During the first weeks of this course, we have explored two major ways of understanding communication: communication as transmission and communication as ritual. James Carey explains that the transmission view of communication focuses on sending information across distance in order to control or influence others. The ritual view, in contrast, sees communication as the process of creating and maintaining shared culture, beliefs, and social bonds. These two perspectives help us understand the events described in the article about the resistance movement in Minnesota. While political messaging surrounding immigration enforcement often reflects the transmission model of communication, the grassroots resistance movement described in the article illustrates communication functioning as a ritual that builds community and solidarity.
The transmission view of communication is visible in the way political leaders and government institutions communicate about immigration enforcement. In Carey’s framework, communication as transmission is concerned primarily with the delivery of messages across space in order to shape behavior or public opinion. In the article, government officials attempt to justify the presence of federal immigration agents in Minnesota by framing their actions as necessary responses to crime or fraud. These claims are spread through speeches, media statements, and social media posts. The goal of this type of communication is not simply to inform the public but to influence how people interpret events and whether they support government actions. This approach reflects the logic of transmission communication, where messages are distributed widely in order to guide political perception and reinforce state authority.
However, the article also highlights a very different form of communication taking place among ordinary residents of Minnesota. Volunteers, neighbors, and activists organize protests, food deliveries, and ICE-watch patrols in order to support families who are afraid to leave their homes. These activities demonstrate communication as ritual because they are not primarily about spreading information but about reinforcing shared values and relationships. People gather at churches, community centers, and neighborhood patrols where they exchange stories, coordinate assistance, and express solidarity with one another. Through these repeated acts, communication becomes a practice that strengthens the social fabric of the community.
For example, the article describes how volunteers deliver food, diapers, and school supplies to families who are in hiding because of fear of immigration enforcement. These interactions are not merely logistical exchanges of goods. They are moments where trust, empathy, and mutual responsibility are communicated through everyday actions. When neighbors provide support to one another, they reaffirm a shared commitment to protecting vulnerable members of their community. In Carey’s ritual view, communication works to maintain society over time by reinforcing shared beliefs about what is right, just, and meaningful. The actions of these volunteers reflect exactly this kind of communicative process.
The resistance movement described in the article also connects strongly to Leanne Betasamosake Simpson’s concept of “sintering.” Simpson uses the term sintering to describe how relationships are strengthened through everyday practices of care, cooperation, and shared responsibility within Indigenous communities. Rather than focusing on centralized leadership or formal institutions, sintering emphasizes the gradual process through which individuals build strong social bonds by supporting one another in practical ways. In this sense, community is not simply declared or imagined; it is actively created through repeated acts of cooperation.
The actions of the volunteers in Minnesota closely resemble this idea of sintering. The resistance movement is largely decentralized and consists of ordinary people taking responsibility for helping their neighbors. Parents organize school support for children whose families are afraid to leave their homes. Community members patrol neighborhoods to warn residents about the presence of immigration agents. Others deliver supplies or provide financial assistance to families who cannot work. These actions gradually create networks of trust and mutual aid that hold the community together. Rather than relying on a formal organization or hierarchy, the movement grows through everyday acts of solidarity.
Another important aspect of the article is the emphasis on “neighborism,” a term used to describe the shared belief that people have a responsibility to care for those living around them regardless of their background or immigration status. This philosophy reflects the ritual nature of communication because it expresses a set of moral values that bind the community together. By repeatedly engaging in practices that protect and support their neighbors, participants reinforce a shared understanding of what their community stands for. Communication, in this case, is embedded in actions such as delivering food, warning others about danger, or protesting government policies. These acts symbolize and reaffirm the values of solidarity and collective responsibility.
Ultimately, the article demonstrates how communication operates simultaneously at multiple levels within society. On one level, political authorities rely on the transmission model of communication to spread messages that justify enforcement policies and influence public opinion. On another level, ordinary citizens engage in ritual communication practices that sustain relationships and reinforce community values. Through acts of cooperation, support, and resistance, the residents of Minnesota are not only responding to political events but also constructing a shared social identity rooted in mutual care.
By examining the article through the frameworks provided by Carey and Simpson, it becomes clear that communication is not simply about the exchange of information. It is also about the creation of social bonds and collective meaning. The resistance movement described in the article illustrates how communities can use communication as a ritual practice to strengthen relationships and defend shared values in times of political conflict.
References:
Carey, J. W. (2009). A cultural approach to communication. In Communication as culture: Essays on media and society (pp. 11–28). Routledge.
Simpson, L. B. (2017). Theory of water. In As we have always done: Indigenous freedom through radical resistance (pp. 17–24). University of Minnesota Press.
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