Believe what you are seeing 👀. Not anything else without great sources. Most of all we must refuse to stoop to their level of violence, chaos, misinformation and corruption. Take pictures, be calm and peaceful and protect each other the best you can. Godspeed.
Thanks for the space. Yes, it fucking sucks so bad here. I taught history for years. We always tried to understand how so many terrible things could just happen in front of so many eyes. Kent St was one of those events that didn't compute. Terrible to understand now. Hadn't seen the Dave Matthews clip, which is great.
Watching in horror from Australia. These songs are so fucking good. Reminds you how important art and artists are during these times. Never appreciated that as much as right now. Praying this nightmare ends for you all sooner rather than later.
Thank you for a place to vent - I am horrified and trying to figure out how to become more involved in resisting this horror. I am in Northern California. He has mentioned Oakland but I think is more likely to come to San Francisco first.
You, also. I just learned that there has been organizing at the Home Depot here in Oakland - part of the focus is on forging relationships with people that can become protective in case of and ICE "invasion." I am thinking of going a couple of mornings per week.
Write to your governors. Write to your local papers. SUPPORT the free press. Don't let the broligarchs who financed our current president and his team of thugs control the news. Let those in power know that you stand with the constitution, the rules of law and decency. That you stand for all people's civil rights. PROTEST. Take action; before it's too late.
it’s the hypocrisy that is particularly fucking making me so mad/also annoyed? annoyed isn’t a strong enough word. but the killing of someone who had a gun, while in any other context they are all in on guns. it just pings something physically in my body that feels like something in the universe is wrong, and i want to fix it.
and then just parents and kids and seeing them hurt and separated. it’s so cruel. and again, from the party of family values. but mostly i’m just sad for those who are being affected, an wondering how long before i’m directly affected, living in this country. i’m no different than renee good, i just am not in Minnesota.
Anyone with a functioning heart should be morally and ethically outraged. People are being hurt, hunted, jailed, and killed. Where is the humanity in that?
I bring a long view of evil. My relatives—everyone but my grandparents—were murdered in pogroms in the USSR and in Nazi concentration camps. I marched for civil rights in the South and against the Vietnam War. I taught and consulted in China while the country still carried the bruises of Mao’s brutality.
My wife is African American. At sixteen, she had to flee Alabama after speaking up at the DMV, where they demanded she take an IQ test just to get a driver’s license. Her life was in danger. Her parents got her out in the night and sent her to relatives in California. That’s what “the system” looks like when it decides you don’t belong.
So yes—be outraged. But also remember this: evil has a short shelf life. We’ve seen it before—Idi Amin, Stalin, Hitler, Putin, Trump, and countless others. It’s the same playbook every time: scapegoat a minority, lie without shame, flood the public with confusion, demand loyalty, inflame anger and fear, act while others debate, and twist logic until cruelty looks like “policy.”
But here’s the truth: we don’t beat them by becoming them.
Take heart. Keep your outrage—but don’t let it harden into hate. Oppose them with courage but hold onto compassion. Keep your sense of humor. Protect the vulnerable. Stand together. And in the middle of this chaos, be a beacon—because the world does not need more darkness.
Most of all, choose love. Spread it. Defend it. Live it out loud.
Because love outlasts their cruelty.
Love outshines their lies.
And yes—love trumps Trump and every tyrant who follows.
Believe what you are seeing 👀. Not anything else without great sources. Most of all we must refuse to stoop to their level of violence, chaos, misinformation and corruption. Take pictures, be calm and peaceful and protect each other the best you can. Godspeed.
I know you said no jokes, but this gave me a much needed laugh:
(If America makes it to a Post-Trump era, we need to collectively re-evaluate our opinion of Dave Matthews. This dude is a real one.)
I’m not joking, Lindsey. If there’s one thing I’m deadly serious about, it’s the Dave Matthews Band.
As you should be!
Ps fully agree, this fucking sucks.
Thanks for the space. Yes, it fucking sucks so bad here. I taught history for years. We always tried to understand how so many terrible things could just happen in front of so many eyes. Kent St was one of those events that didn't compute. Terrible to understand now. Hadn't seen the Dave Matthews clip, which is great.
“Terrible to understand” is absolutely on point, Clay. I wish I understood much less about fascists than I do right now.
This reminds me of cockfighting, how they force-feed the birds cocaine to make them more aggressive.
ICE is the cock.
The cocaine is the full weight of government backing them up: legal cover, political praise, and instant defense from the top.
That’s not restraint.
That’s feeding the beast and that why it’s so damn mean.
Get rid of the cocaine, the cock is too dumb to know any better. 😢
And yes, This fucking sucks.
A hell of an analogy!
Watching in horror from Australia. These songs are so fucking good. Reminds you how important art and artists are during these times. Never appreciated that as much as right now. Praying this nightmare ends for you all sooner rather than later.
Thanks Sara. Let me know if you’re interested in adopting an adult child.
Had a very similar feeling. Nothing funny to say.
https://open.substack.com/pub/theconundrummer/p/bad-people-usually-think-theyre-good?r=5b2srd&utm_medium=ios
Thank you for a place to vent - I am horrified and trying to figure out how to become more involved in resisting this horror. I am in Northern California. He has mentioned Oakland but I think is more likely to come to San Francisco first.
Yep, we’re worried about the coming back to LA and trying to figure out how to prepare. Stay safe.
You, also. I just learned that there has been organizing at the Home Depot here in Oakland - part of the focus is on forging relationships with people that can become protective in case of and ICE "invasion." I am thinking of going a couple of mornings per week.
Now is the time to act! Speak up! Write letters. Make calls. Flood Kristy Noem's office with calls. 202-282-8495 Voice your outrage. Write to your state and federal reps: https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative.
Write to your governors. Write to your local papers. SUPPORT the free press. Don't let the broligarchs who financed our current president and his team of thugs control the news. Let those in power know that you stand with the constitution, the rules of law and decency. That you stand for all people's civil rights. PROTEST. Take action; before it's too late.
I appreciate your passion, Teresa!
:
"“The dark does not destroy the light; it defines it. It is our fear of the dark that casts our joy into the shadows.” —Bené Brown
it’s the hypocrisy that is particularly fucking making me so mad/also annoyed? annoyed isn’t a strong enough word. but the killing of someone who had a gun, while in any other context they are all in on guns. it just pings something physically in my body that feels like something in the universe is wrong, and i want to fix it.
and then just parents and kids and seeing them hurt and separated. it’s so cruel. and again, from the party of family values. but mostly i’m just sad for those who are being affected, an wondering how long before i’m directly affected, living in this country. i’m no different than renee good, i just am not in Minnesota.
Very compassionate reply. I liked the passion too.
Liked your comment. Passionate and compassionate.
The 7-dimensional logic of it all is fucked for sure.
Anyone with a functioning heart should be morally and ethically outraged. People are being hurt, hunted, jailed, and killed. Where is the humanity in that?
I bring a long view of evil. My relatives—everyone but my grandparents—were murdered in pogroms in the USSR and in Nazi concentration camps. I marched for civil rights in the South and against the Vietnam War. I taught and consulted in China while the country still carried the bruises of Mao’s brutality.
My wife is African American. At sixteen, she had to flee Alabama after speaking up at the DMV, where they demanded she take an IQ test just to get a driver’s license. Her life was in danger. Her parents got her out in the night and sent her to relatives in California. That’s what “the system” looks like when it decides you don’t belong.
So yes—be outraged. But also remember this: evil has a short shelf life. We’ve seen it before—Idi Amin, Stalin, Hitler, Putin, Trump, and countless others. It’s the same playbook every time: scapegoat a minority, lie without shame, flood the public with confusion, demand loyalty, inflame anger and fear, act while others debate, and twist logic until cruelty looks like “policy.”
But here’s the truth: we don’t beat them by becoming them.
Take heart. Keep your outrage—but don’t let it harden into hate. Oppose them with courage but hold onto compassion. Keep your sense of humor. Protect the vulnerable. Stand together. And in the middle of this chaos, be a beacon—because the world does not need more darkness.
Most of all, choose love. Spread it. Defend it. Live it out loud.
Because love outlasts their cruelty.
Love outshines their lies.
And yes—love trumps Trump and every tyrant who follows.
This fucking sucks
You said it.
Thanks for sharing this, Neil.