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Elephant in the room: separating children at the border

  1. snowjewelz

    wonderful kiwi / 23653 posts

    @NorthStar: Now I'm just ragey all over again

  2. NorthStar

    pear / 1881 posts

    @snowjewelz: Sorry! I've been feeling damned ragey everyday this week. But, we need to keep on them to do the right thing.

  3. snowjewelz

    wonderful kiwi / 23653 posts

    @NorthStar: Don't be sorry! We all need feel it and take action.

    I'm going to look for resource on how to help people/organizations trying to reunite separated families.

    Also no one answered my question yesterday; can I call another state's senator? I guess now I can still call my Democrat representatives to urge them to help with the reunification process, but would my call count if I call to other states, esp border states?

  4. Mrs. Lemon-Lime

    wonderful pea / 17279 posts

    @snowjewelz: Angela Rye posted this general number on he Instagram 202-224-3121. You provide your zip code and then share your support.

  5. NorthStar

    pear / 1881 posts

    @snowjewelz: I wish i knew the answer to your question. I'm not entirely sure. Perhaps lie and say you live in their district? lol. I am really not sure of the best answer.

  6. snowjewelz

    wonderful kiwi / 23653 posts

    @Mrs. Lemon-Lime: Oh I'll try that at lunch today!

  7. Adira

    wonderful pomelo / 30692 posts

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/national/wp/2018/06/21/trump-administration-will-stop-prosecuting-migrant-parents-who-cross-the-border-illegally-with-children-official-says/?utm_term=.21e4c5d16f06

    Administration says "“We’re suspending prosecutions of adults who are members of family units until ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) can accelerate resource capability to allow us to maintain custody."

  8. NorthStar

    pear / 1881 posts

    This was what I saw last night regarding kids being sent to other states. This is specifically related to NY

    http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/06/laguardia-draws-protesters-as-separated-children-come-to-ny.html?utm_campaign=nym&utm_medium=s1&utm_source=tw

  9. afc061018

    apricot / 301 posts

    This TedTalk on the moral matrix is good food for thought on why conservative friends and family may not be ragey over this and other issues that I consider less political and more moral in nature:

    https://www.ted.com/talks/jonathan_haidt_on_the_moral_mind

    @snowjewelz: I believe you can, but shouldn't, call another state's senator. They will ask for your zip code when you call, so you'll either have to lie or be honest, in which case I believe your call won't be passed on to the senator. (Someone with more knowledge please correct me if I'm wrong.)

  10. snowjewelz

    wonderful kiwi / 23653 posts

    @NorthStar: Started ugly crying at work when I read there's a freaking 9 month old ALL THE WAY IN NY separated from his/her parents

  11. erinbaderin

    pomelo / 5573 posts

    I read that RAICES has said they’re going to use the money donated to work to reunite parents and children, if that makes anybody feel better?

  12. snowjewelz

    wonderful kiwi / 23653 posts

    @NorthStar: Thank you for this btw; found one facility where I live and I'll be reaching out to see what assistance they need.

  13. Mrs. Lemon-Lime

    wonderful pea / 17279 posts

    Melania Trump is in Texas at a children detention center and asked how she can help quickly reunite the families. Thank goodness someone with a little influence has a heart.

  14. Adira

    wonderful pomelo / 30692 posts

    @Mrs. Lemon-Lime: Yes, but the site she visited is mostly unaccompanied minors. I think it only has maybe 5 kids that were separated from their families.

    But I agree - at least she's out there and publicly saying "What can we do to help reunite families?"

  15. Mrs. Lemon-Lime

    wonderful pea / 17279 posts

    @Adira: 🤔 I wonder if she knows she’s getting the water down version.

  16. Adira

    wonderful pomelo / 30692 posts

    @Mrs. Lemon-Lime: Yeah, I don't know how she (or whoever) determined which center to visit.

  17. Littlebit7

    nectarine / 2243 posts

    @Mrs. Lemon-Lime: I was happy to see she was asking the question out loud. Like a normal human being with decent standards would.

    I agree with others that this isn’t isn’t a political issue. People in support of this barbarity say it is “politics” because they won’t/can’t admit that their moral standards are the way they are. This is just how some of these supporters function at their basic level. Their baseline accepts that these actione are ok, because anything else is an infringement on their “rights” and “freedoms”. It’s a farce. A disgusting farce.

  18. math.nerd

    apricot / 253 posts

    @snowjewelz: I've read a lot about this issue of calling out of state representatives. In general, I don't do it. It can clog phone lines and it lessens the impact of the actual constituents calling. What I tend to do is think of all the people I know in the states where it makes a difference and encourage THEM to call. There are also several groups who run text campaigns to do just that - encourage people with Republican representation to make the calls themselves.

    That said, I do think this is an issue where the moral implications are just so significant that I could justify calling someone out of state. I haven't done it yet (I've just been calling them out on Twitter and asking why they haven't signed onto Feinstein's bill - who knows if that's effective) - but that's my two cents from my activism circles.

  19. Adira

    wonderful pomelo / 30692 posts

    @afc061018: That Ted Talk was fascinating, but I'm still confused on how to use this information, especially when dealing with those that think it's okay to steal children away from their parents for whatever reason!

  20. snowjewelz

    wonderful kiwi / 23653 posts

    @math.nerd: Thanks! I don't think I'll call other states. Since now I have contacted the facility literally 10 minutes away from where I live to see how I can help....

    I know they say foster homes are urgently needed but preferably parents should be Spanish speaking.

  21. snowjewelz

    wonderful kiwi / 23653 posts

    @afc061018: I'm reading the transcript now! Thanks for this.

  22. math.nerd

    apricot / 253 posts

    @snowjewelz: Where do you live?

  23. snowjewelz

    wonderful kiwi / 23653 posts

    @math.nerd: I'll wall you

    The statement about needing foster homes is actually from the article, not from this facility itself.

  24. afc061018

    apricot / 301 posts

    @snowjewelz: Of course!

    @Adira: I know! It is interesting. Forgive me if this gets long, but here's how I used the info in the TedTalk.

    I work with many deeply conservative ppl, and since the election, I've had regular instances when things come up at the office. I've had to develop communication skills I never needed before, when politics and life were not so heated. For me, most of the issues in the election and post-election are moral ones, not political. I have a hard time fathoming how someone could not agree on the care and safety of children. But they do, so if I want any chance of living in a peaceful, diverse society, I've got to develop any way I can to foster meaningful cross-aisle conversations. It's one of the hardest things I've ever done. Sometimes I fail. So trying to understand how my conservative co-workers view morality differently from me helps me try to convey my feelings in ways they might be able to relate to better, rather than thinking I'm the whiny, sensitive snowflake the president tells them I am.

    In the case of these children, the talk says, "[Conservatives] want order, even at some cost to those at the bottom." So now I understand why they don't view the plight of the kids in the same as I do, and I would approach the conversation as, "I want an orderly, fair, and safe immigration system too. I'm worried right now we don't have any order, and we need those in charge to rethink what they're doing so that we can regain order and safety. I think keeping families together would help calm the fears of the immigrant families and the nation and help a lot with restoring order to a complicated process. Do you think so too?" Asking them where the heck they lost their morality isn't going to do anything but shut them down. (I think I failed at this earlier in this thread with Tlynne, for the record. I try, but I'm human!)

    Anyway, sorry this is so long! It's something that happens to me regularly and I don't want to run from an opportunity to (hopefully) help someone think not all liberals are scum. My college professor was a Holocaust expert, and he taught that the reason German citizens were able to be silent bystanders and active participants in the actions of their gov't was that they allowed hate-fueled propaganda and the stresses of war to shrink their "circle of humanity." Once someone's outside your circle, you sidestep your role/responsibility in their fate. Ever since, my mantra has always been to examine news/politics with a question: Is this trying to shrink my circle, or expand it?

  25. Mrs. Lion

    blogger / grapefruit / 4836 posts

    @snowjewelz: I haven't read all of the comments so forgive me if this was already discussed, but do you know how to find out if there are centers in my city? Or if there are kids who need a foster home near me? We have temporary space if there are kids in my area. My Spanish is awful, but I do know some.

  26. snowjewelz

    wonderful kiwi / 23653 posts

    @Mrs. Lion: I only found out in the article NORTHSTAR posted for NY that reporters/journalists found a list of NY facilities that are under contract with the govt. I tried to do some googling but no luck so far... I'll let you know!

  27. Mrs. Lion

    blogger / grapefruit / 4836 posts

    @snowjewelz: I tried too and haven't been able to figure it out. I am meeting with my social worker today and am going to ask. I was hoping to organize a group of moms to go to Texas and help care for the kids but apparently that isn't a thing people are allowed to do. I feel so helpless about this whole thing. I know supporting the legal aid is so helpful, but it doesn't help the fact that there are babies with nobody to hold them right now. It's too much. I can't take it.

  28. snowjewelz

    wonderful kiwi / 23653 posts

    @Mrs. Lion: I know. I am still tearing up thinking about a 9 month old baby all the way in NY. I am terrified thinking about how he/she can be reunited with family as babies grow and change so much.

    I want to see where I can donate to that are focusing efforts to track these children and link them back up with family. The longer this goes on the harder it's gonna get

  29. afc061018

    apricot / 301 posts

    Ummm. I try really, really hard not to inflame things, but I don't understand this at ALL.



  30. Adira

    wonderful pomelo / 30692 posts

    @afc061018: Thanks! That is definitely helpful, especially your example. I remember hearing about this morality stuff a while ago and how conservatives hold respecting authority as more tightly tied to their morals than liberals do, which is why you might hear a conservative question why, when a police officer shoots someone, that person didn't do whatever the police officer told them too, etc. It makes sense, to a degree, I just don't fully understand how some people grow to be conservative vs liberal, I guess. Must be the nurture part of the equation.

  31. Adira

    wonderful pomelo / 30692 posts

    @afc061018: Holy shi.... WTF??? That jacket!?

  32. jennlin821

    kiwi / 617 posts

    https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/06/melania-trump-jacket-i-really-dont-care-for-border-children-visit.html

    This is not tone-deaf this is as clear of a message Melania and this White House Administration can send.

  33. NorthStar

    pear / 1881 posts

    @jennlin821: my sister sent me the same picture and seriously, WTF. How does one person even think that is appropriate?!

  34. Maysprout

    grapefruit / 4800 posts

    “Be Best” apparently means to bully traumatized children

  35. lioneyes

    persimmon / 1286 posts

    her jacket.... was coming here to post. so whenever you hear people saying "well she's not so bad!" remind them of this.

    @mrs.lion i think the government/people running these detention centers do not WANT people to hold/hug these babies and kids. cause they are in jail. I read a very upsetting post by a flight attendant on a flight carrying 16 kids across the country in the middle of the night to a new detention center. she hugged one crying little girl as they were getting off the plane and the chaperone went nuts.

  36. NorthStar

    pear / 1881 posts

    @lioneyes: I read another account where the flight attendants delayed a flight by 30 minutes until they were certain they were not transporting separated children. The feds assured them they were not, so they finally flew to their destination. to then find out that they WERE separated kids. The flight attendants were livid and understandably extremely upset. This account may have been within the story I posted above, but my god, why is this happening?!

  37. snowjewelz

    wonderful kiwi / 23653 posts

    @NorthStar: I feel like I'm even more upset now. At least before when they were separated they were all still around the same area but now, who the heck know and it's just killing me

    The facility I live close to says they will take donations but not much else are to be done at this time.

    I know for NYC, they are definitely looking for supply donations and looking for foster parents that speak Spanish.

  38. Mrsbells

    squash / 13199 posts

    @jennlin821:

  39. NorthStar

    pear / 1881 posts

    @snowjewelz: Thank you for at least seeing if you can do something. I know a few airlines have asked the federal government to stop using their airline for transporting these kids. I don't see how this isn't kidnapping? like serious amber alert material. I'm sorry to have made you more upset. This is beyond ridiculous. Bringing kids into NYC under the cover of night?!

  40. snowjewelz

    wonderful kiwi / 23653 posts

    @NorthStar: I just feel so, so bad for these kids.

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