On a cold Sunday night two weeks ago, organizers in my small town hosted a vigil for recent victims of ICE violence, including Renee Good, Alex Pretti, and Keith Porter. Over 250 people showed up at what is essentially our town square: a slice of land between Highway 99’s south and northbound lanes, where a giant flagpole and even bigger flag welcomes visitors to downtown Newberg.
That night, neighbors gathered to remember citizens who had been gunned down by the United States government for practicing their First Amendment rights. We held candles, listened to music, and heard speeches from several politicians, including Andrea Salinas, our district’s U.S. house representative; Bubba King, a county commissioner; and Elise Yarnell Hollamon, a city council person. Some folks tacked signs to the flagpole, alongside candles and flowers, all remembrances for those who had been lost.
Even though the deaths happened thousands of miles from Newberg, the vigil felt like a unifying moment for neighbors shaken by violence and overcome by grief for people they didn’t know, but whose lives mattered. The memorial was an important reminder of governmental violence, but also a testament to the empathetic heart that activates people in my hometown to work for justice and peace.
Less than 48 hours later, someone had already vandalized the memorial, removing the candles, notes, and flowers. Even before the memorial disappeared, our town’s social media boards were lit up with folks denigrating the memorial, calling it trash, suggesting that it should be destroyed. That those who attended the memorial were supporting pedophiles and rapists and murderers, by which I assume they meant immigrants, parroting our president, who claims he’s deporting “the worst of the worst.” (He’s not, by the way; a majority of those detained by ICE have no criminal record.)
After news about the vandalism broke, the same folks celebrated: in our community boards: “These so-called protests are a waste of time,” one wrote. And another: “Democrats are unequivocally the stupidest people on the planet.” And another: “It sounds like somebody got tired of seeing the garbage stacked up on the flagpole.” And “Let them prance around all the please, every weekend if they want to. But take their garbage home with them.”
God bless organizers in Newberg, though. They quickly planned another vigil at the flagpole, to replace the missing items; to mourn again for Renee, Alex, Keith, and other victims of ICE; and to remind our community that love triumphs over hate, and that goodness will always win. By Wednesday evening of that same week, more flowers, candles, and signs were placed around the flagpole, an even bigger memorial than the first one.
Of course, someone tried to deface this memorial, too, covering the signs with a list of victims who have a been killed, allegedly by undocumented people, a go-to argument for those who are trying to justify the murders in Minneapolis and elsewhere. The list is somehow supposed to absolved ICE and the federal government of their vile deeds. And ignores the reality that those undocumented people who were accused of murder have been tried and convicted of their crimes, unlike the ICE officers in Minneapolis; or that white men, wielding automatic weapons, account for a majority of mass shootings in our country. Not undocumented immigrants.
A few months ago, I reflected on the far-right’s focus on destruction, noting that defacing and wrecking things seems at times to be their modus operandi. When rational arguments fail because their positions are decidedly irrational, it’s easier just to rip things apart, like the White House East Wing, knocked over by construction equipment; or the Kennedy Center, shut down by a vindicative leader intent on trashing a living memorial to another beloved president.
The president and his sycophants have also wrecked our country’s norms. Its constitution. Its communities.
Remembrances to victims of its overreach.
The memorial in Newberg will remain for 30 days after its initial creation on January 25, per the City of Newberg’s policy. I imagine if someone decides to deface it before then, it will be rebuilt, again and again if necessary. It might seem like a small thing, this collection of flowers, candles, and signs at a small-town flagpole in Newberg.
But that memorial is also a reminder that the human heart, unless corrupted, will always seek to build rather than tear down, to create beauty rather than pursue destruction. In a time when so many things are being destroyed, we should find hope in this reality and continue the work of creating communities where everyone can feel safe and free, and where everyone, no matter their immigration status, can thrive.
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