Casja's Choices: Second Life Artists Create Imagery Protesting Trump's Separation of Refugee Families

Cajsa Lilliehook covers the best in virtual world screenshot art and digital painting

Here’s submissions to the Families Belong Together challenge, in which virtual world artists sought to convey through 3D imagery the horror and outrage of the Trump Administration’s policy separating migrant parents seeking asylum from their children. In the weeks since the challenge was announced, a court order has required reuniting these families, but hundreds remain separate, perhaps permanently.

I am moved by Whiskey Monday’s “The End of the Road” [above] with the many hands reaching for the children’s toys. I was curious when she asked on Plurk for folks to share any toys they may have. Knowing Whiskey, I knew it would be a picture that tells the story on many levels. The children are unseen, hidden in the dark, reflecting how they were transported under cover of darkness, whisked out of state to be secreted beyond their parents’ reach.There is this black wall with little holes through which the children reach for their stolen childhood, represented by the toys out of reach. Among the toys, an infant’s bottle, reminding us how very fragile and young these children are.

Saffron Foxclaw’s “Their choice was simple; stay and die or leave and hope” includes a moving poem that shows the stark choices people who flee to the US in search of asylum face. Asylees from Central America have been increasing over the past few years as the drug gangs like MS-13 have gained power. It’s inexplicable to me that the US government simultaneously argues that MS-13 is worse than ISIS and yet not a valid reason for seeking asylum. Be sure to click through to her photo so you can read the full poem.

They came with guns today,

The bunting still flying.

One got spooked and pulled the trigger.

A balloon this time,

Gifted life with a happy breath.

It hung there,

Limp.

The despair of the mother behind the fence is evident in her body. The agent taking the child away is faceless like the mother. Being faceless and nameless is what allows ICE agents to commit these crimes against humanity, though someday, undoubtedly, they will learn that “following orders” is no excuse when the orders are to commit atrocities.

 

Kimika Yoon’s “No Room at the Inn” addresses the hypocrisy of self-professing Christians who reject refugees and asylum seekers. After all, when Jesus was an infant, according to Christians’ sacred texts, Jesus was an asylum seeker. An angel came to Joseph and told him, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.” In the picture, the infant Jesus is inside the cage while his family and the magi are prevented from approaching him. At least he has not been flown to another state two thousand miles away.

Pepa Cometa’s “About Children and Borders” looks forward to a different world, where labor is as free as capital. The sort of optimistic world of The Federation, but not one even remotely resembling where we are today. After all, while nearly 67% of Americans disapprove of the policy of separating children, that still means that a third of Americans are comfortable with stealing children away from their families. That is nothing to celebrate.

It’s tempting to present the facts that disprove the lie that this is an Obama era policy. But when have facts mattered to people who will simultaneously say Obama was equally vicious and Obama refused to enforce immigration law? What do facts matter to people who say MS-13 are the worst evil in the world, but not bad enough to flee for asylum? There are myriad moral and logical hypocrisies required to support this administration and if people have abandoned all principles but Trumpism, what’s the point of engaging with them?

Comments

[Nalates Urriah]

What about the 2.7 million American children separated from their parents?

[Hamlet Au]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whataboutism

Whataboutism (also known as whataboutery) is a variant of the tu quoque logical fallacy that attempts to discredit an opponent's position by charging them with hypocrisy without directly refuting or disproving their argument, which is particularly associated with Soviet and Russian propaganda. When criticisms were leveled at the Soviet Union during the Cold War, the Soviet response would often be "What about..." followed by an event in the Western world.

[Masami Kuramoto]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Think_of_the_children

"Think of the children" (also "What about the children?") is a cliché that evolved into a rhetorical tactic. Literally it refers to children's rights (as in discussions of child labor). In debate, however, it is a plea for pity that is used as an appeal to emotion, and therefore it becomes a logical fallacy.

[metacam oh]

What about Bob?

[Clara Seller]

I just don't see how anyone can plant a flag on any side of this quagmire and claim immunity from hypocrisy.

This horrible situation has come from so much willful blindness, disregard for consequence, and a complete blurring of any legal line that might have once existed. It's a stew of contradiction.

[Cajsa]

Whataboutism is seldom so literal. However, let's pretend for a moment that you have given a second's thought to those 2.7 million children with an incarcerated parent other than as a deflection from Trump's crimes against humanity and address key differences that make these bad faith deflection dishonest.

1. They were not taken away to who-knows-where in an attempt to inflict emotional pain and terror.
2. The parent had time between indictment, conviction, and incarceration to arrange custodial care for their children with family members.
3. A significant number of those children are still with one parent while the other parent is in prison.
4. They are allowed to visit the parent who is imprisoned.

There is no comparison, but then your argument was never intended to be honest.

[Cajsa]

Masami,

Think about the children is hardly a cliche when it literally involves children.

[Crystal Firelight]

They should be kept together and deported as a family; TOGETHER. Out. Out. Out. It's the only fair way. Maybe their illegal parents shouldn't be dragging them here in the first place. Something to chew on.

Also 4.1 percent GDP. Winning.