A Dutch church has been conducting religious services for 27 days to protect a refugee family

beachdeath:

For the past 27 days, a small Protestant church in The Hague has been conducting round-the-clock religious services to protect an Armenian refugee family from deportation.

By law, police officers in The Netherlands are not allowed to enter places of worship during religious services. So, reverends from around the country have taken turns holding services at Bethel Church to prevent officials from arresting the Tamrazyan family, who have been in The Netherlands for nine years. 

“By giving hospitality to this family, we could give them time and place to [demonstrate] to the secretary of state the … urgency of their situation,” Theo Hettema, chairman of the General Council of Protestant Ministers says.

A Dutch church has been conducting religious services for 27 days to protect a refugee family

britty-boy:

OP: hey fandoms have kids in them so maybe be mindful of how you interact with them? Also according to the FBI drawing underage porn is literally a felony

Every single reblog, inevitably: oh I get it you think adult women aren’t allowed to have hobbies besides crocheting well guess what you’re just a stupid sexist kid

When a comrade gets arrested

glompcat:

demetriochavez:

property-is-theft:

queeranarchism:

If you’re new to actions with an arrest risk and you don’t have experienced protestors with you, there’s stuff you can find online about having a legal team, writing the name of a lawyer on your body, saying NOTHING to the cops except the name of your lawyer, etc. That’s all good advice.

But let me give you a bit of advice that is just as essential as all that:

If one of your comrades gets arrested, and you know they can be held for 6, 9, 12 hours, depending on where you are, you get a group of people together and you wait outside the police station.

You may be tired, you may be stressed, it may be freezing, you may need to take turns, but you take whoever can still physically and mentally bear it and you go to that police station and you wait for your comrade. You can spend the time taking care of each other, drinking hot drinks, doing whatever gets you through, but you wait.

And when your comrade gets out, you make sure they do not walk home alone in the dark thinking about the fucked up experience they just had, you make sure there’s a big fucking crowd of their comrades there to greet them with hugs and hot drinks and a cigarette if they smoke.

And whether the arrested comrade that just got out is happy or sad or pissed off, you take that for what it is and give that space and you support that. And you get them a hot meal and you hang out with them and you offer to let them stay at your place or you stay with them so they don’t have to spend that night alone with their thoughts.

You do this every damn time, regardless of whether you really like that comrade and regardless of how you feel about the thing your comrade got arrested for, regardless of how often they’ve been arrested. Because you never know how shitty their experience is going to be in there this time. 

Trust me. This is absolutely essential. Once you’ve been arrested and have felt the difference between walking home alone or having your friends waiting for you, you’ll understand.

Be good comrades

I can’t stress how important this is. When my father and I were arrested in Seattle some years back for agitating for Comprehensive Immigration Reform, we were greeted outside the jail by the event’s organisers. They cheered us, had cokes and munchies for us. They drove us to our car and, during the drive, asked if we wanted to stay the night in Seattle with one of the organisers, they filled us in on what had happened after our arrests, they asked about and listened intently to what we experienced from arrest to release. They did so much so well that when another call went out for potential arrestees, we were amongst the first to raise our proverbial hands. 

Read the post. Re-read the post. Remember it. And, when the chance comes, do it.

When I was arrested at a Black Lives Matter protest a few years ago, Jews for Racial and Economic Justice were doing Jail Support when I was finally let out of One Police Plaza at around 6am. 

They had gotten a klezmer band to stand along the hill you have to go up to leave the jail, and as I walked to where the volunteer lawyers were waiting (they were there to make sure all 200+ people who were arrested that night would be represented at their later hearings. They also were surrounded by volunteers who had food, phone chargers, directions to all the nearby subway stops, and one of them let me borrow her phone to call my mom when I got frustrated with how slowly my phone was charging) the band played music, cheered and applauded. 

Honestly? That band playing klezmer for me as I left jail, cheering me on and making me laugh… it’s a memory I really treasure. 

It’s also one of my mother’s favorite stories. Before I told her about that band, she got so upset and agitated whenever anything reminded her of my arrest. She’d freak out, cry, start fussing over me, and so forth. After I told her about the klezmer band though? It became something she’d tell her friends about, over and over again, laughing each time. She stopped calling me to beg me not to go and protest every time she knew a big one was happening, and instead would call to make a joke about how if I want to listen to klezmer she has some CDs I can borrow.

When I think about that night, rather than any of the many many terrible things that happened from the moment the cops grabbed me onward, the first thing I remember is the klezmer, and how it made me laugh, and the popcorn someone gave me as I gave the lawyers my name and info, and the kindness of strangers.

After the dehumanization of even a few hours in police custody, those volunteers made me smile, and gave the night a new fun and funny angle to be remembered from. I actually laugh when I think about that night, thanks to them.

Jail Support is a beyond vital part of protesting. It really really is. 

jodiewhittaker:

superevilbeans:

gay-for-thirteen:

13-is-the-luckiest-number:

All jokes about Thirteen’s scrunchy face and funky beautiful trash personality aside, I really from the bottom of my heart respect the absolute hell out of Jodie Whittaker.

She must have known the shitstorm that would come her way, the fact that a British tabloid (that I won’t even name) posted nude pictures of her in earlier works when she was announced as the Doctor is SICKENING. She has been under scrutiny ten times more than any of the actors before her simply because she’s a woman. People have boycotted the show and blame her personally for it.

And what did she do?

She had a great premiere, a stellar first season so far and she’s a great role model for everyone, especially women. She laughed off hate comments and kept on believing in herself and the rest of the cast and crew. Her Doctor is a hopeful, witty and optimistic return to form and a great character for kids (and adults) to look up to.

I for one can’t think of anyone I’d rather stan than this amazing woman.

🙌🙌🙌🙌

Jodie Whittaker is honestly such an amazing person! She knows the some of the shit she gets and continues being awesome. She takes so much pride in being this amazing character and doesn’t let anything get to her. She’s quickly became one of my favourite people, ever.

The fact that Jodie has literally been used as a symbol or scapegoat by thousands of people just because she’s a woman really is a reflection of the fact that out of all of her predecessors she’s the most actually like the Doctor. What she’s doing is actually heroic.