Standing Together in the Wind
From local action to national urgency, why showing up still matters
Good morning, friends.
It is Sunday afternoon, and I want to thank all of you who showed up yesterday in the cold wind. It was very brisk, and those of you holding signs got quite the arm workout trying to keep them up.
A total of 199 patriots, along with 4 patriots of the four-legged persuasion, showed up, with 45 American flags held aloft.
This past week, the President of the United States posted a picture of himself as Jesus. The Boundary Waters is under attack. More people died in ICE custody. Armed forces are having to ration food on their ships, as the administration once again shows that planning is not their strong suit. We also learned there was a rape-focused website with over 62 million visits in February alone.
The administration is also fighting hard to obtain your banking and voting information and is trying to access all your health data. Not to mention, states are going after transgender people, who are now not able to drive in some states.
Are you exhausted yet? Overwhelmed?
There were four mass shootings by Sunday afternoon this weekend, including one in which eight children were killed. It did not even make the news because there is just so much happening all at once. Some Catholics have now said that Trump has gone too far and will no longer support him. But I ask, why were the Epstein Files not enough?
One of our protesters, Ken, has been telling me about a documentary he recommends. I asked him to write to all of us about it:
Friends,
Most of us have watched in horror as DOD Secretary Pete Hegseth thumps his chest and claims to be a Christian. He talks about this war with Iran as a religious war, akin to the Crusades. He speaks of a “warrior ethos” as though we are fighting against “the evil empire.”
Granted, none of us believes that the regime in Iran are the “good guys.” It is a repressive theocratic regime. That said, Christian Nationalism holds that the USA was founded as a Christian nation, and its goal is to institute “traditional Christian values” on everyone in America. It is, in many ways, a distortion of both American history and Christianity.
The documentary Bad Faith traces the development of this movement from its beginnings through the present day. I believe it is well done and accurate. Whether you are Christian, agnostic, atheist, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, or from another faith tradition, it is worth watching, in my opinion, because it helps explain where people like Hegseth are coming from and how the Religious Right seeks to impose its values on the rest of us.
It is about 1 hour and 20 minutes long on Amazon Prime. Below is the link.
As a final thought, I want you all to know that our Saturday rallies and Tuesdays at the Bellows are inspirational for me. I value getting to visit with many of you up and down the line and hearing why you are there, what concerns you most about the present administration and the direction of our country. I am grateful for you all.
Special thanks to Judith and the team for their encouragement and presence.
Grace and peace to you all,
Ken Ribe
Understanding where things come from is important, and I think this documentary does a good job of exploring that.
I am planning many activities in the coming months, so the newsletter will include more trainings, meetings, and events.
This Tuesday, Ellie Krug will be speaking at the SW Protectors. If you have not heard Ellie speak, you are in for a treat. Last time, we heard how an amazing group of people defeated the ICE warehouse here in Shakopee. The Department of Homeland Security is not giving up, and Indivisible has just sent out the information below.
For next Saturday’s protest:
The Department of Homeland Security has been quietly converting warehouses into industrial detention camps to hold and disappear our immigrant neighbors and community members. The decision to target vulnerable groups and warehouse human beings comes straight out of the authoritarian playbook.
Trump’s mass detention agenda is cruel, inhumane, and a threat to all of our rights -- and Indivisible is fighting back.
On April 25, we’re joining with coalition leaders from the Detention Watch Network and Disappeared in America for a nationwide day of action -- and we need your help to make it as big and successful as possible.
Immigrant-led organizations and local activists have been opposing detention expansion for years -- and there are already significant wins in this fight. By the latest count, local activists have stopped 13 proposed warehouse conversions across the country.
But many more warehouses are being proposed -- and there’s a lot more work to do. Together, we can block more sites from being built. We can hold DHS accountable for what’s happening at existing facilities. We can make Trump’s detention agenda too politically toxic to sustain. But this only works if we all play our part.
If you’re ready to take action, click here to view the Communities Not Cages map and find an event near you. Or read on, to learn more about the day of action, how to host your own event, and other ways to get involved.
Our goals and demands
The Communities Not Cages Day of Action is about building a nationwide, coordinated effort to oppose the Trump regime’s mass detention agenda. Together, we’ll:
Show visible, public opposition to ICE detention expansion. DHS has been hoping it can quietly expand detention capacity and warehouse human beings without the public hearing about it. It’s up to us to raise the alarm, and mobilize our communities in opposition.
Demand that our elected officials join the fight. We need our local electeds to use every tool they have to disrupt the conversion and construction of detention camps in our communities. They must reject any public funding, permits, or resources that enable detention expansion.
Build connections with other activists in your community. There may be groups in your area who are already engaged in this work and can help you plug in. If not, you probably have neighbors who are just as concerned as you and are also looking for ways to take action. April 25 is your chance to find those connections and build the resistance in your community.
How you can join the fight
1) Find an event near you on April 25. There are events spread across the country including rallies and protests outside proposed and existing detention warehouses. Register for an event, and invite your friends and neighbors to join you.
2) Volunteer to host your own event. If there are no events near you, the host toolkit will help you organize one in your own community. Whether or not there’s a proposed warehouse location near you, there’s a role for everyone in this fight and we need as many people taking action on April 25 as possible.
3) Check out our resource page for a full breakdown of the Communities Not Cages Day of Action and the broader campaign to oppose Trump’s detention agenda. This page will have everything you need to get started: event toolkits, FAQs, know your rights resources, recorded trainings, and tools to find existing or proposed detention warehouses near you.
In solidarity,
Indivisible Team
There are also many groups now preparing to fight hard to keep the Boundary Waters safe, and I will be sharing more information about them in the coming weeks.
Please remember that we are making a difference. The rapid responders in Carver County made the agents’ jobs so difficult that only a few people were taken. We all worked hard to protect our friends and neighbors by providing food, hygiene products, and rent support so they could remain safe.
We also have people running against Tom Emmer and Jim Nash who are dedicated and have shown up. Joe Brothers was on site when ICE threatened me the first time.
This is just here in Carver County. All across the United States, people are coming together and fighting back.
Let’s keep going. Resist.
Judith
Chaska Protests
Every Friday from 3:00–4:00 p.m. at the corner of Chaska Blvd. and Chestnut Street (Highway 41) [Map]
Every Saturday from 1-2 pm at the corner of Hazeltine Boulevard and Highway 41 (Chestnut) [Map]
Chanhassen Protests
Every Saturday from 10-11 am at 7700 Market Boulevard [Map] Public parking is available behind City Hall.
Norwood Young America
Every Sunday, 11 a.m.–12 p.m. (Line up at the bike path south of Highway 212 and Faxon.)
Victoria
Every Wednesday from 4:30-5:30 pm on the corner of Highway 5 and Victoria Drive/County Rd 11.
Waconia
Every Saturday from 11:30-12:30 pm at Highway 5 and County Road 10 in front of the Starbucks and Jersey Mike’s. [Map]
SW Protectors
Every first and third Tuesday from 6:30 – 8:00 pm. It’s no cost and come and go as you like.
Please do buy something to eat or drink, though, to support our venue, which is The Bellows restaurant and it’s located at 232 Pioneer Trail in Chaska.