The rise of religious institutions as sanctuaries under new deportation orders, rains cause road closures in Big Sur, and a Friday guide to fun things to do this weekend.
Yiannopoulos' fall might prove that America's moral compass is still intact
Conservative provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos is no stranger to controversy. Critics have called his ideology sexist, racist and xenophobic.
But the straw that broke the camel's back wasn't related to his politics. Instead, it was an old video that surfaced earlier this week in which Yiannopoulos appeared to endorse pedophilia.
The bipartisan backlash was swift. Yiannopoulos' words cost him a major speaking engagement at this week's Conservative Political Action Conference, a book deal and his job at Breitbart News.
The rebuking marked a rare moment of unity for the polarized nation: the man who built a career testing the limits of human decency stumbled upon a moral line that even he couldn't cross.
"The question of Yiannopoulos I think is not a question necessarily of pedophilia, but of how tolerant people can be of things they find abhorrent up until the tidal wave crests," says Brie Loskota. She's executive director of the Center for Religion and Civic Culture at USC.
For years, America's far-right and sympathizers defended Yiannopoulos' First Amendment right to express his views — even if they didn't necessarily agree with them. But Loskota says his remarks about pedophilia pushed even his defenders out of their moral comfort zones.
"It was [about] the accumulation of things that could not be ignored," she says.
The principles of the nation, as outlined in the founding documents like the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence, make up a moral code of sorts for Americans. Historian Brenda Stevenson says that the pushback Yiannopoulos faced throughout his career might indicate that people see his views as incongruous with those standards.
"Protests show us where we are — where some people are, at any rate. Protest is very much a part of our moral fiber, so it does mean something when you have people standing up and saying no," Stevenson says.
Exactly how the American moral codes are interpreted, however, varies from person to person.
"What societies are trying to engage in as they engage issues of morality and ethics is sometimes a sort of mosh pit of ideas coming together and people trying to figure out what we can agree on and what we can't," says Brie Loskota.
But Loskota adds that continued engagement ultimately leads to a better society.
"The more that we incorporate more voices into what our moral baselines are and what our universal values are, the more cohesive, the safer, and the more peaceful our society becomes," she says.
Click on the blue bar above to listen to the entire interview.
‘Silent Nights’ illustrates the complexities of being human and immigration
Our series of interviews with Oscar nominated shorts continues.
In case you missed it, on Thursday A Martinez spoke with Juanjo Giminez about his quirky short, "Timecode." In this Spanish short, the audience is reminded they're more than their monotonous jobs through the whimsical actions of two parking lot security guards.
Wednesday brought a conversation with writer, director and composer of "Ennemis Interieurs," Selim Azzazi. This short tackles anti-foreigner sentiment through a tense interrogation scene.
On Tuesday, we looked at the Hungarian short, "Sing," directed by Kristoff Deak. This short's major theme was about giving a voice to the oppressed and fighting injustice.
But we kicked off the whole series on Monday, with a look at "La Femme et le TGV." Director Timo Von Gunten discussed the film's theme's of loneliness and human connection.
And we conclude our series with "Silent Nights." This short follows the story of Kwame, a homeless immigrant from Ghana who arrives in Denmark to find not just cold weather but also a cold reception. That is until he meets a compassionate shelter volunteer who not only opens her heart to him but also her home and her life.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjgM4yc4aqA
The thing is Kwame has a secret. One that drives him to do things like steal money and lie to the one person he claims he loves. Is the reason for his deception good enough to explain why Kwame does the things he does?
"Silent Nights" is the Oscar-nominated live action short written and directed by Aske Bang and produced by two-time Academy Award winner in the same category Kim Magnusson.
Aske explained to A Martinez, how the story for this short came about through a family collaboration.
Aske: "My father, he came to me and said he has this idea to film about this illegal immigrant and Danish volunteer at the shelter, and it's a place right next to where we live. So I thought, yeah that was a very good idea, then we started doing research and wrote the script. And it's because we have a lot of illegal immigrants from Africa in Copenhagen. So it's something we see in the streets, so I think it was a very relevant story."
An immigrant story right now is very timely because of the things going on in the world. What made "Silent Nights" a project that what you wanted to get behind and produce, Kim?
Kim: "You know, I didn't say, 'Oh! This is is an immigrant story. Oh! We have to tell that story,' because in Denmark as Aske just said, it's something that we live with for a long long time and yes of course the whole Syrian crisis which actually came after we started this movie has of course made this more timely than ever and therefore people think that when they see the film they think, oh we wanted to do this story because of that but actually it started out as just a good feeling. A heartfelt story about...a love story in a way between two people basically are up against the world...and then they find comfort and love in themselves, or within them together."
Is that part of the point of the film to wonder and imagine how far you would really go if you were put in that situation?
Aske: "Yeah, in a way. I wanted to show the complexity of people that not every people are just only good, only bad. You can still be a good person even though you do something bad sometimes, you know? Everyone does. That was very important for me, not to be too politically correct, just showing people how they are. Even the female actor, she also lies for Kwame at a point. Sometimes people lie and its not always a bad thing, sometimes its to protect other people."
Answers have been edited for length and clarity.
Audio coming soon.
Trump's opponents on immigration: faith leaders
The Trump administration has vowed to step up enforcement against illegal immigration.
But some religious people might be standing its way.
Some are creating "safe houses" in Los Angeles for people living in the U.S. illegally, for example.
A network of different churches have banded together in Philadelphia, too, to practice ways to disrupt federal immigration officials.
Even one of the recent headlines at the National Catholic Reporter reads, "Three ways to resist the Trump administration's deportation orders."
"People of faith and no faith are rising up to oppose these deportations," says Rabbi Sharon Brous, founder of IKAR, a Jewish community resource in Los Angeles. "There are 36 times the Torah says we need to treat the ger – the stranger, the other – with love."
"That is also in the Quran, to take care of strangers," adds Ani Zonneveld, founder and president of Muslims for Progressive Values. "It's about the moral justice about providing to someone who needs help."
Both say they are working to provide immigrants in need with food, clothing and even sanctuary.
"We see these deportations as un-American, immoral and inhuman," says Rabbi Brous. "I'll do whatever's in my power to protect and serve this community."
"It's a test for us. We are the privileged ones," says Zonneveld. "American Muslims are starting to speak up. It's not a Muslim issue. It's all of us together."
Listen to the whole interview by clicking the blue audio player above.
Damaged bridge on Highway One - yet another calamity for Big Sur
Last summer it was flames.
A nearby fire burned for 83 days, and led legions of tourists to cancel trips to one of the state's most idyllic communities, Big Sur.
Now, it's the Pineapple Express.
The series of strong Pacific storms triggered a landslide at a bridge on Highway 1 in the middle of the community. CalTrans says the Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge is damaged beyond repair. Until it can be replaced, Highway 1 is severed.
Stan Russell is a longtime area resident who runs a local information site, TheBigSurBlog.com. He says the bridge closure is going to hit businesses in the area very hard. But he points out, on a more positive note, that no one has died, and the community is pulling together to overcome yet another calamity in one of the most beautiful places in California.
Click on the blue bar above to listen to the interview with Big Sur's Stan Russell.