Ohio-Meadville District Blogs

This is Jolinda Stephens, DRE at First UU Columbus, blogging from Arizona, as more than 100 of us gather to stop the anti-immigrant SB 1070 by tomorrow or engage in civil disobedience to end the enforcement of this law that seeks to criminalize certain immigration statuses. This is a law that affects us all.

Last night the UU Congregation of Phoenix, one of our organizing congregations sponsored the screening of 9500 Liberty, which documents what happened in Prince Williams County VA when they passed a similar law. It destroyed both community peace and the local economy. Learn more about the documentary at http://www.9500liberty.com/ or explore their channel on youtube. They posted segments as they filmed them. Last night’s forum was streamed through the Coffee Party’s website. The directors are also the founders of the Coffee Party.

Following the screening, the two directors and two local politicians talked about how we address immigration issues and other assaults to our communities and the public good by forces of intolerance and violence. Annabel Park and Eric Byler, the directors, had seen and even become a force in restoring a community to a more civil society through reason, facts and courage of people of conscience. They argued for combating the forces of hate with reason, an aggressive campaign to get the facts out and involvement of faith communities. Hating and demonizing the enemy does not help, they said.

Eric told about one scene that they left on the cutting room floor. Outside one meeting there were Latina/o community members yelling “We are human beings.” And a group gathered just a few yards away who were armed and shouting back, “No you aren’t.” He said at that point he decided it was time to go inside. He felt very unsafe. And yet with all the hate, in the end the law was rescinded. One of the main factors that brought Republicans around was the fact that taxes had to be increased by 25% to implement the law.

The local people on the panel were much more pessimistic. It could be summed up with the comment from one that though the grownups won in Virginia, there were no grownups in Arizona politics. The whole idea of going for the center and of appealing to conscience doesn’t work was the message I took from them. The other message that came across loud and clear was that people of conscience in Arizona are very tired and low on hope. I also agree that appeasement and allowing the frame of the debate to be moved constantly to the right is not the answer. How about some radical love?

This afternoon we all gather and do several hours of civil disobedience training and action planning. The law goes into effect tomorrow and we start at 4:30 am to struggle for human rights with love.

Your fact for today: If those who are out of immigration status are “illegal” then every adult who has ever violated a traffic law is “illegal.”