Nuts and bolts. I study the history of progressive, nonviolent social change movements. The way they are represented in popular history and how they work in reality are very different. Groups of likeminded people need to be networked and there needs to be money behind it. A small number of people need to be supported so that they can work, travel, and not have to worry about their family. This often happens through churches, partly because their finances can be kept private. Note that I said “through” not “in.” An effective mass movement that appears spontaneous is anything but. Get ready to ask people for money, to work with people you don’t like, and to do things that may seem unethical. There is only one way this works.
My view is those are all good ideas, but right now we are on the verge of losing our democracy and we live under a corrupt president consolidating his dictatorship. Resistance is the answer for now. One example is in the video of the Buffalo Springfield link you provided. At one point an ICE officer is intimidating people in a line questioning only black and brown skinned people. One person's response to "are you a US Citizen" was "I don't have to answer that." Right on.
It is difficult for me to interact with most Republicans or MAGA, because as soon as they refer to Alligator Alcatraz as if it is some acceptable thing that should be expanded, I already consider the person to be one of the most despicable human beings a person could meet, so it's hard to relate.
Opposition to Diversity and Inclusion? Where did that come from? Since when did diversity become a bad thing. I thought we left that behind when we ended segregated bathrooms and pools--when medical and law school classes started including women. Yes, I'm talking to you Brenna Bird. Without people before you insisting on diversity, you wouldn't even be a lawyer, much less the attorney general.
My opinion is if MAGA in Iowa ever comes around to tolerate DEI, it won't be when you sit down and have a beer with them. It will be when Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan et al. start taking Iowa football recruits by putting the statements of Reynolds, the Board of Regents and Republican legislators in their recruiting folders and showing the information to a black recruit's mother. You don't want that experience for your son, do you? Here at Washington, USC, etc. we welcome people of color to OUR school (especially four and five star recruits).
Aligator Alcatraz in Iowa? You can try to stop construction of these deplorable facilities by reasoning with these MAGA politicians and tell them that the murderer being detained by ICE is almost non-existent and instead they are grabbing people with no criminal records who have lived here for 10 years and who process your food and they are putting them in hell holes so private prisons can profit and provide kick backs to the Trump Administration, OR, you can just go with their bull shit and ask them if they really want thousands of murderers and rapists living in tents next to their homes. It sucks, but the latter argument is the one that works to kill off the facility.
Resist, resist, resist every peaceful way possible. The stakes have never been higher.
Thankyou Jan and Bob. This is a call to action. It is a call to mentally engage beyond news bites and photo op's. Our fellow Iowans in small towns when confronted with peril or tragedy come together and form a body of resilience. Maybe we start by saying hello to our neighbors and introduce ourselves. We start by using the grace our Creator gave to us as human beings.
I forwarded this article to my husband, a Mexican immigrant, because I believe he can provide some useful answers to the questions posed. I grew up in Iowa, and was completely dedicated to the idea of individualism until I met my husband and finally understood what community means. I believe that America is set up to keep people from building connections to each other--for example, starting in middle school, kids start rotating between classrooms, constantly changing to a new group of kids every hour of the day. In Mexico, on the other hand, it is typical to progress throughout school, including college, with a cohort of classmates--the teacher changes throughout the day, but you stay with your group of classmates with whom you develop a strong bond. Neighborhoods are the same--in America, we rarely know the names of neighbors two houses down. In my husband's town of 80,000, families are known by nicknames (for example, "deer family"), and he can recognize hundreds of people and what family they are part of (he just listed off 13 or 14 family nicknames for me when I asked), knows their family history, etc. He's maintained that capacity here in Iowa and knows on sight hundreds of Latinos across the state. He'll always chide me when I don't know someone who I met once 10 years ago in a small town we visited together. I think that there is a fundamental cultural difference in his capacity to build networks and partnerships with people. If we want to understand how to build community, we should learn from the immigrants from collectivist cultures that are living here in Iowa.
Your husband spent his youth learning social skills that most US citizens do not have. Getting along with people you don’t like is at the top of the list. Sharing is another. Celebrating other people’s victories as if they were your own is another. These are characteristics that have never been strong in mainstream US culture. You are right that we have a lot to learn.
There are sooo many good honest hardworking people in this world…I want to be with them. Thanks for the great piece. Growing up in Iowa, I see what is lost. Yet, our local paper just printed photos and article on the Unite the Night was the MOST attended ever. People are seeking connection like never before. Let’s continue this path of uniting…and finding our way in the midst of the overarching issues. Thanks.
Nuts and bolts. I study the history of progressive, nonviolent social change movements. The way they are represented in popular history and how they work in reality are very different. Groups of likeminded people need to be networked and there needs to be money behind it. A small number of people need to be supported so that they can work, travel, and not have to worry about their family. This often happens through churches, partly because their finances can be kept private. Note that I said “through” not “in.” An effective mass movement that appears spontaneous is anything but. Get ready to ask people for money, to work with people you don’t like, and to do things that may seem unethical. There is only one way this works.
My view is those are all good ideas, but right now we are on the verge of losing our democracy and we live under a corrupt president consolidating his dictatorship. Resistance is the answer for now. One example is in the video of the Buffalo Springfield link you provided. At one point an ICE officer is intimidating people in a line questioning only black and brown skinned people. One person's response to "are you a US Citizen" was "I don't have to answer that." Right on.
It is difficult for me to interact with most Republicans or MAGA, because as soon as they refer to Alligator Alcatraz as if it is some acceptable thing that should be expanded, I already consider the person to be one of the most despicable human beings a person could meet, so it's hard to relate.
Opposition to Diversity and Inclusion? Where did that come from? Since when did diversity become a bad thing. I thought we left that behind when we ended segregated bathrooms and pools--when medical and law school classes started including women. Yes, I'm talking to you Brenna Bird. Without people before you insisting on diversity, you wouldn't even be a lawyer, much less the attorney general.
My opinion is if MAGA in Iowa ever comes around to tolerate DEI, it won't be when you sit down and have a beer with them. It will be when Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan et al. start taking Iowa football recruits by putting the statements of Reynolds, the Board of Regents and Republican legislators in their recruiting folders and showing the information to a black recruit's mother. You don't want that experience for your son, do you? Here at Washington, USC, etc. we welcome people of color to OUR school (especially four and five star recruits).
Aligator Alcatraz in Iowa? You can try to stop construction of these deplorable facilities by reasoning with these MAGA politicians and tell them that the murderer being detained by ICE is almost non-existent and instead they are grabbing people with no criminal records who have lived here for 10 years and who process your food and they are putting them in hell holes so private prisons can profit and provide kick backs to the Trump Administration, OR, you can just go with their bull shit and ask them if they really want thousands of murderers and rapists living in tents next to their homes. It sucks, but the latter argument is the one that works to kill off the facility.
Resist, resist, resist every peaceful way possible. The stakes have never been higher.
Thankyou Jan and Bob. This is a call to action. It is a call to mentally engage beyond news bites and photo op's. Our fellow Iowans in small towns when confronted with peril or tragedy come together and form a body of resilience. Maybe we start by saying hello to our neighbors and introduce ourselves. We start by using the grace our Creator gave to us as human beings.
I forwarded this article to my husband, a Mexican immigrant, because I believe he can provide some useful answers to the questions posed. I grew up in Iowa, and was completely dedicated to the idea of individualism until I met my husband and finally understood what community means. I believe that America is set up to keep people from building connections to each other--for example, starting in middle school, kids start rotating between classrooms, constantly changing to a new group of kids every hour of the day. In Mexico, on the other hand, it is typical to progress throughout school, including college, with a cohort of classmates--the teacher changes throughout the day, but you stay with your group of classmates with whom you develop a strong bond. Neighborhoods are the same--in America, we rarely know the names of neighbors two houses down. In my husband's town of 80,000, families are known by nicknames (for example, "deer family"), and he can recognize hundreds of people and what family they are part of (he just listed off 13 or 14 family nicknames for me when I asked), knows their family history, etc. He's maintained that capacity here in Iowa and knows on sight hundreds of Latinos across the state. He'll always chide me when I don't know someone who I met once 10 years ago in a small town we visited together. I think that there is a fundamental cultural difference in his capacity to build networks and partnerships with people. If we want to understand how to build community, we should learn from the immigrants from collectivist cultures that are living here in Iowa.
Your husband spent his youth learning social skills that most US citizens do not have. Getting along with people you don’t like is at the top of the list. Sharing is another. Celebrating other people’s victories as if they were your own is another. These are characteristics that have never been strong in mainstream US culture. You are right that we have a lot to learn.
Two examples of community built resilient resources in Iowa City: Prairie Hill Housing Coop and The Bike Library. Worth checking out.
Inspiring, Jan! THANK YOU!
There are sooo many good honest hardworking people in this world…I want to be with them. Thanks for the great piece. Growing up in Iowa, I see what is lost. Yet, our local paper just printed photos and article on the Unite the Night was the MOST attended ever. People are seeking connection like never before. Let’s continue this path of uniting…and finding our way in the midst of the overarching issues. Thanks.