“HEY! I raced you didn’t I?” Two students from rival high schools spotted each other in the massive crowd at Central Park in San Mateo. Thousands of young people walked out of San Mateo County high schools and middle schools on Friday, Jan. 30, to, well … that’s what I asked many of them about at the park, on El Camino Real in San Mateo, on the bus and in Belmont.
“I was born here. My father is a citizen but he’s afraid to go out. Why should he have to be afraid to go to work, to go to the supermarket? Why should I be afraid that he won’t come home?” Scenes of ICE agents tackling people, wrestling them down to the ground and putting knees on their necks, outside their homes, in parking lots, at Target, Home Depot, near schools and churches, have put incredible stress on anyone who, as one young person said “looks like us.” Standing nearby was a student holding a sign featuring Renee Good and Alex Pretti, making me think “and they kill people who look like them.” One middle school student’s sign asked “Whatever happened to due process?” Somewhat incredulously, I asked, “OK, what is due process?” She proceeded to give me a very accurate explanation. Apparently that gets covered in Middle School Social Studies classes. She also told me that her teacher brings the Daily Journal in and uses it frequently to discuss current events. Yay!
Many students had signs with messages like “I Skipped My Lessons Today So I Could Teach You One.” Indeed. A middle schooler answered my “Why Are You Here” question with “First they came for the socialists.” She couldn’t name the poet, Martin Niemoller, and at least in that moment I got to educate her a little. Another said “It’s crazy that children have to come out here and fight for people’s rights, but I guess we have to. They’re hurting people who are just trying to start a family, you know, the American dream.”
I stopped by one group of students who said they were here because, as one of their signs said, “If we don’t pay attention to history, we’re going to repeat it.” So, I prompted “What previous time in history seems closest to what you’re seeing now?” One said it was like the start of Communist Russia. Another said the 1930s and the rise of Hitler. My husband and I have talked about that comparison a lot lately and we have a theory about what’s different now so I tried it out on the student. “Do you think our current president is as popular right now as Hitler was in Nazi Germany?” As a teacher I used to love seeing the light bulb spark in a student’s eyes and this one got a huge smile, “No!”
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A group of students from one high school were huddled together and I asked them why they had come. One answered “Well, lots of the kids at our school are MAGA but not all of us!” His cohort agreed. I asked if students on all sides of politics were able to express themselves freely in school and I got an enthusiastic “YES.” I hope that’s true. The more we can talk about our differences the better.
One thing that especially impressed me was the organization of the whole thing. Thousands of students from many different schools converged along many miles of El Camino Real and most of the crowd control was done by the kids themselves. Young people with brightly colored safety vests and megaphones kept the crowds moving, on the sidewalks and safe from cars, with some switching back and forth between security and leading boisterous chants. Yes, some of their language was, to say the least, colorful. The signs ranged from profound to fun, and as I’ve quipped before, despite MAGA conspiracy theories that signs at protests like these are professionally made and paid for by George Soros, it was clear that these were home made. “The Wrong Kind of Ice Is Melting.” “What’s Next? Thought Police?” “No ICE, No FEAR, Immigrants Belong Here!” and my favorite: “Pretty Girls Spend Their Birthdays Protesting for Human Rights.” Yes, it was her birthday.
Support from people driving by and honking was huge. There were a few instances, though, of grownups pulling up in their cars and cursing, thrusting out their middle fingers. Sad. In Belmont one man with a sign that said “ICE = LAWS! DNC=LIES! SUPPORT ICE!” approached some students and loudly tried to tell them how misguided they were. They quietly listened, turned, and walked away. He told me “Sometimes you have to stand alone.” I’m glad we have a country that defends his right to express his opinion, just like all of the students did.
¡Vivan los jóvenes!
Craig Wiesner is the co-owner of Reach And Teach, a book, toy and cultural gift shop on San Carlos Avenue in San Carlos. Follow Craig: craigwiesner.bsky.social.
Hey Craig - get off your high horse and find out why we are paying for teachers who cannot teach but can only indoctrinate. My wife and I are immigrants and we have not in the least been afraid of being targeted by ICE. Moreover, our children, who are 50% Latino, are not suffering either and can't relate to the mind numbing comments by some of these students. And, Niemoller (sp, "o" with umlaut) was not a poet but a Lutheran Pastor which indicates another one of your challenged historical knowledge. This is just anther case of mass hysteria and you are contributing to the unrest of our already compromised children. Next time perhaps an uplifting story that features the kind of students that Michelle will be happy to identify. Of course, that would not fit your hokey narrative.
Once again, no nuanced debate about our immigration policy and what these students (or Craig) think it should be. Sad that kids with parents who are American citizens believe they are in danger and are afraid to leave the house- what have they been told that makes them so irrationally fearful?
As for "lots of students" being "MAGA"- I guarantee that there is NO San Mateo county high school with many conservative students. Doubt the numbers top 20% anywhere. And conservative students definitely do not feel comfortable expressing their views in class. There can be backlash from other students and teachers for doing so and therefore most just keep their heads down and try to get good grades to get into college.
Craig, if you would like to interview students who did not walk out, or just those who hold view different from the liberal majority here, please let me know and I can point you toward some.
Here we go again. An 800-word column from Mr. Wiesner with cherry-picked examples attempting to push a narrative that more folks than not support criminals and terrorist more than the American people. Fortunately, that isn’t the case, as national polls have shown there is considerable support for deporting anyone illegally crossing our borders. I wonder whether Mr. Wiesner asked anyone if they knew crossing the border illegally is a criminal offense. Or about the people responsible for the murders of Laken Riley, Rachel Morin, Kayla Hamilton, Jocelyn Nungaray and many others victimized by invaders to our country?
More power to Trump to increase enforcement operations and to remove those in our country illegally, regardless of the opposition that discriminates against law-abiding citizens. As always, I’d encourage everyone who sees something to say something to ICE.
No surprise that Mr. Wiesner won’t explain why Democrats have become the party of supporting criminals and terrorists more than the American people. Or write about the increasing incidents of violence against ICE and law enforcement. BTW, why are students only interested in a "one-hit wonder" march instead of marching every single day? Do they not believe in their "cause"? I’m sure many would be happy being excused from being educated.
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(3) comments
Hey Craig - get off your high horse and find out why we are paying for teachers who cannot teach but can only indoctrinate. My wife and I are immigrants and we have not in the least been afraid of being targeted by ICE. Moreover, our children, who are 50% Latino, are not suffering either and can't relate to the mind numbing comments by some of these students. And, Niemoller (sp, "o" with umlaut) was not a poet but a Lutheran Pastor which indicates another one of your challenged historical knowledge. This is just anther case of mass hysteria and you are contributing to the unrest of our already compromised children. Next time perhaps an uplifting story that features the kind of students that Michelle will be happy to identify. Of course, that would not fit your hokey narrative.
Once again, no nuanced debate about our immigration policy and what these students (or Craig) think it should be. Sad that kids with parents who are American citizens believe they are in danger and are afraid to leave the house- what have they been told that makes them so irrationally fearful?
As for "lots of students" being "MAGA"- I guarantee that there is NO San Mateo county high school with many conservative students. Doubt the numbers top 20% anywhere. And conservative students definitely do not feel comfortable expressing their views in class. There can be backlash from other students and teachers for doing so and therefore most just keep their heads down and try to get good grades to get into college.
Craig, if you would like to interview students who did not walk out, or just those who hold view different from the liberal majority here, please let me know and I can point you toward some.
Here we go again. An 800-word column from Mr. Wiesner with cherry-picked examples attempting to push a narrative that more folks than not support criminals and terrorist more than the American people. Fortunately, that isn’t the case, as national polls have shown there is considerable support for deporting anyone illegally crossing our borders. I wonder whether Mr. Wiesner asked anyone if they knew crossing the border illegally is a criminal offense. Or about the people responsible for the murders of Laken Riley, Rachel Morin, Kayla Hamilton, Jocelyn Nungaray and many others victimized by invaders to our country?
More power to Trump to increase enforcement operations and to remove those in our country illegally, regardless of the opposition that discriminates against law-abiding citizens. As always, I’d encourage everyone who sees something to say something to ICE.
No surprise that Mr. Wiesner won’t explain why Democrats have become the party of supporting criminals and terrorists more than the American people. Or write about the increasing incidents of violence against ICE and law enforcement. BTW, why are students only interested in a "one-hit wonder" march instead of marching every single day? Do they not believe in their "cause"? I’m sure many would be happy being excused from being educated.
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Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.