they could not speak or read English. You instructed your minions to give them fake brochures detailing “benefits” these newcomers would receive if they got on the plane. You then employed Homeland Security flunkies to fill out USCIS paperwork on their behalf with fake addresses in faraway places such as a homeless shelter in Tacoma, Washington. Not knowing they were being tricked to report to a different court, they wouldn’t be able to make their court dates to present their asylum cases in time, thus forcing the immigration judges’ hands to have them jailed and then removed/deported.

What a funny prank! Putting innocent people in jail—people of color, no less—who didn't have a clue they were being duped because they didn't speak English. Yeah, you're a real racist, class act, Guv.

Lying to innocent people who journeyed far from their homes because of persecution and poverty doesn’t keep you awake at nights? I know you’re going to throw your helpers under the bus to keep yourself out of jail and then say it was all their idea, but really… Filling out government forms with the intent to deceive both the immigrants and the federal government? You do understand that USCIS has and does reserve the right to prosecute any and all persons who fill out immigration forms with the intent to commit fraud, right? (Here’s one example: https://www.uscis.gov/archive/uscis-plays-critical-role-in-investigation-leading-to-the-arrest-of-new-york-immigration-attorney)

At least one policing agency is taking this fraud and deception seriously.

The sheriff of Texas’s Bexar County, which contains San Antonio, announced a criminal investigation into the matter on Tuesday, saying in a statement that the migrants had been “‘lured’ under false pretenses” from a resource center in Bexar County before being flown to Florida and then Martha’s Vineyard, “where they were ultimately left to fend for themselves.”

--Ken Klippenstein, RonDeSantis Charted Planes from GOP-Allied Donor...

Did you really think everyone would just laugh and say, “What a great political stunt!” and let bygones be bygones? And spending $12 million dollars from Florida’s COVID-19 relief funding to traffic immigrants? Do you think red-hatted MAGA Floridians are going to be happy to see such a huge wad of cash being used to fly immigrants from Texas? Did everyone fly first class or did you just pocket the spare change?

I think it was fortunate that, in the end, the people of Martha’s Vineyard came through and did their best to take care of these lost souls’ needs. Did you get a chuckle out of not even giving the folks up north a warning that they were about to receive guests? I suppose you did laugh. Does the word “sadist” ring a bell with you?

Fortunately, legal aid has come to the assistance of these coerced immigrants.

Three of those migrants are suing DeSantis and other officials, claiming that the stunt caused “economic, emotional, and constitutional harms” to them and their families, including their children.

“These immigrants, who are pursuing the proper channels for lawful immigration status in the United States, experienced cruelty akin to what they fled in their home country,” the lawsuit states.

The actions by the Florida governor and others were a “premeditated, fraudulent, and illegal scheme centered on exploiting” the migrants’ vulnerabilities to advance the “personal, financial and political interests” of DeSantis and his allies, the suit alleges.

DeSantis and the other defendants named in the lawsuit “manipulated [migrants], stripped them of their dignity, deprived them of their liberty, bodily autonomy, due process, and equal protection under law, and impermissibly interfered with the Federal Government’s exclusive control over immigration in furtherance of an unlawful goal and a personal political agenda,” the suit adds.

The lawsuit states that the migrants’ Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches and their 14th Amendment due process rights were violated.

–- Chris Walker, Migrants Tricked Onto Martha’s Vineyard Flight Sue DeSantis and Other Officials

Wow. Civil right charges on top of human trafficking and fraud allegations. Y’all have hit the jackpot, Governor!

I’ve said about all I can say to you that’s printable on an open internet forum, so I’ll sign off. It’s arrogant, entitled elitists like you that really make me despise living in this country. It takes so little to be kind to your fellow man—especially those who have suffered greatly in their travels to find a safe place to call home—but scum of the earth like you can’t even see how you’ve gravely wronged these innocents and blackened both your state’s and our nation’s reputations. I sure hope you’re happy.

May you be arrested, tried, and found guilty and imprisoned for your crimes against humanity.

 

Sincerely,

Redd Phlagg

 

P.S. I hope they find you a very large bunk mate in prison who finds your racist, elitist sense of humor just as disgusting as I do.

 

[Editor’s note: Feel free to send this letter or a similar one to Gov. Ron DeSantis, voicing your objections to these immigrants' ill-treatment. He’d probably love his mail box/email box overflowing with letters just about now.  Here's his contact info: https://www.flgov.com/contact-governor/]

More resources to help victims of human trafficking available at:

https://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/victims-of-human-trafficking-and-other-crimes/resources-for-victims-of-human-trafficking-and-other-crimes

Related Articles:

Asylum, Migration and US Foreign Policy https://popularresistance.org/asylum-migration-and-us-foreign-policy/

Immigration experts say the stunt more closely resembles a 'different shade of family separation' https://www.businessinsider.com/immigration-experts-desantis-migrant-relocation-similar-to-family-separation-2022-9

Migrants Tricked Into Martha's Vineyard Flight Sue DeSantis and Other Officials  https://truthout.org/articles/migrants-tricked-into-marthas-vineyard-flight-sue-desantis-and-other-officials/

DeSantis Defends Phony Brochure. Sheriff Launches Criminal Investigation https://popularresistance.org/update-desantis-defends-phony-brochure-sheriff-launches-criminal-investigation/

Ron DeSantis Chartered Planes from GOP Allied Donor to Fly Migrants to Martha's Vineyard  https://www.rsn.org/001/ron-desantis-chartered-planes-from-gopallied-donor-to-fly-migrants-to-marthas-vineyard.html

DOJ to Investigate DeSantis for Cruel Migrant Flights https://truthout.org/articles/house-democrats-call-on-doj-to-investigate-desantis-for-cruel-migrant-flights/

Biden's Peace for Afghanistan is a Humanitarian Disaster
https://scheerpost.com/2022/09/23/andres-auraz-bidens-peace-for-afghanistan-is-a-humanitarian-disaster/

Number of Ultra-Rich Hits All Time High as Someone Dies from Hunger Every 4 Seconds https://scheerpost.com/2022/09/21/number-of-ultrarich-hits-all-time-high-as-someone-dies-from-hunger-every-4-seconds/

Censorship from Book Burning to Racist Babies
https://scheerpost.com/2022/09/21/censorship-from-book-burning-to-racist-babies/

Seen on Twitter:

Stop and watch this video.

Whatever you thought about the governors' stunt... it turns out it was worse.pic.twitter.com/GASpsChOzl

— John Scott-Railton (@jsrailton) September 16, 2022

!!! a fake brochure promising eight months cash assistance, food, job training/placement, help with housing + more was given to migrants who were lured by @GovRonDeSantis into boarding a flight to martha’s vineyard. @JuddLegum obtained a copy: https://t.co/nSIwWOE6Zh pic.twitter.com/RLtqoeLPC8

— Marisa Kabas (@MarisaKabas) September 19, 2022

 ***

A Texas Sheriff has just opened a criminal investigation into Florida Governor Ron DeSantis's intentional deception of children, families, and migrants for an entirely self-interested political stunt.

The truth is these families had just reached safety when they were treated as political props and lied to: told they would be taken to Boston where they could get work papers and housing, and instead flown to Martha's Vineyard.

Now, evidence is mounting that DeSantis might have broken multiple laws in his blind pursuit of political power – and we need him to be held accountable by the highest law officers in the land.

Add your name to call on the Department of Justice to investigate Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for tricking migrants into flying to Martha's Vineyard.

ADD YOUR NAME

The callousness to think it's acceptable to lie to people who've already endured heartbreaking journeys to flee disaster, and then leave them in an intentionally chaotic and confusing situation is mind-blowing.

But DeSantis is joining Governors Abbott and Ducey in a concerted campaign to create and maintain the idea that immigration is in 'crisis' for their own political benefit. Evidently, DeSantis even got the idea for his Martha's Vineyard airlift from a July 26 Tucker Carlson monologue.

It's a tactic taken straight from the MAGA playbook, and it might have been illegal.

Experts say DeSantis may have engaged in human trafficking – exploiting these families' immigration statuses to lure them onto planes with the promise of jobs – and that he might have abused the Florida law authorizing the funds, because none of the migrants were even in Florida when they got on the plane.

The Department of Justice has the power and authority to hold DeSantis accountable – Add your name to call on them to investigate Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for tricking migrants into flying to Martha's Vineyard.

While we press as hard as we can to stop DeSantis's cruelty, it's important to remember that politically these stunts are backfiring.

Instead of dividing us, in every location migrants have been sent to, caring communities are springing up to welcome families with food, shelter, and support.

And while we condemn the cruelty, we're also celebrating the incredible spirit and humanity of these volunteers, who are showing with every action the kind of American we can be.

Thanks for all you do,
Erin Mazursky | Interim Director
Families Belong Together

Bless the Bees and the Children

Bless the Bees and the Children

by C.A. Matthews

I don't care very much for daylight savings time, but I do like how in the spring the days become longer and the sun brighter in the Northern Hemisphere. It makes it easier to deal with this crazy world whenever I spy a spot of green growing along a sidewalk or a flock of birds in a field or an insect buzzing about. (Well, at least pollinators buzzing about. I won't be too happy about mosquitoes before too long.) To quote the book of Ecclesiastes and The Byrds: "To everything there is a season--turn, turn, turn!" (Video: https://youtu.be/pKP4cfU28vM)

Are there seasons in politics? I assume there are, as primary season is upon us in many states. Are there seasons in social movements? Oh, definitely there are. Turn, turn, turn!

The children are leading our new season in social movements this year. The March for Our Lives is being led by students everywhere this coming Saturday in response to the latest mass shooting at an American high school. Isn't it wonderful that our young people don't know cynicism and silent rage like their parents? Instead, they are optimistic and striving to build a better future. They're not keeping their anger contained--they're channeling it into a positive message: Human lives are infinitely more precious than AR-15s.

 

They are shouting, "Enough is enough! We don't care that the NRA owns you, Mr. and Ms. Senator. You're supposed to be working for our best interests. You're supposed to want to keep us, your children, safe and not your blood-money-filled bank accounts."

And so, with the coming of spring we have the coming of a new world. It's a world of our children's making. It's not going to be the world we old farts grew up in and grew too comfortable in without a thought of what we were doing to their future. It's a world where they will have to work hard to erase all the damage we've done--ecologically, environmentally, socially, politically, psychologically, morally. Thank heaven they seem up to the task.

When I grow up I want to be just like them.

Where will you be this weekend? Will you be with the children marching and demanding sane gun control laws in this sick country? Or will you be sitting at home bemoaning how much you despise the current occupant in the White House?  If you're doing the second activity rather than the first, ask yourself this: When did whining about something ever make it change for the better? 

Follow the children's example. Paint a sign and head to your local march. Stand up for their safety! Then go home and plant some pollinator-attractive plants (not coated with bee-killing pesticides or any non-organic substances) so we all can have fruit in the future. After all, the future is the direction the world is traveling in--don't be left behind!

As The Carpenters sang:

Bless the beasts and the children
For in this world they have no voice
They have no choice

Bless the beasts and the children
For the world can never be
The world they see

Light their way
When the darkness surrounds them
Give them love
Let it shine all around them

Bless the beasts and the children

Give them shelter from the storm

Keep them safe

Keep them warm

https://youtu.be/AhR36gV6vW4

Follow the children's shining light. Give them love. Keep them safe. Let them have the voice they deserve in this world and in the one to come. 

 

 

Related articles:

Enough! A Million Students Walk Out of Schools To Demand Action On Guns in Historic Day of Protest (with video):
https://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/318-66/49003-enough-a-million-students-walk-out-of-schools-to-demand-action-on-guns-in-historic-day-of-protest
  
Teens Go Nuts Over Bernie’s Surprise Appearance At a Walkout Rally:  https://youtu.be/5zV2_htGpV0

Here's What Happened When the Supreme Court Ruled on Whether Students Can Protest During School (a 1969 court case):
http://time.com/5171160/gun-control-student-protest-history/

ACLU: This is a School, Not a Jail (with video):
https://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/2018/03/15/aclu-letter-greenville-county-schools/427727002/ 

More Children Have Been Killed By Guns Since Sandy Hook Than U.S. Soldiers In Combat Since 9/11:
http://www.newsweek.com/gun-violence-children-killed-sandy-hook-military-soldiers-war-terror-911-848602 

Meet the Students Leading Mass Protests for Gun Control:
https://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/318-66/49019-meet-the-students-leading-mass-protests-for-gun-control 

Moms Demand Action (a  group fighting for gun control):
https://momsdemandaction.org/ 

*** 

If you're willing and able, The Revolution Continues has set up an easy way to donate to the cause of keeping it ad-free. Three years without ads (that many other sites have to cover costs) has been great, but the editor does have to pay for Internet, electricity, etc. Any amount you can donate to keep this progressive site going without those awful ads is appreciated. Thank you.

You can donate via Paypal at http://paypal.me/camatthews

Power to the people!

 

***

The youth-led movement against gun violence is kicking up this month with the national “March for Our Lives” on March 24th. But while those brave young people rally at the nation’s capitol, many state legislatures are quietly drafting bills designed to curb protests and silence First Amendment rights to free speech and assembly. 

Sign the petition: Stop state governments from criminalizing activism. 

Ever since water protectors stood firm at Standing Rock, multinational companies have been lobbying state and federal lawmakers to pass laws to make it harder for people to protest. With the help of ALEC, the Koch brothers-funded project to push far-right legislation, 31 states have proposed anti-protest legislation.¹

Some of these bills, like those introduced in Washington and North Carolina, would define political demonstrations like rallies and sit-ins as “economic terrorism.”² Bills pending in Minnesota, Iowa, and Missouri would criminalize protesting on highways and streets, carrying fines as high as $7,000 and up to 5 years in prison.³

Sign the petition: Stop state governments from criminalizing activism.

So far, the Koch brothers and pipeline companies like Energy Transfer Partners (the company behind the North Dakota Access Pipeline), lead the lobbying efforts to block protesters. But make no mistake: as our nation’s young people continue to effectively organize for gun violence prevention, it’s only a matter of time before gun manufacturers and the NRA jump on this anti-protest bandwagon as well.

Sign the petition: Stop state governments from criminalizing activism.

Thank you for taking action,
Reuben and the team at Demand Progress

DONATE

Sources:
1. National Lawyers Guild, “Conservative-led Anti-Protest Legislation Already Doubled Since Last Year,” February 15, 2018.
2. The Hill, “The assault on environmental protest,” March 2, 2018.
3. International Center for Not-for-Profit Law, “US Protest Law Tracker,” February 27, 2018.

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From Friends of the Earth:

Bees are responsible for one in every three bites of food we eat. But supermarket giant Kroger is failing to protect them from toxic pesticides.

Kroger is still selling food grown with bee-killing neonicotinoids and other pesticides. These chemicals are linked to unsustainable bee die-offs that threaten our entire food system.

Kroger is the second largest food retailer in the U.S. So the first step to shifting the entire grocery sector away from killing bees is convincing Kroger to stop selling food grown with toxic pesticides. We need YOU to help make that happen!

Tell Kroger: Stop selling food grown with bee-killing pesticides!

The threat that pesticides pose to our food system is clear. A global body of independent scientists have reviewed thousands of studies and concluded that systemic insecticides are a major worldwide threat to biodiversity and ecosystems. They called for an immediate stop to agricultural uses of these toxic pesticides.

They even released a report showing that many alternatives exist. So there is no excuse for using these toxic pesticides.

Garden retailers like Home Depot and Lowe’s have committed to stop selling plants grown with bee-killing neonicotinoids. But food retailers are dragging their feet on this issue. This week, Friends of the Earth released a report showing that 20 out of 25 of the top food retailers in the U.S. are not doing enough to stop the unsustainable bee die-offs.
Kroger shouldn’t be selling food grown with these toxic pesticides. It should step up to protect our food system and its customers from these chemicals.

Tell Kroger: Stop selling food grown with toxic pesticides!

Kroger has the power to act on this issue. It can commit to stop stocking its shelves with food grown with pesticides like Dow’s nerve gas pesticide chlorpyrifos, Monsanto’s Roundup® and Bayer’s neonicotinoids.

Already, some supermarkets are taking steps to address this issue. Whole Foods is making progress on eliminating these toxic pesticides on the food it sells and offering more organic options. This means its customers have more access to organic food that is free of all synthetic pesticides and that supports 50 percent more pollinator species.

But we need to shift the market faster if we want to save bees and other pollinators. We’re on the brink of a second Silent Spring. If we don't rapidly move away from toxic pesticides, we could lose bees, birds, butterflies and aquatic insects that are all essential to our food production systems and our environment.

Our health and the environment can’t wait. We need to transition away from these harmful pesticides NOW in order to protect bees and all of us. That’s where you come in.

Tell Kroger: Stop selling food grown with toxic pesticides NOW!

Standing with you,
Tiffany Finck-Haynes,
Senior food futures campaigner,
Friends of the Earth

***

This is AMAZING:

We’re gathering 20,000 signatures in support of SUING Big Oil, and we need you take a second to sign on →

SIGN TO SUPPORT SUING BIG OIL →

Arnold Schwarzenegger is DEAD SERIOUS about suing Big Oil:

Just like Arnold, we’re ready to fight Big Oil till the end.

So we’re collecting signatures to show public support for SUING Big Oil. Please take a moment out of your day to sign →

SIGN TO SUPPORT SUING BIG OIL →

Environmentalists have called for legal action against Big Oil modeled after lawsuits against Big Tobacco.

And that’s EXACTLY Arnold is doing.

Big Oil has known for DECADES that fossil fuels contribute to climate change -- their OWN studies confirmed it.

If a company’s product is KILLING, they MUST be held accountable.

So we need a MASSIVE showing of public support for SUING Big Oil.

https://secure.314action.org/Sue-Big-Oil

Thanks for signing,

314 Action