Community Resistance Through Everyday Acts of Mutual Aid Is Both Necessary and Inherently Valuable
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/by/will-mcgrath. "Opinion | How We Resist ICE: Car Pools - The New York Times." February 18, 2026. www.nytimes.com
The Gist
The author argues that regular people should join grassroots efforts to help immigrant families by doing simple things like driving kids to school. He believes this kind of community mutual aid is both the right thing to do morally and creates meaningful connections that make the work rewarding in itself, regardless of whether it changes government policy.
Conclusion
Ordinary citizens should engage in grassroots resistance activities like carpooling vulnerable children because these acts of mutual aid are both morally necessary responses to government oppression and inherently rewarding forms of community building
Premises
- ICE enforcement has created a climate of fear that prevents immigrant families from safely accessing basic services like education
- Grassroots networks of ordinary citizens (particularly parents) can effectively provide practical support through simple acts like carpooling
- These resistance activities create beautiful, joyful community connections that are rewarding in themselves
- The resistance is widespread and growing organically across Minneapolis, with over 80 families now participating in carpools alone
- The moral value of resistance lies in the immediate act of helping, not in achieving ultimate political victory
- Even privileged white citizens are no longer safe from government violence, making resistance a matter of collective self-interest
Assumptions
- ICE enforcement represents unjust government oppression rather than legitimate law enforcement
- Ordinary citizens have a moral obligation to resist unjust government actions
- Small-scale mutual aid activities constitute meaningful political resistance
- Community organizing based on 'joy and love' is more sustainable and effective than other forms of resistance
- The current situation represents an existential threat to democratic norms and civil liberties