Passive Resistance

Four of these intrepid, beautiful young people chained themselves together yesterday, and all seven are determined not to leave the driveway, no matter what the ICE Agents--in riot gear with guns and tasers, truncheons, pepper spray and tear gas--may do to them. They are young, they are fierce with purpose, and they are determined. All but one appear to be femme, or female. (I am learning the language of the young. They choose their pronouns intentionally, and most want to be called ‘they’ instead of he or she.)

All the ICE Agents I have seen appear to be male, and they are also young, also fierce with purpose, physically fit, and best of all for them, they are working shifts. They get to go home, have baths, do whatever they do in their free time, and sleep. The protesters have committed their lives to this action. One said to me, "I can't remember what life was like before this started."

Those who are chained together are ‘on duty’ 24 hours a day, with no shift changes and no relief. They have a toilet plan involving blankets and buckets and assistants. The ICE Agents provoke the protesters about every 2 hours around the clock, making sleep impossible. The Agents climbed up onto the roof and took down the “Welcome Refugees” flag. They sometimes come out in riot gear and stand at attention for a while and then go back in. “Shame on you!” they shout. The protesters shout back things I won’t repeat here. All the people in the camp are exhausted, and some of them do go home and rest now and then, but not the ones who have committed themselves to “Passive Resistance” and are willing to be arrested for it. 

The campers have built a website on which they've been wonderfully eloquent about why they're occupying and how they feel about the President, his administration's policies, and ICE in particular. They use my photos and their own videos on the website. I'm honored, and I'm aware of my enormous privilege. I can go down there for a few hours, give hugs and encouragement, make photos, and then go home to my comfortable apartment with my laptop and my safe, familiar bed. If you’d like a closer look at all the people in this photo, click on the Gallery called “Lock Down.”  I made portraits of all but one of them this morning, and they're in that gallery. I feel they are all my grandchildren, and I'm very thankful for their courage and their determination to make this a more compassionate country. 

Update: on Thursday morning at 5:30 Department of Homeland Security moved in, arrested at least seven people, and began dismantling the camp. The Portland Police are assisting them by closing roads around the facility. The names of those arrested have not yet been released, and more arrests are occurring as I write this. I was not planning to go down to the camp today, as I keep my grandchildren on Thursdays.