Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Mercy Not Sacrifice

Home
About
My Book
Archives
More
- Theology
- Culture
- Politics
- Sermons
- Bible
- Devotions
- Daily Office
- Podcast

Home
Progressive Christian
Mommy-Shaming Ivanka Trump Doesn’t Make Immigrants Safe

Mommy-Shaming Ivanka Trump Doesn’t Make Immigrants Safe

Last updated on: June 1, 2018 at 9:26 am by Morgan Guyton

Mommy-Shaming Ivanka Trump Doesn’t Make Immigrants Safe 2018-06-01T09:26:57-05:00 Morgan Guyton

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

[Source: Ivanka Trump Twitter]

Ivanka Trump posted this photo with her son on Twitter because she’s a mom and she loves her son. The response from the Internet has been vicious with people calling her “tone-deaf” and Samantha Bee saying that she was a “feckless c***” since one trending story recently has talked about immigrant mothers are being separated from their children. When Samantha Bee got in trouble for what she said, Twitter filled up with pictures of Donald Trump supporters wearing t-shirts calling Hillary Clinton the c-word (i.e. that thing we call whataboutism when right-wing people do it). So it’s time to say something that should be self-evident: shaming Ivanka Trump for being a mom doesn’t help immigrants. At all.

I’ve spent the last three days supporting a political refugee whose husband is locked up for no reason other than that he did everything by the book in how he crossed the border and asked for political asylum. Their family was being threatened with assassination by a government that is a stated enemy of the United States, but they are being treated like criminals, just like every other immigrant in our broken system. It’s disgusting. It’s heart-wrenching.

The fact that the US government tore children away from their families and lost them is incredibly despicable. It’s at a God needs to send fire and brimstone down to destroy Washington, D.C. level of despicable. And these heartbreaking, evil, unjust circumstances call for a more pragmatic, strategic response than a bunch of self-righteous liberals virtue-signaling each other with their hashtags and centering the importance of their trending stories rather than the people whom they’re supposedly supporting.

The kind of “activism” that calls Ivanka Trump “tone-deaf” is not solidarity with marginalized people. It’s only “tone-deaf” to post a picture of your son on Twitter if you believe that everyone in the world is supposed to be part of the same universal 24-hour news-cycle conversation to which they’re supposed to respond with the same prescribed outrage. It’s only “tone-deaf” if all activism is reducible to commentary and virtue-signaling.

Commentary and virtue-signaling don’t accompany immigrants to their ICE check-ins. Commentary and virtue-signaling don’t help immigrants find a place to print critical documents for their asylum cases off the Internet when they don’t have access to WiFi. Commentary and virtue-signaling don’t volunteer to drive immigrants to an organizing meeting and watch their children while they’re there so they can concentrate and collaborate. These are all things that our local immigrant rights coalition is begging for allies to support them with. And many times the allies who actually help out are different than the loudmouths (like me) who create a bunch of noise on the Internet.

Solidarity is completely different than woketivism. Solidarity is based in love of people who are being ignored and stepped on. Woketivism is based in scorn of people who can be easily judged for their privilege and ignorance. We need more solidarity and less woketivism among those who say they’re fighting for justice in our world. We need to be sharing stories and pictures that are being ignored and silenced instead of making the Trump family the exhausting epicenter of every story.

Let Ivanka Trump be a mom. Challenge her to advocate for justice with her father until he’s voted out of power, but don’t shame her for sharing photos with her son. We need to have a world where every mom is able to experience that kind of joy, especially moms who are marginalized. Scorn won’t get us there.

Check out my book How Jesus Saves the World From Us!

Please support our campus ministry NOLA Wesley as a monthly patron or one-time donor!

Previous Post

May 24, 2018

Has Patriotism Secularized White Christianity?

Next Post

June 8, 2018 On Receiving A Trophy I Didn't Earn

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Advent Beauty Will Save the World Bible Big Picture: Ephesians Bloggers Book Christian salvation and the Beautitudes Culture Daily Office Danceable Homiletics Deadly Sins Deep Roots: Genesis Devotions Dominican Republic May 2011 El Principio Misericordia (The Mercy Principle) Five verses God tattooed on my heart Fundraising FutureGospel Good Biblical Words Henri Nouwen Interview Jennings' Christian Imagination Jesus inside the beltway Jesus Is My Candidate Jesus vs the Pharisees Jesus vs. Plato Journey to Eternity Looking Back on 2012 Love Actually Monday Merton Monday Merton Music Occupy the manger On Earth As It Is In Heaven Original Sin Podcast Poetry Politics Prayer Psalm 119 Radical Jesus 101 Reviews Sermon on the Mount Sermons Spanish Bible study Special Series Spiritual but not religious Synchroblog Theology Things that made me think Thomas a Kempis Ugliness Into Beauty Uncategorized Viaje Dominicano 2013 Walking in the Valley (Lent) Welcome: It's More than a Mat Wild Goose 2013 Wrestling

Select a Month March 2022 January 2022 December 2021 September 2021 April 2021 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who played instruments in Temple?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Levites Priests Kings Prophets