First they came for the immigrants

NO Kings - St. Joseph, MI - Photo by Aram Vartian

In 1946, Martin Niemoller, a German Lutheran pastor, published a now-famous lament for his failure to protest during the rise of the Nazis:

“First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist.

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.”

Today, in the United States, we are experiencing an attempt by Donald Trump and his MAGA accomplices to destroy our democracy and substitute a brutal dictatorship. Now is the time for everyone who values freedom to rise up and speak out against this immoral and unconstitutional assault on our nation.

On the weekend of June 14th, more than 5 million Americans attended over two thousand different protests labeled “No Kings” rallies. They were a response to the many attacks on our democracy instituted in the past 5 months by the Trump administration.

It was a great application of the first amendment right to “peaceful assembly and to petition the government for redress of grievances.”

The vile odor of racism rises from Trump’s persistent characterization of Mexican and Latin American immigrants as “rapists and murderers”, and from the violent actions of masked agents of ICE (United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement) against individuals of Hispanic descent. In a recent example, California Senator Alex Padilla, whose family immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico, was violently ejected, dragged to the ground and handcuffed for nothing more than attempting to ask a question of the Homeland Security Secretary during a press conference.

Add to that the sending of the National Guard and Marine troops to California without a request, and over the opposition, of State and Local officials, which highlights the Trump Administration’s attempt to create an incident rather than resolve one.

The “No Kings” rallies demonstrate a good start to remembrance of Niemöller’s experience, and the creation of a new opening: “First they came for the immigrants, and we protested and rallied!”

Ed Shaffer

Galien