The MAGA Patriarchy Wants Our Silence—the Women’s Resistance will not Abide.
Why we will not be silent with Liberty Lane and Daisy Justice.
Welcome back to Porch Talk Grit
LIBERTY:
I was raised on the porch. Some folks were raised in pews, some in protests—I had both. But it was the porch where we passed down truth. Where we sat barefoot, shelling peas or painting signs, while the elders told us who we were. Not with rules, but with stories.
And right now? They’re trying to take those stories.
Again.
From book bans to arrests, to silent rollbacks of protections no one’s supposed to notice—we’re watching another wave of erasure roll in. Only this time, it’s wearing a flag and calling itself freedom.
DAISY:
The crazy part is, they’re not even hiding it. Under 50501, they’re arresting women at peaceful protests. They’re detaining pregnant asylum seekers again. And they’re gaslighting an entire generation by acting like we’re the dangerous ones—for showing up with a book or a bullhorn.
I’m not some radical. I’m a college student. I’m your niece, your daughter, your neighbor. And I’ve watched my classmates dragged off in zip ties just for refusing to sit down and shut up. Especially the women.
This isn’t new. But it is getting louder. And our porch talk must too.
What 50501 Means for Women
DAISY:
50501 didn’t start with tear gas. It started with paperwork. And it’s been used to crush protest rights under the guise of “national security” ever since. We’ve talked about how it affects teachers, students, journalists—but not enough people are asking:
What does it mean for women?
What does it mean when ICE quietly brings back detention for pregnant, postpartum, and nursing mothers? No announcement. No press. Just a buried update that lets them lock up women who are literally in labor, or still healing from giving birth.
This ICE policy reversal was confirmed by immigration advocates earlier this year—months after it went into effect.
We will not be silent about this.
LIBERTY:
You don’t have to be a lawyer to feel how wrong that is. In my day, we called that cowardice—policy made in the shadows because it can’t survive the sunlight. These women are not a threat to public safety. They’re just not supposed to be seen.
And under 50501, “being seen” is the new crime.
When women stand up—when they carry signs, speak truth, or even try to cross a border—they’re suddenly the enemy. Not because they’re violent, but because they won’t be quiet. This is why porch talk is so important, we connect with others and share stories.
From Banned Books to Zip-Tied Hands
LIBERTY:
I said it last week and I’ll say it again: when a regime starts burning books, they’ve already lost the argument.
But this new wave of bans isn’t just about the books. It’s about control. The books they’re banning—Black authors, queer authors, Indigenous writers, survivors of abuse—they all have one thing in common: they refuse silence.
They want to be remembered. And that’s what scares the people in power.
More than 3,300 book bans were enacted in U.S. public schools last year alone. It’s not about protecting children. It’s about preventing questions.
DAISY:
Same thing on the protest line.
At Texas State, we had three girls arrested last month for organizing a “Read-In” protest. No yelling, no spray paint—just books and signs. One was reading James Baldwin when they cuffed her.
And under 50501? They can say that was “threat to critical infrastructure.” Like books are bombs now.
The Border Is a Mirror
DAISY:
It’s all connected. What happens at the protest line reflects what’s happening at the border.
When I read that ICE was detaining pregnant women again, I couldn’t stop thinking of the girl we met last year during our volunteer run in El Paso. She was seventeen, seven months pregnant, and still had fresh bruises from the last checkpoint.
And now, under 50501, she wouldn’t be seen as a victim. She’d be labeled a “security risk.”
LIBERTY:
We’ve been crossing that border for years, Daisy. You remember. We’d go to the market, talk to the women in the stalls. They always knew what was coming before the headlines did.
And they were right. It’s not just about immigration. It’s about submission. It’s about whose body is allowed to move, to speak, to survive.
When pregnant women are treated as threats and peaceful protestors are called insurgents, you’ve crossed a line. And you’d better believe we’re going to hold it.
They’re Not Afraid of Violence. They’re Afraid of Memory.
LIBERTY:
My abuelita used to tell me stories the church didn’t want us to hear. She’d sing them low, in the kitchen, while the girls braided each other’s hair.
She said, “They don’t burn books because they’re dangerous. They burn books because they’re true.”
DAISY:
And I’ll be damned if I forget that.
Our generation grew up hearing about liberty and justice. Now we’re watching people get arrested for trying to define it. We’re seeing moms detained for trying to protect it. And we’re told to be grateful for the freedom we have—as if it hasn’t been cut in half, redacted, and priced.
But here’s the part they always forget:
We have memory. And we have each other.
Hold the Line. Then Pass It On.
LIBERTY:
They want our silence, sweetheart. And our daughters’ too.
But what they don’t understand is that every time they silence one of us, ten more speak up.
Every time they jail a woman, another one builds a sanctuary.
And every time they burn a book, we hand out a hundred more.
DAISY:
We don’t scare easy. We’ve seen what fear does.
So if you’re reading this—if you’ve felt the chill of being told your story doesn’t matter—know this:
You’re not alone.
And you’re not powerless.
You’re just on the porch now.
Join us every week for Porch Talk Grit with Liberty and a guest.
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