Heavenly God, when the days are hot and the injustice is searing, send your angels of peace and mercy to keep our streets cool and safe. Still the hands of demonstrators, soldiers, Marines, and police. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ your son our Lord, the Prince of Peace, who endured the worst injustice imaginable for our sake. Amen.
Though you might not have heard yet, on Sunday, Trump declared war on Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago. It’s not getting much attention. We’re inured to his puerility. But this post brims with an extra measure of malice. It is the Trump id in full flame, and it bodes ill for LA.
Last week Trump got the word from his friends in agriculture and hospitality to go easy on what he now calls the good illegals. After spending 10 years senselessly lumping all undocumented workers and their families in one bucket marked “criminals,” he finally evinced an understanding that they are a structural part of the United States economy and that many of his supporters rely on their labor.
If we had a decent president, his insight could be a foothold for decent policymaking. But we do not. So Trump’s epiphany makes it worse for our neighbors in Los Angeles. The enterprises that employ them haven’t been able to reach Trump yet. So he is still coming for the bad illegals. He’s still coming for us.
Trump’s words wouldn’t be so worrisome if he hadn’t stationed National Guard troops and Marines in our city while putting pressure on ICE to increase its cruel workplace raids. Ever since the federal deployment, one can feel Los Angeles holding its breath and keeping calm, as during Saturday’s No Kings rally, when patriots all over the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles marched in spirit with four to six million nationwide.
Trump claims his troops are keeping the peace. It is just as likely LA has chosen not to give him his narrative of violence. But at some point, it might prove to be too much — for a father or brother of someone Trump seized, for instance. You may be reading this and saying, no, it will be an anarchist or a looter. But Trump brought them all to our door this summer. Someone might throw a rock or brick. A young American volunteer, on orders or just scared, might take a shot. God help them then. God help us all.
Heavenly God, when the days are hot and the injustice is searing, send your angels of peace and mercy to keep our streets cool and safe. Still the hands of demonstrators, soldiers, Marines, and police. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ your son our Lord, the Prince of Peace, who endured the worst injustice imaginable for our sake. Amen.