We Were Born For Times Like These (Right?) from Letters to the Housed by Paul Asplund of SecondGrace.LA

The long arc of the moral universe bends toward justice. | Photo by Marcos Miranda of Pexels

Welcome back. I hope you were able to find some peace over the holidays.

My first week back at my desk has been harrowing. Nothing that touches me directly, yet, but I spent the first 33 years of my life in Minnesota, and watching the fascist ICE raids in a place I know so well has hit me hard. This week I felt despair for the first time in decades.

I'm still trying to figure out why, when we respond to ICE raids here in LA, I feel empowered. I spend 3-4 hours every week on ICE lookout and I know what to do when they arrive. I've been trained, signed up for the Rapid Response chat threads all across the city. And I know I'm not alone, but still, when I see the terror and hopelessness in the eyes of people being apprehended, I feel sick.

It might be because Minnesota, and the people in it—my friends and family—hold a special place in my heart. I am proud of where I'm from. I always tell people it was a great place to grow up and I might still be there had I not come to LA on vacation and stayed.

It might also be that my values lead me to care. I've never known why I care about other people, and I can't shut it off, even when it's tearing me apart. Sure I can be an ass sometimes, but my values lead me to care.

And when I see injustice, I get furious. Not just annoyed or a little angry, furious. Since the '80s, I've marched for LGBTQ rights and for the U.S. to leave Honduras (we never have). For the right to marry who I love and for the rights of my neighbors. I've watched dumpsters burn up close, as well as American flags. Been beaten by cops, tear-gassed, all the usual. My rage ran my life for too long and it took me years to learn how to talk myself down. Now I can hardly walk, much less protest, and all my raging happens at this keyboard and I share it with you.

For those of you surprised to hear this, thank you for thinking so highly of me. And thank you for teaching me how to take this energy and work for peace, dialogue, understanding in everything I do today.

My friend Noah reminded me that we were born for times like these. I've lived through a lot since the Reagan years. I've raged and prayed with equal fervor and the world I see, far beyond today's headlines, is one of peace, tolerance, love, understanding. As I've written before, this is my version of Radical Hope.

So, I stay hopeful—not that ICE is going to calm down any time soon (well, I can hope but it seems unlikely).

But I am hopeful that when, in this decade, fascism is defeated through the mechanisms of peaceful resistance and protest, there will be new energy for our march toward our next iteration.

When the inevitable truth and reconciliation process is underway, we can heal these wounds and bring our nation forward. The long arc of the moral universe will have been pushed just a little further toward justice.

Next week we're going to pick back up where we left off in the creation of LA's new Dept of Homelessness and Housing. It's been a brutal couple of months since that process started and there's quite a bit to re-assess.

Until then stay safe.

Paul