Why the act of protest is important

I am writing to you because I believe the act of protest to be essential to all of us in the midst of the atrocities ICE is committing here in Illinois.

In your article “Lawsuit alleges ICE detainees denied access to counsel while held in ‘inhumane’ conditions,” the alleged conditions ICE detainees are being subjected to are detailed– which, for instance, possess “little food or water” for its inhabitants.

Relevantly, in his Letter from a Birmingham Jail, Martin Luther King Jr. confronted the white populace for an ability to turn a blind eye to the conditions he and his people were being subjected to while simultaneously painting him as a villain for the protests he organized in response. Even now, King’s assertion still rings true; how are we to blame protestors for their actions while we ourselves are accepting the conditions which created the desire for protest? How are we to remain quietly obedient to a system we deem respectable simply because it tells us it is so?

Of course, there exists the argument that this is justified, and that even if it isn’t, it is of no real concern to us since the detainees aren’t really American citizens and thus are not subject to the same civil liberties that we are. But I consider this to be a very narrow worldview. Is it not our duty to fight for liberty for all? To fight against any injustice or tyranny which makes itself known in our cities, which imprisons our friends and family on the basis of socially constructed border lines? Protest is essential, in whatever form, and I believe it unwise for us to cower away from the possibility just because we have the privilege to.

Luka Athanassopoulos

Wauconda