2 weeks ago i changed to work from home, but everyday when i got home & opened the door, my 2 1/2 y/o would shout “Daddy!” & sprint from wherever she was in the house to meet me in the hallway. whether or not i had time to drop my bag, sunglasses, keys, she’s up in my arms
where she gives me the biggest, longest, squeeziest hug. i come from a hugging family, so she’s learning right. she hugs with all of her love & it is the most glorious moment in every day. it lifts me no matter where i am, mentally.
her little arms contain so much strength when she hugs me. i like to think that’s because she knows this is where she is safe.
even though it happened weeks ago, 4ever in a Trump dominated news cycle, & what's happening lately made me want to address what happened to Óscar Alberto Martínez Ramírez & his daughter Valeria. it should not be forgotten. it can't be.
for days I sat at work, crying at my desk, crying on my break having viewed the photo of Óscar Alberto Martínez Ramírez & his daughter Valeria so many times on twitter, shared by so many that I follow who were obviously as devastated as I was.
not only for the senslessness of this tragedy that is so much more than tragedy; for the knowledge that this is a direct result of a cruel & heartless regime who’s strategy is to inflict pain as a lesson, a regime who pursues as policy the reclassification of human beings
into something less, a regime who disseminates a public relations campaign of shouldering blame on innocent people in an attempt to normalise—this.
so I sat at work, wiping tears as soon as they hit the corner of my eye, crying on my break having view this photo so many times.
so I sat at work, wiping tears as soon as they hit the corner of my eye, crying on my break having view this photo so many times.
i MADE myself view this photo. i MADE myself look at the details.
that little arm. that little arm wrapped around Daddy. that little arm that clung w/, I've no doubt, so much contained strength. because that’s where she knew she was safe. that’s where she should have been safe.
that little arm. that little arm wrapped around Daddy. that little arm that clung w/, I've no doubt, so much contained strength. because that’s where she knew she was safe. that’s where she should have been safe.
Óscar Alberto Martínez Ramírez & his daughter Valeria were seeking asylum & were turned away, denied their legal right to apply for asylum at a port of entry where they should have been safe.
even if they had been allowed to enter, as is their legal right, they would have no doubt been separated. such is the current Fox/Trump regime's policy, the callousness of it so clearly on display when @AOC questioned former ICE director Homan.
that little arm. that little arm that contained so much strength would not have been able to hold on to Daddy as she was ripped from his arms. from where she knew she would be safe.
Valeria would have placed in a camp to endure- on her own- disgusting, unsafe, unsanitary, inhumane conditions for an indeterminate time period. most public representatives that you think are on your side in feeling the disgust in this, would have wrung their hands
but would ultimately do nothing. most public representatives that think this is ok would have blamed Óscar Alberto. they would have looked at him the exact same way a group of old, white lawmakers just did - as a criminal.
i am a Kentuckian. i am an American. and although i am a resident of Ireland, having made my life here, i have an incredible investment in the country of my birth, the country of my family & so many friends.
but i live 3500mi away w/very little i can do. i’m poor af, so i can’t donate money to help w/legal challenges or to advocacy groups. all i can substantially do is phone my elected representatives to tell them how disgusted i am that my government is doing this to human beings.
but my Senators are Mitch McConnell & Rand Paul, so you can imagine the lack of satisfaction from their offices. none.
all i can substantially do is tweet & retweet to make sure i’m doing my best to inform people who follow me [if they’re that oblivious] & to know where i stand, to know what i believe is right & consequential.
Seeing that group of old white, callous men viewing that holding pen with such disgust in their white power uniforms [blue blazer, khaki slacks]…seeing the deplorable use of the image of Óscar Alberto Martínez Ramírez & Valeria as some sick protest poster….
seeing the POTUS openly & actively engaging in dangerous, racist language yet again without any real consequences….makes me so exasperated for our humanity.
so what i need - what i beg - if you know me, if you have seen my face in life or heard my voice, if you have seen pictures of my baby girl- if you know anything about me at all, please please respond to this to let me know you are as disgusted & as heartbroken
& as engraged as i am over this. because i’m not seeing you. i’m not hearing you. & i’m sorry, but the shit that’s happening isn’t acceptable. maybe it’s the algorithm that I mostly see 3rd degree contacts, but I still want to see you. I don't think many will make it this far
i’m about to go down for my break. luckily, I still hear that shout. i’m about to pick her up. i’m about to get that hug. those little arms. those little arms that contain so much strength. i’m going to tell her she’s safe knowing that it’s not only because she’s in my arms,
but because of a fluke of chance of where both of us were born & with what skin tone. & after i put her to bed, i’ll cry for Óscar Alberto Martínez Ramírez & his daughter Valeria again & every time I think of them.
