yestoday

 
A sled in the shape of a jug of windshield de-icer with ICE out of MN on it with a laser loon! (photo credit, Naomi Kritzer).

...I should probably try to remember to post more often, least you all think that something dire has happened to me. 

I think when I last checked in MONARCA was still up in operation and I was responding as a legal/constitutional observer. Well, as you may have gathered from the news things have gotten more chaotic here and so MONARCA was overwhelmed and is no longer functioning as a coordinated way to send people to active abductions by ICE. 

Thus, since none of the calls I responded to were anything more than ten minutes too late or false alarms, I have switched to mutual aid work. (Activists are being careful not to sully the waters if you will since ICE is also keeping tabs on the watchers. So we don't want anyone who has been actively protesting or observing to be delivering groceries to people sheltering in place/hiding out from the gestapo, lest we lead the bad guys right to their doors.) I've found a local organization that was already in the business of giving out free food, a group that I lovingly called the Food Communists, who have pivoted their efforts towards feeding people who are sheltering in place/hiding from the gestapo.

They basically have open doors for folks to drop by and help when and how they can and that's been really good for me because it means that if I start to feel anxious about the police state at any point during the day I can wander down the street and see if there something I can do to aid the resistance. So far, it's been organizing doubled-up grocery bags and breaking down cardboard, but I think that all of us in this fight (and there are a lot of us) feel like all effort is good effort if it's  helping our comrades and neighbors. 

I have also been showing up to the various protests around the city.

There is a group of Midway neighbors who have organized a daily protection/protest gathering in front of our local Somali mosque so that we can defend people while they are vulnerable and in prayer. I joined them the other day while the temperatures plummeted and the wind whipped around our faces. But, it was so warming to the soul when the imam came out and thanked us all for being there and we waved to everyone heading out from safely prayers. 

I'm in a Signal group for people who are gathering every day on a different street corner to sing songs of love, resistance, and hope. I've only been able to make one of their gatherings, but it was lovely to sing and be in community. 

Mason and I joined the student walk out at the Saint Paul capitol a few days ago and it was nice to see all the youths being just as fierce as their more grown-up counterparts. 

And then yesterday, I met naomikritzer at Powderhorn Park and we watched a bunch of folks crash their art sleds. 


Image: Naomi (left) and me (right) out at the art sled rally. Very bundled up. There was a high of 12 F/-11 C yesterday.

Because Minnesota is like that.

And if there is one thing that I could impart to my out of state and international friends it's that, yes, everything you see on the news is 100% happening, and also? We are sledding.

Mostly, what you see on the news makes it look like the streets are full of tear gas and, yes, it's true, ICE agents are deploying tear gas, rubber bullets, real bullets, flash grenades, and smoke bombs, but people are also still going to work and walking their dogs and singing. A lot of us are doing anything we can. People are carrying whistles and charging our phones every night to get all the film possible of the atrocities we are facing at the hands of masked, domestic terrorists who are abducting people without due process. We are standing guard over daycares and mosques and restaurants and sex shops and toy stores. (Because our sex shops have become food distribution centers and our Toy Shops have been giving away free whistles.) We are showing up and baking cookies for people on patrol. We are sweeping up after the people packing bags for people too afraid to leave their houses. We are taking to the streets with signs, sometimes all alone, but we are showing our neighbors, our immigrant and refugee families, that we want them, we love them, and we will not let them be taken without a fight.

This is what resistance looks like and it is awful, but it also hopeful and kind and loving, and, yes, even sometimes we make time for fun. 

 
Image: albino loon (one of which has been spotted near Minnesota) melting ICE with LASER EYES by Cat Saint-Croix.

I have to say that I also really love the outpouring of art that has been happening. 

Speaking of art, last night I happened to see that a group of my Hamline-Midway neighbors were gathering at a random street corner to sing. The idea was just to gather in a low-risk way so that some very little children could join. Also, in hopes that if there were neighbors nearby in hiding from the gestapo, they could hear our voices. The temps are dropping here, so there weren't very many of us. Probably a dozen? But we stood together in a circle and raised our voices and sang old protest songs, some hymns, and even one pop song ("Lean on Me.")

Did it stop ICE? No. Was it extremely cathartic? Fully. Did I heal my soul a little? Yes, it helped. 

In my effort to do SOMETHING every day, I'm hoping to join one of the pedestrian bridge brigades today. It's at an awkward time for me (right when I need to get Shawn from work), but, if nothing else, I might spend some time making a poster or two. 

It's funny because we are absolutely a metro area under seige, but it is also fully possible to go through your day and not see anything? My grocery stores are open--even Shanghai market. Shawn is going to work. Mason is applying to law schools, going over to his uncle's to do handiperson work... life is kind of going on, while also very much NOT for so many of us. 

 "Ope, Gotta Go!"

My family has been hearing me say that a lot. Though, so far, both of the MONARCA calls for observers that I answered ended up to be false alarms. This morning there was a sighting of a forced entry not far from me on Fairview and Wellesley, which turned out to be real police on actual lawful business.I stood around with neighbors waiting for the official all clear. Until that comes in, people just keep streaming in, so a bunch of us agreed to stand by and wave people off. 

Y'all? A lot of people kept showing up.

It was incredibly heartening.

I was glad to be there, but I also need to remember to pace myself. The unfortunate truth is, ICE isn't going anywhere anytime soon. I would like them to GTFO right now? But, that doesn't seem likely at the moment. So, I need to take time to breathe. Pick my battles--maybe even pick a day to battle, a singular day of the week--because dishes still need to be done, food needs to be made and consumed, and gods know the laundry doesn't do itself. Probably a shower and hydration are also important? 

My regular D&D group was supposed to meet today. I'm a little sad that we didn't because just getting on with things, including things that spark joy, is also extremely important right now. But I can also understand how maybe pretending to be "murder hobos" isn't exactly hitting right this week for some folks. Our group actually isn't very murder-y? In fact, we were poised to rescue some folks, but, again, I get it. Still? We're going to need to figure out how to just carry on, especially considering that 2026 seems poised to be a continuation of the very worst timeline.

Ugh.

Well, speaking of, I should probably go do the dishes.

I started this entry a couple of times. It's really hard to be articulate right now, but I'm going to do my best. 

I was at the vigil for Renee Good, the legal observer who was murderer by ICE yesterday. The speakers were all very good and there was a lot of calls to "get organized." I agree? But, saying that sort of misses the point. Renee was only at the scene because Minneapolis/St. Paul *is* incredibly organized. ICE is afraid of us because we're actually very good at this.

On the flipside, one of the other speakers last night suggested that tragedy happens for a reason and only to people who can handle it. He was, I think, trying to encourage the crowd to keep fighting and that we should continue despite this tragedy, but there is a six year old child who can not handle their parent's death. Nobody in that family is okay today. They might never be okay again.

But here's something hopeful. naomikritzer and I went out when another call came out and drove over to Minneapolis from Saint Paul. On our way, I saw a random guy, by himself, marching with a sign that said "Fuck ICE" on it. (On our way back, I  noticed that he'd picked up another random protester.) When people in other parts of the world wonder, "When things like this happen, why don't Americans just flood the streets?" From what I could tell? Those of us who could, did. Spontaneously, all around the city, I saw signs taped to lamp posts with the same message to ICE. And, while Naomi and I never spotted any "federal activity" we did see a whole stream of human beings just marching and blowing whistles, headed into downtown MInneaoplis. We stopped and got out of the car and marched with them for a while. Every car that passed us shouted in solidarity. When we were parking, even, the person who parked across the street from us was also joining the spontaneous march (having also been out on patrol for ICE) and I gave them a whistle. 

Then the vigil. Like, I say above, there were, for me, some low spots, but that was nothing compared to the feeling of solidarity. Of being shoulder to shoulder with people who were as angry and heartbroken and motivated as me. 

Rest in power, Renee Good. We'll keep up your work until the last of those gestapo thugs are gone.