A Plea to Our Side to Watch the Optics

 

Today I went to an anti-ICE protest.  Attendance was remarkable good, given that it was just noticed yesterday.  Cars drove by, honking their horns in support.  I am not sure they would have been so supportive if they had heard what some of our speakers were saying.  Support for the Palestinian cause, which easily translates into support for Hamas.  Saying that our whole system is hopelessly corrupt and must be overturned.  Saying that no one is illegal on stolen land, implying -- and something saying directly -- that the United States is an illegitimate entity.  

Look, up till now we have been frustrated, seeing La Migra's tyrannical behavior as the most important issue, but having to focus on kitchen table issues because that was what the public cared about.  And now, finally, La Migra's full abusiveness has broken through to the general public and become THE issue.  Can we please not blow it?

Anti-anti-Trump conservatives are largely coalescing around a particular view of the situation in Minneapolis, namely, that while La Migra may have used excessive force and they don't approve, the excessive force has to be seen in the context of all the hostility La Migra has been receiving lately, and that Team Trump has to hold firm and not back down or they will be giving a veto to the mob.  In other words, they are portraying La Migra as the forces of law and order and the protesters as the forces of lawlessness and disorder.  

Clearly one way to fight that is to show massive footage of Migra abuse that is neither lawful nor orderly.  Another is to convey to the extent possible just how lawless La Migra has been when the cameras are not watching.  Talk about their harassment of anyone who is not white and demands to see proof of citizenship.  Talk about all the people they have arrested who really were citizens or legal residents.  Try to convey the fear and persecution experienced by people minding their own business simply because they were not white.  And team up with cops here to talk about how much this violates the most basic standards of police professionalism.  Let us, by all means, seek alliance with police to dispel any notion that La Migra stands for law and order.

I would urge our side to keep in mind with every action that it will probably end up being filmed and shown on social media, so always act with that in mind.  I also bear in mind that not everyone sees things the same way we do.  We may see shrieking whistles, honking horns, shouting insults and general hostility as righteous resistance.  At lot of other people will see it as disorderly and abusive and sympathize with La Migra, especially if they stoically accept abuse.  And yes, I understand that the blowing whistles and honking horns are necessary to warn people.  They still aren't pleasant.  And I also understand that while we can control where protests take place, we can't control where La Migra will show up.  And I understand that expecting people to keep their cool in the face of ICE outrages, often against friends and neighbors is a very hard ask.  But this is still the battle for public opinion, so optics should never be far from our minds.

Good optics:

• Protesters dancing in cute inflatable costumes.
• Minneapolis sledding with cute, anti-ICE themes.
• Protesters singing "This Land is Your Land" or "Lean on Me."
• Protesters dressing as Lady Liberty or carrying the flag
• Footage of Migra violence, threats, or abusive behavior.

Bad optics:

• Mexican flags.
• People shouting, cursing, and yelling obscenities at La Migra.
• People obstructing immigration officers on their time off, minding their own business.
• Disrupting church services.
• Anything that looks like a "clash," as opposed to one-sided violence by La Migra.
• Anything that could be termed a mob or a riot.