You Can’t Spell Hatred Without “Red Hat” - San Diego Edition

It’s appropriate the long weekend created by remembrances of Martin Luther King, Jr. served as a flash point in the struggle between love and hate.

Hate’s winning right now. I’m going to do several posts today to make my point.

My Exhibit A --though not as sensational as a mob of white teens wearing racist paraphernalia being abusive to people on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial-- is right here in San Diego.

Our local Red Hat types have been busying themselves living in the President’s fantasies about migrant hordes by harassing and threatening those who seek to provide humanitarian aid.  

Sunday’s Union-Tribune included a story about actions being taken by California’s Gov. Newsom to to help migrant families arriving at the California border. He’s asking for $25 million for San Diego nonprofits and community organizations, collectively known as the San Diego Rapid Response Network.

The coalition of nonprofits led by Jewish Family Service of San Diego, the ACLU Foundation of San Diego & Imperial Counties, SEIU Local 221 and the San Diego Organizing Project have provided temporary shelter and meals to over 5000 people, primarily women and children.

Most of the refugees helped by the ad-hoc San Diego Rapid Response Network are housed for just 24 to 48 hours until travel arrangements can be made.

These groups, fueled by hundreds of volunteers, have been undertaking a heroic effort to assist families released by federal officials after asking for asylum at the southwest border. After being processed by immigration authorities, these mostly Honduran refugees are given court dates, fitted with an electronic ankle tracker, and dumped on the streets.

Although each and every one of these humans have people willing to take them in at their final destination, they arrive malnourished, with weakened immune systems, and little to no possessions.

Volunteers serve as guides to help these refugees navigate the 21st century challenges facing them as they make their way to their sponsors.

They are strangers in a strange land dealing with people whose language they don’t understand. Many have never flown on a plane, much less faced the modern day labyrinths of airline protocols and TSA security lines. I know of one woman who’d never seen a escalator before.     

Perhaps the most important shelter these non-profits provide these refugees is some semblance of protection from rabid nativists and racists. Volunteers are asked not to reveal the locations of temporary shelters.  

The shelter itself has moved five times since October when immigration officials announced they would no longer help migrant families arrange travel plans with their sponsors across the country before releasing them and has yet to find a permanent location.

Last week, one of the shelters was compromised. Police were called in to respond to harassment by a individual known to harbor anti-immigrant sentiments.

What everybody is hoping to avoid is a replay of the 2014 refugee crisis, where busses filled with refugees were blocked and/or force to run through a gauntlet of hate.

And while those aiding the refugees are happy to hear about state monies coming their way, they remain uncertain about finding a secure site.

The County Board of Supervisors, following a motion by Nathan Fletcher, have directed staff to locate county-owned property available on temporary basis and established a task force to seek longer term solutions as well as solicit federal and state assistance. The City of San Diego has also been meeting with the Rapid Response Network.  

Supervisors Daine Jacob and Kristin Gaspar voted against providing county property on a temporary basis, with Jacob saying their first priority is to house San Diego County’s own homeless population.

From the Union-Tribune coverage:

Norma Chávez-Peterson, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union in San Diego and Imperial counties, one of the organizations spearheading the network, called the recent attention received by officials “tide-shifting.”

“It’s been a combination of many, many, many different pieces that collectively got aligned and helped to really shed light,” Chávez-Peterson said. “Until people see it, feel it, hear it — that moves folks to action.”

She worried about the city’s proposal to use Camp Barrett as a shelter. She was particularly concerned that the mayor’s office published the location. Shelter organizers have worked hard to keep its whereabouts a secret to protect the arriving migrants.

***

Trump hits a wall

The U.S. is headed for a showdown. The partial government shutdown is the most obvious symptom. Democrats correctly say this form of political hostage taking must be stopped. This week it may be ‘the wall.’ Next up it may be social security. Or medicare. Or food stamps.

The founders set up a system of governance and now it's apparently to be discarded in the name of xenophobia.

From the Trumplican perspective, this situation is a win-win: shrink government and demonize brown people. The damage to our democracy is a feature, not a bug. In case you haven’t noticed, the GOP is no longer shy about its authoritarian tendencies.

Compromise is unlikely to come from within. Only external pressures will bring this to a head. That means us. I don’t know what the trigger will be. The both-sides-ism of the mass media serves as a distraction from the harm being done.   

Parallel to the crisis in Washington are the strikes and protests coming from teachers. What started in Los Angeles last week will spread to other places around the country.

If you’re paying attention, the issues at the heart of these actions go way beyond compensation: teachers are fighting for the future of public education. Paying them what they’re worth is only an issue if you think what they’re doing is worthwhile in the first place. The commodification of education comes with the understanding that social, creative, and civics instruction doesn’t provide the return on investment needed by hedge funds and venture capitalists.

Pay attention folks.