Trump's Second Term

[Beorning]

Hey guys, help. How do I explain to people here in Poland why there are riots in LA right now? Because some people over really see this situation as: "The cops are enforcing the law, the criminals are angry and the woke left is protesting for no reason"...

[Oniya]

Ask them if they remember some guy sending goon squads to round up people 'without the right papers' and shipping them off to parts unknown.

[Sofia Grace]

Hey guys, help. How do I explain to people here in Poland why there are riots in LA right now? Because some people over really see this situation as: "The cops are enforcing the law, the criminals are angry and the woke left is protesting for no reason"...

I was just saying this morning I wonder how all of this is being depicted to the rest of the world. sigh

[Aiden]

America would rather destroy itself than let a black woman in power.

Also something about Gaza

Racism 

And the failures of the American education system 

[Beorning]

What I have trouble explaining to people is, I think, the matter of "Why should these people not be deported, if they are in the States illegally?".

[Krayz]

What I have trouble explaining to people is, I think, the matter of "Why should these people not be deported, if they are in the States illegally?".

For the kind of folks who are going to look at it that way, probably the best place to start is by explaining that many of the people being deported are not in the United States illegally. And if ICE is not going to do its proper due diligence to make sure that everyone they are deporting is actually in the country illegally, then it is the deportations that are illegal and the people ought to be rising up to impede the government's lawless actions.

If you're talking with folks who are more open to nuance and empathy, then the case of a child with stage 4 cancer having to leave the country where he was getting medical treatment because his mother was deported might be the next logical step. It demonstrates how much cruelty can result from appealing to the law as a justification without any consideration for basic human decency. 

That could lead you into a wider conversation about the disconnect between legality and morality. Something being legal does not mean that it is morally good, and something being illegal does not mean it is morally bad. One of the ways that you change bad laws is by resisting them. In the case of what's going on in the US right now, it's worth pointing out that there are people who voted for Trump, who wanted deportations, who are not happy with how it's going because they believed the government was going to be focusing on 'bad guys,' and then suddenly find their nice neighbour who has never done anything wrong being thrown out of the country.

[Missy]

Everything to do with Kilmar Abregado Garcia is also a good point, guy was given no due process, meaning he didn't get his case heard before a judge, was sent to a brutal concentration camp in a country he wasn't from and had no association with, then when he's finally brought back and finally gets to see a lawyer (which wasn't a given since the administration explicitly said they weren't going to do it), it turns out the witnesses against him are massively impeachable and may even be lying to get better treatment for themselves.

Basically everything you need to know in a single case.

[Missy]

That could lead you into a wider conversation about the disconnect between legality and morality. Something being legal does not mean that it is morally good, and something being illegal does not mean it is morally bad. One of the ways that you change bad laws is by resisting them. In the case of what's going on in the US right now, it's worth pointing out that there are people who voted for Trump, who wanted deportations, who are not happy with how it's going because they believed the government was going to be focusing on 'bad guys,' and then suddenly find their nice neighbour who has never done anything wrong being thrown out of the country.

I mean yeah, Adolf Hitler was elected into power by legal means, therefore his actions couldn't have been amoral #FacetiousBastard

[Oniya]

NPR also has a quick rundown of the protests.

[Beorning]

Thank you. And yeah, the Kilmar Abrego Garcia case is horrific. As is the case of that Turkish student who was grabbed by ICE for speaking against what's going on in Gaza. I could use more examples of such cases.

BTW. Can you guys explain the "sanctuary towns" to me?

[Oniya]

Sanctuary cities/towns basically limit their cooperation with organizations like ICE.  An example would be something like not disclosing the immigration status of someone pulled over for a traffic stop (a 'non-immigration related offense') or someone reporting that they are the victim of domestic violence.

Let's say that passport-bro Stan has trafficked a woman from the Philippines.  He says he's going to marry her so she'll be a citizen, but in reality he treats her horribly and tells her that if she goes to the cops she'll be deported.  Since the attitude towards divorce in her hometown is that the woman is 'spoiled goods', she and her family will be ruined.  Sanctuary laws take away his ability to use that threat.

[TheGlyphstone]

What I have trouble explaining to people is, I think, the matter of "Why should these people not be deported, if they are in the States illegally?".

Along with what other people have said, there is illegal and there is 'illegal'. Someone who secretly sneaks across the border in a smuggler truck, and someone who openly walks over and flags down the nearest border patrol car to request asylum, are equally illegal under US law because neither of them applied for a visa and paid the fees/waited the delay period for a 'legal' border crossing. So refugees from gang violence or persecution are being treated like potential criminals

[Oniya]

I'm dying here.

Trump attended a production of Les Mis at the Kennedy Center

1) He was booed.
2) According to Meidastouch, a random group of drag queens also attending were cheered.  (Footage of both audience reactions is included.)
3) He claims that he loves the show, but can't answer whether he identifies more with Valjean - the actual protagonist of the show, or Javert - the ruthless antagonist (who admittedly gets a 3 minute redemption arc.)  My vote is Thenardier.

Yeah, Trump loves a show where the good guys are the ones

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

getting gunned down by the military for

protesting terrible living conditions.  (Is that a spoiler?  That might be a spoiler.)