On Multiculturalism: "Elevate" - Part 20 of ...

And I did it all independent, no really, all independent
Now we winnin', I got my homies cookin' up in the kitchen

Guest post from Kevin J. Lowther, Jr., originally written for The Westerly Sun

Those paying attention to the news or scrolling social media have seen the disturbing images of immigration agents detaining people on the streets, in courthouses, on school grounds, even in hospitals. Reactions vary widely and often mirror political leanings. Some cheer, believing the law is being enforced. Others are horrified, seeing racism, cruelty, and violations of due process.

This essay won’t change minds already made up, but perhaps it can offer a different, more personal lens shaped by experience, not ideology.

In 2016, I deployed to Afghanistan, then spent three months in Kuwait City, living downtown, an uncommon privilege for a U.S. Army officer. I explored the city, hoping to meet locals, but found Kuwaiti society somewhat closed to outsiders.

Instead, I befriended migrant workers, mostly Indian and Filipino men and women who kept the country running. They worked every kind of job: construction, healthcare, service, transportation. They lived in cramped high-rise dormitories, far removed from the luxury of Kuwaiti citizens in walled compounds.

These workers had no hope of citizenship or advancement, yet they came willingly. Why? Because even low-wage jobs in Kuwait paid more than they could earn at home. They sent money back to their families, chasing the dream of a better life.

That experience left me asking hard questions. Is it moral to build a society that depends on people we pay less, value less, and treat as disposable simply because they were born elsewhere? What opportunities justify that? How much talent is wasted in the process?

In America, we tell ourselves our system is different; anyone can “pull themselves up by their bootstraps.” Sometimes that’s true. But often, the dream we sell doesn’t match the reality we deliver. We promise opportunity, punish those who reach for it, then vilify them as criminals. Yet, as a matter of law most immigration violations are civil, not criminal, and immigrants commit fewer crimes than native-born Americans.

My second encounter with immigration came recently. In May, I married the love of my life, an Austrian citizen. We have every advantage including education, income, legal help, and we’re navigating the K-1 fiancé visa process, made famous by reality TV. My wife checks every box: European, fluent in English, from a friendly nation.

And still, the process is emotionally and financially grueling. It demands surrendering not just paperwork, but parts of your identity. You must trust a system that could reject you on a technicality. The fear is not abstract; it’s deeply personal.

Even those who follow every rule are sometimes detained or deported for minor infractions like failing to report a change of address. Doors kicked in, cars smashed, people zip-tied and taken away. The cruelty isn’t a bug in the system; it’s become a feature.

Immigration is so much more than taking sides It is human beings with hopes, families, and futures. It’s about the moral cost of creating a class of workers who live in fear, doing the jobs we refuse to do, but punished for wanting better lives. America’s greatest advantage has always been the point where talent and opportunity can meet.

We can and must be better. Our immigration system should reflect not only our economic needs but our moral values, and it must be rooted in fairness, dignity, and humanity.

This column is written by members of the Westerly Anti-Racism Coalition, which embraces multiculturalism to address racism.

On Choosing a Cause: "Elevate" - Part 19 of ...

Side-by-side of Miles Morales and Miguel O’Hara from Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse

“Who the bad man that a man gotta bash on?”

Spoiler Alert: Some vague spoilers ahead, if you're excited to see Across the Spider Verse, better to see it first and then read.

I started these posts three plus years ago after seeing Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse because the movie ended up being everything it was hyped to be and the song Elevate really reached above it's lyrics.

So it's fitting that a few years later I write a post that simply is a review of the latest Spider -Verse installment and why it hit hard for me. To me, the best super hero movies are the ones where the line between hero and villain is murky. We can all understand that sometimes a hero just needs some fodder to beat up on, but in this movie, most of the conflict is between two good-intentioned Spider-Men. We have our already-known character - Miles Morales - who is striving to understand his own powers and what his fight is, battling how he can be honest with his family without hurting them.

The other main Spider-Man is Miguel O'Hara, Spider-Man 2099. His motivation is he attempted to step into the life of a Spider Man variant he envied, stepping into the role of father and husband for a Spider Man who was killed in a fight. He thought he could help out the family, live out a good life and no one would be the wiser.

But Miguel realizes that his actions have unexpected consequences, destabilizing the intricate web of events that tie all of the Spider dimensions together. He then makes it his mission to uphold these nexus points so that there is continuity in the Spider Verse.

When Miles realizes this continuity risks the life of his father, he knows there has to be a better way and sets out to stop Miguel from letting his father die.

Who is right in this story? Is it Miles who is putting his own family above the possible needs of infinite universes? Is it Miguel who is righting his own wrong by fighting for a cause he believes is just?

It is a moral debate and a perspective debate, it's a risk debate and a fight to believe in the impossible. Across the Spider Verse asks us to believe through Miles that there are people who rise above their circumstance, that inspire others to do the same and to take a leap of faith. There are thousands of Spider-Men introduced in the movie, but it's the role of the audience to believe that the one we're following is capable of something more.

The music for this movie again is pumping and emotional. The characters are believable and their struggles relatable. And the movie paints a believable New York with multiple races and languages represented. For those reasons, this movie quickly rises to a possible favorite.

But it's the forever battle of how to choose your battles that makes this movie remember why super hero movies can be more than the sum of their parts. After suspending belief in super powers, multiple universes and insane action sequences, it's really just about the hope that we can do both - we can love and fight for our family and make the greater world better at the same time. Or we can die trying, and that's really the only way to live.

(Note: The opening lyrics are from the song “Elevate” which is the framework for my posts from 2019 onward. Click back a few posts for more context. )