How Are You Doing?
This 8-months-off-the-boat immigrant is coping by laughing and protesting
It’s not even been a month yet. The best way I can describe how I’ve been feeling as a new immigrant 8 months into her time in her favorite city in the world, is this:
It’s like I had spent months planning a trip to Disneyland, and then I arrived to find the castle on fire. But the rides are all still going, so…I guess I’ll keep riding the rides?
My work visa is good for 3 years. I pre-paid. I’m not bailing out on my America dream now.
Here’s what’s been keeping me going:
Following the ACLU
If you’re not subscribed to the ACLU’s newsletter yet, I highly recommend it. They’re feisty and they’re prepared. Here’s a sample from Anthony Romero, ACLU Executive Director:
Vickie, here at the ACLU, we play the long game. We've been around for 105 years. We've seen 19 presidents come and go. With your support, we will vigorously defend your right to protest and speak against our government. Especially when that government attacks our civil liberties and civil rights.
I find this language soothing. Their messaging is action-oriented, which helps combat the powerlessness in the face of information overwhelm. Their Know Your Rights training have made ICE raids less effective. ICE has resorted to gaming Google’s search results to make it look like raids are everywhere, according to a Guardian investigation.
The ACLU also host regular virtual events featuring legal experts and activists. They’re both informative and invigorating. There’s a People Power Action Call tonight (Feb 13th) at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT.
Head to the Library
The New York Public Library is my happy place and one of my absolute favorite things about living in New York. Your local library can be yours. Read some banned books (list by PEN America).
NYPL currently has a virtual exhibit dedicated to the freedom to read titled: Banned: Censorship and the Freedom to Read.
Laugh
Obviously I’m going to suggest this one. As a stand-up comedian who used to do jokes under CCP censorship, I’ve been down right indulgent with my freedom of speech. I co-host a twice-monthly all-female open mic in the East Village and I’m volunteering with The Black Women in Comedy Laff Fest. Ranting about the absurdity of this timeline and making people laugh while I do it is my supplementary therapy. (Please also go to actual therapy if you have need and access).
If you’re in NYC, come have a laugh with me.
Protest
Sure, as an immigrant, I have wondered if I should start self-censoring, lay off of politics, avoid protests. But to quote Timothy Snyder, Do Not Obey in Advance.
Most of the power of authoritarianism is freely given. In times like these, individuals think ahead about what a more repressive government will want, and then offer themselves without being asked. A citizen who adapts in this way is teaching power what it can do.
People have a misconception of censorship’s effect on people in China. They think Chinese people never discuss or participate in politics for fear of its consequences. That is patently false. Plenty of Chinese people full on taunt the censors. They post memes, videos, and articles knowing that it would be censored, knowing that it would get their accounts banned. They protested knowing it’s illegal.
Well, it’s not illegal to protest in the United States, yet.
And above all…
Be with People, IRL
The ACLU calls, the NYPL library events, the open mics and shows, the protests, all of these things have one thing in common: They put me in places with like-minded people. Heck, even encountering counter-protesters remind me that this is, in fact, still a functioning democracy.
This may not be the America I had dreamed of as a kid, but that’s OK. Maybe this is an America I can help rebuild.
