We Do Not Care To Be Silent: Resist the Demand to Self-Censor about Tyranny, ICE, and Genocide

Abstract

Silence breaking, I argue, is a tool that must be employed as frequently as possible by as many people as possible. Using the tools of hope and courage, working through the barriers of fear and shame, we must be outspoken in our care for all people. This expression of care is so crucial because there are tyrannical forces at work across the globe who wish for nothing more than our silence. In that silence, the U.S. government is expanding its practices to unjustly detain and deport immigrants. To enforce this silence, the U.S. government, through ICE, is detaining journalists and activists. The end goal of these attacks on human dignity is complete unchecked power. As a colonial regime continuing to arm and fund genocides across the globe, any attempts by the United States government to further deflect accountability must be viewed with the utmost concern. It is humanity’s obligation to speak out against cruelty and violence wherever we see it. In working against oppressive forces and their violence, we lessen the capacity of those forces to cause harm