I Did Some More Protesting This Week and Got in a KSL Article

On Tuesday, I protested at the governor's mansion against the warehouse that ICE just purchased behind the state's back. KSL interviewed me, and I even got first mention in the article, but I'm not crazy about how I was quoted.

I don't think it's likely to sway the governor, but we at least have to try," said Christopher Nicholson, one of around 100 protesters who gathered Tuesday outside the gubernatorial mansion of Gov. Spencer Cox, a Republican, to sound off on the issue.

"It's just really inhumane. I don't want another one to open in Salt Lake City," he said.

This gives me some insight into how the news makes quotes. I didn't volunteer that bit about the governor; the reporter asked me if I thought it was likely to sway him, and I had to think about it for a moment, and I said probably not. The likelihood of success simply hadn't factored into my decision to speak out for what's right. I'm disappointed that he left out the part where I said ICE detentions are basically concentration camps and listed specific examples of the inhumane conditions - bad food, inadequate medical care, inadequate sleep. I feel like trimming that down to "It's just really inhumane" makes me look kind of dumb. I also said that the governor, the legislature, the LDS Church, and anyone else with a voice should speak out against this (even though I know they won't), and I also said that I wasn't advocating for open borders and lawlessness, but that the current anti-immigration push is less about legitimate security concerns than about making people afraid so they'll keep supporting Trump and others like him. I get that it was standard practice for the reporter not to use everything I said, but he cut all that and went with "I don't want another one to open in Salt Lake City" - the most basic, self-evident part? Really? (I did say words to that effect when he asked why I was there, but still.)

That evening, I continued my activism in a much less sexy way. The last caucus I went to was the Republican caucus in Logan, Utah in 2016, where most of the conversation revolved around stopping Trump from becoming the nominee. I don't remember anyone asking if anyone liked Trump; they just got down to the business of stopping him. If I recall correctly, we came to a consensus to nominate Ted Cruz instead. Though I'm not unafilliated and didn't want to go because I knew it would be boring, this week I went to the Democrat caucus, which once again had the agenda of stopping Trump. The urgency of our situation and the existence, despite the legislature pulling out all the stops to stop it, of a district that will actually represent us motivated a much bigger Democrat turnout than usual in this area. Still, only one other person from my precinct showed up, so now I'm stuck being the vice chair. I was really glad that he wanted to be the chair. He's well-spoken and very passionate about the Rio Grande plan, which has something to do with moving and/or restoring train tracks in the city for a better use of space and a massive economic boost. He explained it, but it went over my head.

The next day, I protested at the ICE warehouse with hundreds of other pissed-off people. The organizers asked us to disperse and go home when things got dicey, but no matter what the news says or who got arrested, I only saw ICE agents throwing rocks at their own windows. I could tell by their masks.

On Friday, I protested at the ICE center in West Valley, as usual. I enjoyed hanging out with my friend's kids, but nothing much happened there. The employees go home early on Fridays because of us.

On Saturday, Nick Shirley, the little shit who started the lies about Somalian daycare center owners committing fraud in Minnesota because conservatives don't understand that it's normal for daycares to lock their doors and not let in random creepy men with cameras, charged idiots an obscene amount of money to have dinner with him at a measles hotspot, the aquarium in Draper. I didn't feel like making the trip for that protest. I stayed home, earned some money, and didn't feel guilty about practicing self-care and having balance.

This afternoon, I went to a singing resistance event at the First Baptist Church. There are several progressive clergy members in this city doing what the LDS Church should be doing on a much larger scale but won't because it has no balls. They sang at the warehouse, too. Despite all the problems with Christianity's truth claims, I think Jesus is a great symbol, and these people are using him the way he should be used. I wish their churches all power and success. The sense of community was great, and experiencing joy was, in itself, a powerful act of protest against a fascist regime that wants us frightened and discouraged, and that's what life is really about regardless of beliefs. They're going to try to get everyone to sing with them at No Kings this weekend, which of course I will be at and strongly encourage everyone in the country to be at. It's going to be a very bad weekend for the orange taint.