ICE Hysterectomies
How much longer would such a thing have stayed in the collective injustice spotlight?
Originally written in 2020
There's a known pattern, a habit, a tried-and-true by-the-book horrible thing that fascists and authoritarians do. They forever push the bleeding edge of normalcy, of what's acceptable. Every change, every unit of erosion they inflict on society, is a shock. We rightly react with rage and disgust. We protest, make calls and write emails to our elected, donate. We breathe deep and often in that moment, blowing a lot of oxygen onto that rage fuel. It burns bright and hot, but too fast. We run out of breath, or cough from the smoke, get dizzy. And have to step away as it smolders and cools.
Soon, though - too soon, too frequent - another shock comes from elsewhere. We aren't yet recovered, are never fully recovered, but see that new smoke and are quick to run and blow on it. They cycle us relentlessly. They exhaust our will, our fighting courage, our sense of direction. There's long been nothing in reserve as they gleefully, sadistically keep at it.
I remember that first travel ban. A week or so after inauguration. Images of the crowds filling and chanting at the airports, the influx of immigration lawyers, and the relief that soon came from courts ruling against the new administration. Then a second executive order, and another round of battling. Did they overturn that, too? Then, I think, a missile strike in Syria. Then withdrawal from the Paris agreement. Followed by a corporate tax break usurped by a pissing contest with North Korea. Reneging on the Iran nuclear deal was forgotten by some next outrage that's actually forgotten. It was briefly pointed out that Tillerson and DeVos and Perry and Zinke and Carson were all diligently at work, dismantling their respective departments from within. But some story about Russia was getting more tantalizing, an ass on which to pin our hopes of a swifter Nixon-like end to that foul first year. Dear God and the other two branches, please send us some check, anything, on his executive power.
No doubt there was more in 2017. More minor atrocities, incremental incursions. What good would it be to remember more of them now? I'm already re-exhausted by them all, and I haven't even gotten to my point yet.
Which is, ICE.
I don't remember when we started calling them concentration camps. I think it was after it was after the family separation policy was revealed, the images of children in mass cages. The widespread rape and abuse reports came later. Those reports came at a later moment, and I remembered that I had previously called these places concentration camps, but by doing that, they didn't miraculously shut down. I forgot again, then remembered again. Then forgot again.
Then, briefly, in early pandemic - oh yeah, they're all still in there, still crowded together, still utterly dehumanized in a system that cares not one bit for their lives. Nor will it care of their deaths. And, a couple days later, what a gross tragedy. Then, Tom Hanks got infected.
So, what of today? Would it mean more, be acknowledged more, be resisted more, if a whistleblower had said in 2017 that doctors in ICE concentration camps were performing forced hysterectomies on detainees? How much longer would such a thing have stayed in the collective injustice spotlight? What would I think then of a person like me reacting to this news of sterilizations by the government as I am now - still at home, reporting into work, who earlier today got a cafe au lait at Koffee with its walls plastered with “BLM” and names of so many people murdered by cops that had me enraged and marching a few months ago?
If I write this for any reason today, it's to hold my enraged and exhausted, lazy and privileged self accountable for what I once knew to be fully intolerably wrong. I still don't know how to pick a lane in which to rage, how to channel anger in any sort of productive way that is so often sustained by the amazing people that live and act on their beliefs, that keep movements rolling forward towards justice. I'm probably going to stress eat and comfort binge until this sick sick gnawing staggering uselessness smolders out. I could've written this whole thing last week about the wildfires, and then repeat it all again next week when he negligently responds to a Category 5 hitting Florida.