Stop Posting ICE Rumors

STOP Posting ICE Rumors...

I got into it again this week, and like I tell people, its not personal, but posting ICE rumors is bad. Mostly cause 99.9% of them are fake, but cause even in the event you somehow managed to crack the inner workings of one of the most secretive agencies... it won't prevent them from coming and doing their dirty.

It is well documented why you should not post these rumors, I mean if you ask google or ChatGPT, "why you shouldn't post ice rumors", it will tell you clearly why it is bad (image attached).

So, for those of you, and its been several, who got offended when I commented on your post, that it is bad to post ICE rumors and asked you to take them down... and you got upset. My comment started out polite, you interpreting as an insult, might be because you didn't have good intent, then it became an insult.

I have mentioned this to lots of people, who were like, oh I didn't know, and took it down right away. THANKS! You rock. If you have other friends who post stuff, you could comment my blog link so they know its not good to post.

I have mentioned it to people, whose motives I then have to question, who were like, naw I want to keep to it up. So for you I assume you, A.) want the attention "look I think I know what ICE is doing", B.) hey look I care about immigrants, but I really don't, cause posting ICE rumors is bad, C.) hey I think likes and shares are more important than people's safety so I am keeping this up.

Anyhow... hopefully this helps. Also reminder groups like National Immigrant Justice Center (I posted their KYR recently) and La Casa de Amistad have great resources on how you should prepare for what unfortunately is inevitable these days...

Let's stop stirring fear, lets be ready, and lets fight back.

Present, Responsive, Consistent, and Credible

I was interviewed the other day by a site called Canvas Rebel and they asked me what I thought helped build my reputation in the region. Those four words popped up to me right away and I felt like the gut reply really captured my thought well, and authentically. You can read my full write up here: Meet Sam Centellas

Be present, be responsive, be consistent, and be credible. 

Present: I am there, I speak up, and I am where I am supposed to be whether I am tired or not. I think showing up is very important, speaking up about what matters is critical, and not being a wall flower but being part of pushing for whatever is next. 

Responsive: I answer emails quickly, and I make appointments and keep them. I think people under estimate the power of replying quickly, and more underestimate the power of giving your opinion. 

Consistent: this is hard as I am building a new company right now, but being consistent in what you say, how you say it, and when/why you say it is important. Always share why you do things, not just how. 

Credible: Do what you said you will do, everyday. Do everything with all your skills and don't slack, I do procrastinate, but I don't cut corners. Work hard where it matters and give it your all, ignore all the fluff and distractions.

I wanted to document these answers on my blog here and share it again. I also wanted to add something that I think is important as well, and thats about having fun. I never take myself too seriously, and also like to have fun and encourage others to do so. When we have fun and let loose, the real us comes through, and people get to know, and connect with, the real you. 

Sharing with people my love of cars, my love of tinkering, my love of trying new things... I would have made many less connections over the years. I hope the people who know me, might know me as a hard worker, but I hope they also know me as a fun car guy. 

Check out the interview... they pasted my bio in there as is, so ignore how dry that is, but the rest I enjoyed doing and thought it represented me well. 

Note: I am not perfect at any of these things, I don't claim to be, but I am saying they are important. I strive for these, and often fall short, but it doesn't mean I don't push myself to be better, and hope others push to be their very best selves as well. 

Why I Went

No Kings Rally. June 14th, 2025. 

I went. 

I have not gone to a "rally" in I can't remember how long... honestly since maybe when it felt like a part of my job at La Casa de Amistad. 

I'll tell you why I usually don't go to them... they feel often like a performance. Like a, "hey look at me, I believe these things", well, err, at a minimum saying, "Hey look at me, I want you to think I believe these things." 

I got jaded, honestly still kinda am, and was always disappointed in the follow through, follow up, and true actions of myself and many of the people who attend rallies. When it came time to help register people to vote, only a handful of LWV members (I love them!) and Greg Chavez (he was the best)... pounding pavement. When it came time to actually speak out again racism, to push against structural issues in our world that cause the problems we often protest... often crickets. 

Everyone wants to cheer at a rally, hold a funny sign, and post a social media video while standing in the middle of the street. When it comes time to do the work though... less people show and sacrifice to create the change.  

I thought about not going. I thought about my struggles with feeling like a hypocrite...

Who hold signs but don't donate to causes,
Who say abolish ICE, but can't drive to the westside to buy groceries,
Who march up and down chanting but won't volunteer,
Who have Black Lives Matter stickers, but drive their kids to all white schools.

I went. 

For sure not for the speeches... cause honestly most of them are just saying things to get cheers. Normally no one at a rally gets their mind changed, no Trump support listened and said, "wow that is a good point, I better take off this hat." When I spoke at those back in the day I would always tell people things to do to help. Like if you want to make this better, spend money on the westside, stop sending your kids to all white schools, donate to non-profits until it hurts. Are we more focused on padding our 401k than we are on supporting causes that matter?

Some of my advocacy wear.

I went.

Glad I was there for the kid, you maybe saw as well, walking around the place alone, with a pride flag and dyed hair, quiet and walking loops. They needed us there, so did some of the young immigrant kids, whose parents hear slurs often and are discriminated upon regularly... to feel welcomed. I think about the young black kid who walked by a sign that says racism is wrong. To know the discrimination they will face growing up is not their fault, that it is wrong, and that we are working on it. 

I really want less rallies and more people actively doing the things that are going to make the world a better place. Rallies don't change things, things change when you change and push others to change. What do I mean? Doing things like this:  

Shop at a Mexican grocery store.
Read about the economic oppression of black neighborhoods and what we can do about it.
Buy shampoo and brushes from a black-owned beauty supply store.
Volunteer in a program that supports low-income, minority, and/or immigrant communities.
Call out friends (or anyone) when they say something racist.
Donate to a cause/place that is actively involved in fighting racism, oppression, and that is helping to empower others. 

I went. 

It was for my kids honestly. I am not great about talking to them about these things, I assume they know how I feel, and what I think is important, but and it was a good opportunity to share with them. Not just that people don't like Trump's orange skin and hair, but that his policies are terrible and racist. That the people he appoints and promotes are not qualified, his policies are mega bias, and that racism is wrong. 

I am not rejuvenated, maybe more worried than ever, but hopeful. I am feeling, what can I do now? That is what I walked away from Saturday thinking. It is not enough to just try and teach my kids right, but how do we do more, how do we harness rally energy regularly, monthly, how do we advance causes that matter? How will do you do it? How will we all do more than just rally, how will do fix it all? 

I went. The following day, I went with the kids to Rosales Market to grocery shop, we got ice cream at La Rosita. It's something, it's a start. What are you doing differently now? 

I went. Glad I went. Now where do we go next? 

Trust the Process

Trust the process... often used in leadership development programs, or when you think about growth or capacity building, and lately I have been thinking about it related to politics.

A few weeks ago a local leader and colleague wrote an article about community engagement. Sharing the difference between Builders and Wreckers, and that lately lots of anger and frustration at public meetings had changed the decorum of many public boards. The article sparked a little controversy, on why maybe some people are made out as wreckers, and that it comes from years of frustration. Read article HERE. 

It all got me thinking about the process... and the public's ability to "Trust the Process" when we have realized that many of our processes are broken. Interestingly, Jeff's article above came out the first week of February, as the current administration (federally and at our state-level) really started going off the rails of traditional decision making and as our local school board started some extremely non-traditional decision processes. 

Right now we are not only seeing leadership by popularity, but we are seeing it by any means necessary as well, a brutal combo. 

Right now we are seeing a lot of, "This is what I was elected to", and then non-transparently doing a lot of things that don't really feel related to what they were elected to do. 

Trusting the process is easy, when structures you understand and checks and balances exist. Trust is easy when the people in charge want to help, but maybe just disagree on how. 

Trust is not easy when leadership only appears to care. To me the fake appearance of care is actually worse... as trust is impossible when you don't believe the person across from you cares about you or your future, but only about theirs. 

I mulled about what to write, drafted this, and like many blogs lately... let it sit in my que of unfinished drafts. Then, interestingly the other day cleaning out some storage space with Mari, she found a book a poems, from my fraternity Brother Tim Hall called... Trust the Process. I opened it up and thumbed through a few passages. In our fraternity we talk a lot about trust, leadership, and I create many of my views and ways I train on leadership to lessons and experiences during my time as an undergraduate and alumnus of Sigma Lambda Beta. 

Something from the book: 

"When the day looks impossible the couch feels comfortable
and sun rays splashing from the bay windows look uneventful.
and sun rays splashing from the bay windows look uneventful.
Trust the process.

When a conversation with your partner seems daunting
and your feelings eat away at your tongues ability to produce words.
Trust the process.

When depression is the dust that refuses to be swept from the floor
and all you want is freedom from having to clean up the destructive thoughts that fall.
Trust the process.

When song doesn’t sound as beautiful
and melody no longer scales your arms with goosebumps.
Trust the process.

When fear resembles the worn notebook in your book bag 
the rarely opened Evernote app on your phone
or the twice folded post-it notes dusting your desk that stare / and stare
and hover / and wait / and tire / and toggle and are misplaced
then are found and still not used.
Trust the process."

~ Tim Hall

That poem book spoke to me. Lots of small short things, some deep things, and this flowed through lots of different things I have been feeling lately. Gracias Tim. 

I think we all have to remember, to get trust, we give trust, to create change we have to be willing to change, to move forward we must be willing to leave things behind. It is easy to expect others to do what you think should happen, it is harder to do it, to be an example, to be flexible when we ask for it, to genuinely show care to those who don't show it to you.... to stand up for a fight you know you'll lose...its hard, but maybe that is part of the process as well. 

Since it is Easter season do I have the teachings and experience of Christ, the passion, and how that connects to trust the process maybe? Religion and how it has been distorted is on my mind a lot. So this blog doesn't have a purpose, except I need to blog more, share more, and trust the process. 

Injustice, Exclusion, Discrimination, and My Why

I am struggling ya'll... I think it has all crept up on me slowly, the negative talks about DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) in our political stratosphere, of course how it impacts me, my history and my family, but last week it hit my work more directly. How do we walk back on DEI goals, DEI purpose, DEI initiatives... I hear all these companies and educational institutions just going through and removing all those words from their websites. 

It has me all thinking about what should I do? 

How do I talk differently about my work? How do I engage in the larger political spectrum about all of this above and beyond my work work? How does this impact my consulting work in supporting other nonprofits? 

I honestly rarely don't have just a strong gut reaction on what to do and just do it. I pride myself on being a focused and quick decision maker. I feel torn, on one side speaking up will create trouble, yeah maybe good trouble, but what might be the collateral damage of that trouble? Lose funding at work? On the other side, not speaking up sends a message that I agree, that I don't think it's a big deal, it doesn't align with what I think and feel. 

I wanted to put my feelings out in the stratosphere. 

I feel the opposite of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (good DEI) is Discrimination, Exclusion, and Injustice (bad DEI). Having good DEI programs has clearly not eliminated bad DEI. Has it made it better, sure, well maybe, I guess it is hard to say. Saying bad DEI is over clearly doesn't make it true. 

It feels nice to have good DEI programming, to me and to those positively impacted or that are receiving a service, program, etc. Clearly though it bothers those who think think good DEI programs have harmed them, their outcomes, and those of their children (reverse discrimination). 

I do know that sometimes good DEI programs are harmful, not just to those who claim reverse discrimination, but to the very people they are focused to help. So many programs that pander, lower expectations, and honestly reinforce the cycles of poverty that keep people in poverty. I have seen that all over from my time in higher ed, to community centers, to my current role in the CDFI industry. 

I have seen good DEI programs make tremendous impact. That inclusion for someone who was historically excluded, by giving them a "fair" chance at opportunity... is life changing. 

So what do we do? 

We know, well I know, that saying discrimination is over, doesn't make it so. I also know we need programs, education, services, etc. for those who have been subject to bad DEI. Nothing is perfect, good DEI along won't solve the worlds problems, putting our head in the sand and pretending bad things aren't happening also never solved problems. 

So what do I do? 

I think a lot of people are capitalizing on all the drama, on both sides... on the help side, I see it in two ways, one in making a business out of fighting what is happening, and two is in those offering to help you "realign" your DEI strategies. 

Interestingly,  I recently dusted off my OutSight Consulting website, and then maybe more importantly, and I was reminded when facilitating a workshop, WHY do I do things? I facilitated a discussion and used the Start with Why video... and now realize I am reflecting and thinking, "WHY do I want to do what I want to do and how do I talk about it all?" ~ with this DEI focus especially? 

So what should I do, and maybe more importantly WHY do I want to do it? I have honestly at times been debilitated lately thinking about my work and volunteer roles, not being able to focus on what to do, and I need to spend some time figuring out why I am doing things first maybe. 

New Year, New Traditions

Not a New Year Resolution... cause if you know me, you know... I don't do those. 

I do always talk about focus in the new year, and a search on my blog for "new year" and you can read a bunch of those, mostly about how the new year will bring new adventures... it always does, good or bad, bring new things. 

In my continued thoughts about transition, both in work and life, I was thinking lately about holiday traditions. My thoughts are usually always focused on the positive and the direction I hope the future goes in. 

This year though it was all clouded through uncertainty and transition, but also because I thought about how many holiday traditions might be ending. At first I was kinda sad about it, but then I thought, all traditions change, either slowly over time and evolve, or just go away, BUT the focus can be on the new traditions being created. 

Lot's of things did stay the same this year, like I love to cook a Christmas Roast Beast... a big Boston Butt, which also makes for some good booty jokes with the kids, amazing smells in the house, and leftovers all week. I drink an Irish cream of some sort while cooking and check it on while the kids open gifts. 

This year is maybe the last year for doing lights outside this house with Cruz. We have done it together since he was old enough to help, well before he was actually helpful... Ha. The tradition of sitting around as a family and decorating the tree is already kinda over, and I am trying not to feel some type of way about it. 

There are things didn't happen this year, and thats okay. Maybe you are reading this and also feeling some type of way about things that didn't go maybe either how you planned, or how they used to, or just changed. Maybe you lost a loved one, maybe you moved, maybe your kids grew up and didn't run down the stairs excited to see what Santa brought them... life moves forward, things change, it is okay. 

My focus... is on the fun new things that we did get to do this year. Maybe it was the first, and only year for it, or maybe they become a new tradition? Time will only tell, but I keep telling myself that all traditions start as a one-time act, on some day, being the "The First Annual"... 

Some maybe "First Annuals" here... Trip to Grand Rapids with Jenn and the kids to visit my oldest. This house and South Bend are no longer her "home" so we went to her home, and enjoyed time in her city. A ski trip, just me and the kids a few days before Christmas... hardly a tradition yet, and with Mother Nature all weird maybe never be a tradition, so this might have been the "First and Only Annual", ha. N got to stay and do Jenn and I's Sunday Brew Werks game time... usually we do it with the little kids, but they were in Detroit so we had an adult version with her and some friends who stopped in. 

Maybe a budding tradition... last year I did a new side view mirror on Ns car for Christmas, this year I did some other maintenance for her while she was here. Maybe not the most appreciated or fun gift, but sometimes gifts are as rewarding for the giver as they are the receiver. Another was doing presents with Jenn and the kids all together. 

As usual this blog is maybe just therapy for me, and hopefully therapy for you. All traditions started somewhere, they all end sometime, and they all get kicked off one year. Maybe 2024 was that year, or maybe you focus on making 2025 the year for new, and amazing, traditions.