If you’ve seen Mean Girls, then you know that burn books can be hateful. Inside the pages of these decorated composition notebooks, teens often write mean, untrue, and offensive comments. But just this week, United We Dream has decided to turn the snarky burn book into a tool to call out hate.
As the partial government shutdown continues, UWD released a burn book to demand that Congress not give into President Donald Trump’s threats and refuse to fund the border wall. “Like in Mean Girls, we are asking people to raise their hand if they’ve been personally victimized by the hate from this administration and their deportation force,” according to a press release from the organization. “Through this effort, we are continuing to demand Congress reject Trump’s demands for funding the wall and their deportation force.”
In a few pages, the book criticizes Stephen Miller’s role in Trump’s administration, the president’s insistence on the border wall, and Customs and Border Protection for putting children in cages – all white sprinkling in many of the quotes we know and love from Mean Girls.
With the burn book, United We Dream is also asking people to sign a petition that calls on Congress to cut funding to CBP and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, to pass legislation that protects immigrants, and to hold the immigration agencies that hurt our communities accountable. “We as immigrants, people of color and allies want to hear from you: if Trump and his deportation force have attacked you or your community, let us know by adding your name,” the petition reads.
Check out the burn book and sign the petition here.