After the photo of me cleaning the Capitol went viral, people kept saying to me the phrase “Look For The Helpers.” I grew up with Mister Rogers and felt comfort in those words. But now, 3 yrs after Jan 6, I have come to learn an entirely different lesson from this phrase… THREAD
This photo is 1st night I got home to my family after Jan 6. My 5 yr old asked me how I was doing and if something bad happened at work. My wife and I hadn’t told them anything yet but he must have heard something at school. So I turned to Mister Rogers: Look for the Helpers.2/11
I told my sons that there were incredible helpers at the Capitol who kept me and others safe. We had heroes. Like Officer Eugene Goodman who faced down the mob. Heroes like Officer Brian Sicknick who gave his life to defend democracy. 3/11
I told my boys about the men and women in uniform coming from all over the country to protect the Capitol. There were many helpers stepping up. My sons felt reassured that I would be safe at the Capitol and they didn’t have to worry. 4/11
But over the following weeks I started to think that it wasn’t enough that we felt safe. It didn’t get to the root of the question of why did all this violence and chaos happen to begin with. How did we get this this horrible point in the first place? 5/11
I stood on the floor of the House of Representatives and saw colleagues of mine who fomented the violence. That saw the desecration of the Capitol and still voted to try and overturn the election results. I began to ask myself, what is the opposite of helpers? 6/11
If Mister Rogers advises our kids to “Look For The Helpers,” what do we say about those who seek to do harm? What do we call them? The opposite of helpers? The breakers? If we “Look For The Helpers,” do we Look Out For The …”? 7/11
In this moment that we live in, it’s not enough for adults to “Look For The Helpers.” We must confront the question of why does our nation need so much help to start with? We are we living through crisis after crisis. This level of chaos is neither sustainable nor tolerable. 8/11
We must earnestly and honestly take on the question of why there are so many in our country that seek to hurt instead of help. We are becoming a nation addicted to anger that is facing a spiraling crisis of empathy. Also disinformation and polarization at extreme levels. 9/11
We are losing touch with the fact that we are part of something bigger than all of us. On Jan 6, we saw Americans fighting other Americans in the US Capitol. As we mark today, we need to commit ourselves to pulling our democracy out of this tailspin. 10/11
Mister Rogers was right to tell kids to Look For The Helpers. But we adults must do much more. We can’t assume someone will fight our fights for us and fix these problems. We should “Look to Be The Helpers.” It’s not easy. It takes courage. But it is what this moment demands. END
I’m going to do everything I can to step up to this moment. I’ve stepped up to run for Senate because too much is at stake.
Help me and chip in if you can. Thank you. secure.actblue.com/donate/social_…
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I’ve been asked what it means to be 1st Korean American Senator. On this Korean American day, I want to share a photo of the home where my mom grew up during Korean War. America opened its doors and helped her become a nurse. Last week she stood with me as I was sworn in. THREAD
And it isn’t just my mom’s story. Over 120 yrs since the first Koreans came to America. Now there are 2 million Korean Americans. 24 million Asian Americans. Asian Americans are not monolithic.
I of course do not speak for all, nor is my story and experience reflective of all. 2/10
In fact I’ve struggled with my identity over my life. At times I resisted the label Korean/Asian American and snapped back with “I’m just American.”
I never would have imagined that Korean culture would become hugely popular between BTS, Squid Game, Korean BBQ, K-dramas etc. 3/10
Many in north/central NJ are worried about odor/taste of water coming out of the tap. As a father of two boys, I absolutely understand your worries. I talked with heads of NJ Dept of Environmental Protection and American Water.
Here are 4 key questions I asked: THREAD
IS THE WATER SAFE?
DEP/American Water report that water is well within NJ standards, which are some of the strictest in nation. They test for 100s of kinds of metals/ chemical compounds. Results are either non-detection or very low and far below levels of health concerns. 2/10
DO WE KNOW SOURCE OF ODOR/TASTE?
I completely understand if that explanation of water safety is not totally reassuring to those of you that smell/taste something wrong. You have a right to be concerned. Absolute key is identifying what is the compound that is causing the odor. 3/10
I’ve had 3 briefings with White House, FBI and DHS on drones this week, and multiple calls with law enforcement across NJ. I’m hearing from everyone that detection resources are heightened, reported sightings are down, no confirmed threat/concern. Let me go into detail. THREAD
DHS detailed to me the array of tools they have in NJ for drone detection including thermal sensors, drone-specific radar, radio frequency kits, and visual monitors. There have been no drone detections using any of these tools since tools have been active earlier this month. 2/20
In particular, White House/DHS flagged usage of sophisticated camera for drone detection that was deployed earlier in Dec to some of the hot spot areas with more sightings. Again no detections made apart from test drones used to ensure equipment is functioning and effective. 3/20
After going out with police to observe reports of possible drones, I was with the help of civilian pilots and others able to do deeper analysis and concluded that most of the possible drone sightings that were pointed out to me were almost certainly planes. Let me explain: THREAD
While not receiving any feedback/info from federal officials, I reached out to civilian aviators/others for analysis. I used public flight tracking tools to recreate the conditions of my time out. For instance I was at Round Valley Reservoir at 9:20pm and shot this video. 2/9
While I didn’t observe a plane in the flight tracker at that moment that night, I was able to pull up more detailed flight data subsequently and spotted this one small plane taking the path of what was pointed out to me the other night as a possible drone flying near us. 3/9
Last night I went out with local police to spot drone flying over New Jersey, here’s what I saw. We drove to Round Valley Reservoir and the officer pointed to lights moving low over the tree line. Sometimes they were solid white light, others flashed of red and green.THREAD
We oriented ourselves with a flight tracker app to help us distinguish from airplanes. We often saw about 5-7 lights at a time that were low and not associated with aircraft we could see on the tracker app. Some hovered while others moved across the horizon. 2/11
We saw a few that looked like they were moving in small clusters of 2-4. We clearly saw several that would move horizontally and then immediately switch back in the opposite direction in maneuvers that plane can’t do. 3/11