I live in Los Angeles, and I’m a publicist. I want to talk about the raids right now and how they will continue until they stop. My name is Dylan Thomas, and I’m a proud gay trans man. If there’s one thing I know, it’s how to spin a narrative and a media circus.
Let’s ask ourselves this: what are we seeing from the people on the ground versus what are we seeing from large media publications, and what is the intention of both? Our town showed up to peacefully protest and was met with a government initiative to sew chaos into our city that wasn’t already here. What sells headlines in the media? Drama, drama, drama. But let’s talk about reality. You can’t cherry-pick reality; it is what it is. What you’re seeing from people on TikTok, on the ground, that’s real—people-to-people news. I would encourage you to rely on more peer-to-peer news because what drives traffic to these media publications is always drama.
So, let’s talk optics. Let’s talk about how you’re interpreting optics from another state. “Well, if I was there, I’d be doing this.” Great. You’re not here. “Well, if I was you, I’d be doing this.” You’re seeing glimpses of people from what they choose to show you online. You don’t know everything that’s going on in the background. You don’t know the rooms they’re privy to, or the conversations and influence they can hold in spaces that you cannot—not in a condescending way, but in a factual way. We all have to look at our strengths and weaknesses. We can all be activists, and there are different levels of access to activism. When we’re working toward the greater good, that’s what matters in the process.
What it seems the government wants us to do is to be divided. But you see the unity here. LA is diverse, just like the United States is, and that’s one of the reasons why I love living here—because everybody is different.
I saw someone say, “Oh, I’m going to make a list of all the people who didn’t show up who are in LA.” And what I say to you is: expand your mind, think strategically, and also know this—there are people who have others they need to take care of at home. There are people who have to make contingency plans for people at risk. Some people suffer from CPTSD and have been in extremely violent situations, and they’re enraged. They are allowed to show up in the ways that they are able. When you are disabled from trauma, at least for me, I find I have to get activated in other ways than I am used to.
I want you to look at all of this from a zoomed-out perspective. Look at the people of Los Angeles who showed up to peacefully protest and how they were met by our government. I want you to see certain media publications for who they truly are because they don’t show both sides. And you know, when you watch a documentary, a good one will show you both sides of the issue, right? You have to wonder, why aren’t they showing both sides? Why are you seeing the other side only on TikTok? Because that’s truth.
So, if you live in another state and you would do things differently, that’s a privileged thing to say. It is. The people of Los Angeles have gone through a lot this year, and some of them can still show up, while others cannot physically show up but are showing up in other ways that make an impact. Activism can be both loud and silent—both are very important.
I won’t stop talking about it, but there are things that you’ll never know I’m working on that will help and protect people I care about. And that’s a big part of this activism too. A lot of what people in LA are doing right now is protecting those we care about. Not everything will be publicized, and I’m a publicist, and I’m telling you that because it’s a strategic move. What I see is a lot of judgment from other places in the country that don’t understand that part of it.
We all hate ICE. We don’t want them here. I’ll say it every day if I have to, but I don’t necessarily feel like that’s the best use of my voice at this point in history. So, what I’m doing is utilizing my strengths in a lot of ways, and I would encourage you to do the same. If you have a voice and want to speak out against this, but you don’t know how to get into publications, or you don’t know what to do, or you’re not here but want your voice to be heard in a bigger way—there is a way to do that. I’ve made a video for you to show you how to set yourself up as a source, how to contact media, and who you should contact as well. You’ll have to vet that, but there are lots of ways to empower others to flex their strengths too.
When you know you can show up in certain ways but not in others, and you’re doing your best, that’s what matters. So for those staying at home who’ve experienced significant violence in their life and live in Los Angeles right now—if you’re feeling bad because people are telling you, “Why aren’t you there?”—I’m going to tell you: don’t feel bad. If you’ve experienced violence like I have and you’re showing up in other ways, you are doing your part. Your voice is your power. Regardless, your voice is always your power. Speak the hell out of your truth, and don’t ever let anyone judge you from another seat they are nowhere near.
We don’t want ICE here. We never wanted them here. We love immigrants, and we’re all on stolen land. I’m a descendant of immigrants. I’m a white person. Other white people don’t want me to say that, but I’ll say it to every white person’s face: We’re all here because we immigrated. We’re descendants of immigrants. I went out yesterday, and I’m still here. I don’t know why they’re sending Marines here. We don’t need them. We don’t want them. Their job and expertise are not in crowd control—it’s literally “seek and destroy.” So, to anyone who doesn’t understand how this is going, there are a lot of things you need to take into account.
With that said, I hope you’re managing as best as you can.