Guess It’s Time for Me to Drop Science on Silence

So now we have “whatever you want to call them” camps in America. And they’re not the kind where you roast s’mores and make friendship bracelets, unfortunately. 

To a panel of appellate judges’ incredulity, a DOJ lawyer just argued that soap, toothpaste, and the ability to sleep aren’t part of “safe and sanitary” conditions for women and children who’ve crossed the southern border fleeing gang violence at home and find themselves in CBP custody.

Look. Every government lawyer has to make arguments they don’t like. That’s part of the job. But we can also choose what lines we draw, both professionally and morally. That line is different for every lawyer. But it can and should exist, because as Nuremberg taught us, “I was just doing my job” has a limit.

I was a government lawyer my whole career before I was fired for criticizing Trump. To those still in government under these regimes, I would say only this: think long and hard—right now—about what you’re doing and where your line is, because history shows: that line will come before you’re ready.

The difficult truth for me is that I’m not wired for silence or keeping my head down in the face of this level of devolution of democracy and humanity. I’m just not. My mom is like this and has lost jobs and friends because of it. My grandfather, her father, was sentenced to seven years in a federal prison for union organizing. America since 11/9/16 is not normal. I am congenitally unable to stop saying so. My mom says maybe that’s because we’re Jews, and we know all to well the consequences of silence.

I’d also add, however, that remaining silent in the face of what has happened to America now is the epitome—the absolute zenith—of white privilege. Many white people with no cultural history of trauma or persecution are seemingly fine saying/doing nothing because they think they will always be “safe.”

Maybe, maybe not.

I hope those who stay silent with their heads down and who keep going along to get along in order to protect and squirrel away their own little personal corner of the universe never have to face any real consequences of Trump’s atrocities. I really do. Some of us don’t have that option, and it would behoove every citizen of this country to remember that eventually, your turn comes. Either you’re a victim, a bystander, or a persecutor. Those are the three options you have if you’re not willing to say or do anything else.

The sad truth is that most people, when given a choice, will always choose self-preservation above all else. People who are hard-wired to risk self-destruction for principles are the exception, not the norm, because it’s maladaptive. Those people end up isolated, destitute, imprisoned, dead, or some combination thereof. I know it’s futile to be disappointed in human nature, and yet I am. 

Deeply.

Here’s another thing: if this post makes you mad, if you’re crying metaphorical white tears, if you feel fragile, if your first instinct is to be defensive about your self-preservation-at-all-costs mentality, then maybe it’s time to look in the mirror.  Maybe you’re mad at yourself, and that’s okay. It’s not too late to do or say something. Anything. 

Because if you think the stakes are high now, just wait.