Three Stanford-educated Chicanos took the stand in support of MAS, and these witnesses were central in Judge Tashima’s final ruling. Specifically, they detailed in a scholarly way the academic integrity of the department, the efficacy of taking the classes, and also demonstrated how state representatives used racist “code words” in cementing their opposition to the program. We detail their times testifying, how the state desperately tried to trip them up.

This chapter begins by showing why armed groups perceive threats when civilians support community members. As armed groups respond, they make civilians perceive community support as dangerous. Then, it explains how civilians develop the motivation and opportunity to share information. Afterwards, it analyzes how and why civilians select specific conversation partners, particularly strong social ties, co-ethnics, and people with similar ideological views. Next, it discusses how civilians use code words when sharing information. Civilians perceive protection from this strategy of sharing information, even though the code words that they choose are often very easy to decipher.