Are We Safe?
If we want to address bullying in schools, we must address it in our society.
Recently, several hundred community leaders and activists rallied at the ICE facility in Burlington MA to support and protect Blanca Martinez, a woman who fled Honduras to seek asylum, now living in Salem and contributing to the community. The goal of the demonstration was to protect Blanca from deportation when she appeared for a routine appointment with immigration officials. As reported in the Boston Globe, Blanca has a goal:
“To me, this country means freedom,” she said. “It is the greatest country. And I would like to be able to work, to help people the way people have helped me.”
A child knows that if immigrants can be bullied, so can they, and there are too few adults taking action. It is past time for all of us, including our leaders, to speak out and to act.
When a child in Peabody is driven to suicide by bullying, and when our immigrant neighbors are hunted down by masked gangs, when we already feel the impacts of a warming planet, and when democracy is under threat, the alarm bells should toll constantly, yet there is silence, “crickets.”
We need to get out there and protest, and our elected officials need to join us on the front lines to show that we care and we stand ready to protect everyone.
A few years ago, the Mayor of Peabody, faith leaders, elected officials, and citizens joined in a public protect against antisemitism. It is time to gather in support of immigrants and for respect for every person, including the child. The bullying in schools is a reflection of our culture and our politics as well as policies and practices of the school.
A child expects, needs, and deserves protection. Yet in school, they are subjected to bullying, and they are not protected. As the government of the USA targets immigrants, the elderly, the poor, and the disabled regardless of their human and legal rights, and ignores the dangers of disease and a warming planet, children must wonder if people care about children when there is no care for targets of persecution, nor indeed, for humanity or the living planet on which we depend.
Our government was established and improved to meet the challenge that our society can only survive as a democracy on the promise of looking to the common good and the welfare of every person, a nation, as President Lincoln said,
"dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal."
As tenants in public and subsidized housing, we experience the lack of respect and the deprivation of agency imposed by society as part of the devil’s bargain for receiving shelter, a basic human right. Some of us use bullying to create power over others and to have a sense of control over a chaotic situation. So we know what happens when we do not control our destiny, have no agency to create a supportive and joyful community, and as sometime targets of bullying, recognize the harm that it does to the community as well as the target.
I am alarmed by the world that surrounds our grandchildren and terrified that our society will allow them to be harmed. I imagine that our grandchildren know that people are being kidnapped and tortured under illegal, immoral, false premises.
They may wonder if anyone really cares about the bullying and abuse they may observe or experience.
No one is safe unless we are all safe; no one is free unless we are all free.
Please tell: Are we safe?
References
Kevin Cullen, “She fled from Honduras to Salem, finding peace and safety — but the threat of deportation looms,” Boston Globe, June 24, 2019
Photo: Mass Communities Action Network—MCAN, from Facebook post
Resources
Blanca Martinez works with and is supported by MCAN and ECCO. LUCE and many others collaborated to organize the protest on behalf of Blanca, and the protesters also supported others going to ICE appointments.
LUCE Immigrant Justice Network Massachusetts
Mass Communities Action Network The Massachusetts Communities Action Network (MCAN) is a statewide network of faith-based and values-driven community organizations in Massachusetts. Its focus is on racial equity and economic justice, working through grassroots organizing and public action. MCAN brings together faith and community leaders to address issues like racial injustice and economic disparity, with a mission inspired by faith traditions' call to justice. Everyday people from across religious, racial, and economic backgrounds are central to MCAN’s organizing efforts.
The Essex County Community Organization (ECCO) is a multifaith, multiracial network based primarily in Lynn, Massachusetts. ECCO is comprised of 59 congregations and the North Shore Labor Council, focusing on building relationships and collective power across lines of race, class, and faith. Their vision centers public life around human dignity and systemic justice, working to ensure every person in the North Shore region can thrive, grow, and participate in decisions that affect their communities. ECCO supports immigrant leaders, helps coordinate legal assistance, and amplifies their voices in policy processes. The organization backed a cooperative business, Shine Together, enabling immigrant women to establish independent livelihoods.