On this day 82 years ago, on February 19, 1942, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, in the height of insanity of racism after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, signed Executive Order 9066.
It ordered all Japanese Americans on the West Coast to be summarily rounded up and imprisoned within 10 barbed wire prison camps, with no charges, no trial, no due process.
One day, a few months later, we saw two soldiers marching up our driveway, carrying rifles with shiny bayonets on them. They stopped up the porch right in front of our window and banged on the front door. My father answered, and one of the soldiers pointed the rifle at him, right in front of us, and ordered us out of our home. I had just turned five in April; it was May when they came to take us away.
My father gave my brother Henry and me two heavy suitcases. And we brought them out onto the driveway and waited for our mother to come out. When she did, she had our baby sister in one arm, a huge duffel bag in the other, and tears were streaming down her cheeks.
That is one morning that is seared into my memory. I will never be able to forget all the innocent people, my family included, who had nothing to do with Pearl Harbor, most of who were law abiding U.S. citizens, who were suddenly categorized as ‘enemy aliens.’
Today, I hear terrifying words from political leaders today that once more raise the specter of what happened before, right here in America.
Donald Trump and his allies are talking about rounding up 11 million people and putting them into mass detention camps before deporting them.
There won’t be time for due process, to sort out who is documented and who is not. Homes will be lost. Businesses, too. Families will be torn apart. Lives will be ruined, over fear and ignorance, all to serve the ambitions and agendas of politicians.
I know, because I lived through it.
I say, never again. Not while I have one ounce of fight still left in me.
Join me. Fight this madness. Help keep America from repeating the mistakes of its past.
No place is safe from the threat of mass shootings in America anymore, but the reports coming out about Andy Reid and Trey Smith show how amazing they are and provide a lesson for all of us. Andy Reid took time to comfort kids at the scene during the shooting. Offensive Lineman Trey Smith was sheltered in place with many others in a closet and even comforted a child by sharing his @WWE Championship belt with him and telling him, “Hey buddy, you’re a champion. No one’s going to hurt you, man. We’ve got your back.” Andy Reid, Trey Smith, those children and everyone at that Super Bowl parade should have never been in the life threatening situation they were put in. We can all agree that mass shootings and gun violence are a problem in our country and our children shouldn’t be exposed to it. Andy Reid and Trey Smith’s immediate concern for the safety and well being of children is something all our politicians could learn from. This is not a political issue. There should be no opposing sides. Let’s work together and fix this problem. Think about the children and the America they are growing up in. We as a country have to throw away the titles of Democrats, Republicans, independents and all in between to unite and end our issues with gun violence and mass shootings. We are all protectors of something. We need our politicians to prioritize protecting our children instead of protecting their pockets.
Kids can’t go to school.
Believers can’t go to church.
Families can’t go to the grocery store.
Friends can’t go to a concert.
And now fans can’t go to a SUPER BOWL PARADE without the real fear of being a part of a mass shooting in America. WHAT ARE WE DOING?
With the third Trilogy coming up I’ve been reflecting on all the things that had to go right in my life to make this possible - least of all escaping an addiction to opioids. I’m grateful every day that I was given the opportunity for a second chance and to be in a position where I can help others have that second chance as well. To that end I am hosting a fundraiser for @endoverdose which is a non-profit dedicated to overdose prevention. Last year they trained 216,301 people to administer naloxone and distributed 166,913 doses of the life saving drug to our communities. Each one of these doses is a second chance for someone out there.
This fundraiser is an opportunity to save lives, and I hope you’ll consider supporting it if you have the means. I will match all donations up to the goal. Anyone who contributes will be entered to win an in-person naloxone training session with me at Trilogy: Los Angeles, 2 tickets to each show, and a signed Trilogy jersey. 5 winners will be notified on Tues, Jan 30th. Love you fam, let’s take care of each other ❤️🙏
PS @endoverdose will have a booth at each Trilogy show for anyone to stop by and get trained at!
Donate from my profile on IG or click the link → https://t.co/oCSBJ23ggi
UPDATE. We need your help!
On Nov. 5th at approx 9:45 PM, my dad was struck by this vehicle heading North on the 2800 block of Lyndale Ave S, right outside Buffalo Exchange. He was left in the middle of the street with serious injuries and had to be put into a coma. --