How Are Our Readers in Minneapolis Doing?

The horror continues and the resistance continues. I’m so proud of Minnesota. I talk to my daughters who live in Minneapolis every day with their husbands and teenage children. Their communities are living with such anxiety, fear, and uncertainty. And, yet, they persist! They resist! For their cities, their state, and mine, too. So many are making unbelievable sacrifices of time and monetary contributions to keep their at risk neighbors and community members safe, fed, and housed. It blows my mind. Any donations to their efforts could help on all levels. Please keep supporting in any way possible. We must all strive to be part of the story of Minneapolis 2026.

Catching up on back posts but I cannot imagine what circumstances allow for the “throwing of the school vice principal to the ground”… it is a direct reflection of the link on your Friday links post: The respect of personhood vs. the respect of authority. This is also good – about how vital it is to use your phone to record video: https://asharangappa.substack.com/p/the-power-of-being-watched?r=57od1m

As a Jewish Minnesotan living in Minneapolis, I am horrified by what’s going on right now. Things feel tense, sad, and dark, and I feel weighed down by anxiety. However, I also feel uplifted by my neighbors, many of whom I’m meeting for the first time as we meet during patrols, in coffee shops to get vetted for group chats, and on voice calls while driving around the city looking for ICE vehicles. Standing patrol outside of my child’s daycare and seeing how fast parents and other community members show up when there is a report of ICE nearby is moving, and it makes me feel like we can do this. I have seen so many comparisons to Nazi Germany, and while I think there are plenty of similarities, I also want us to think about our own country’s history. Many of ICE’s tactics are reminiscent of those of slave catchers. Our country has a playbook for white supremacy– the current regime is recycling it, modernizing it, and saying the quiet parts out loud. If you’re not in the Twin Cities area or in Minnesota, please find resources here to help us: https://www.standwithminnesota.com/.

I live in North St. Paul, Minnesota, and I am exhausted, shocked, frightened, and angry about the direction our country is heading. As a U.S. Asian American citizen, it is deeply troubling that we allow our government to treat its people this way. The racial profiling by ICE is blatant and impossible to ignore. It’s happening right in front of us. People of color are living in fear – afraid to walk outside, go grocery shopping, go to work or send heir children to school. Many are carrying their passports just in case they need to show identification. It’s absurd and heartbreaking…. I can’t believe this is happening. Pray for us.

Ugh– break ups suck so bad. Hope you take advantage of the free pass to eat all the ice cream and listen to all the maudlin break up songs you need. “And be sure to keep your light bright and shining– you never know just how many people you may be the lighthouse for. You never know how many people find their way home , even in the wildest storms because you are there.” From Heart Talk by Cleo Wade. While I’m not in Minnesota, all of this has me so very broken. The lack of urgency from so many is beyond disheartening– and I’m in a blue state! Minnesota is first. It is their test case/trial run. We should take notes as we may all need to emulate their exceptional bravery. Anyway, I haven’t found another space like this on the internet. And having a place to hear others talk about Minnesota was a real lighthouse for me. So thanks for showing up even when you are going through it. M

Ugh!! Canadian here. One simple google search will show you that less than one percent of fentanyl in America comes from Canada. I love this blog but you can do better. This is frustrating. When are you guys going to realize that everything Trump tells you is a lie!!

Minnesota is such a wonderful, inclusive exciting state. It is a awesome place to live. I am so sorry the people there have to deal with the horrors that are going on. It is not deserved.

Twin Cities teacher here. I haven’t seen half of my EL class in a week. One student already “moved” because of the dangers. Students’ jobs are closed and they come in showing me videos they took of their street lined with ICE cars. One student photocopied & laminated their green card in case ICE takes it, then they still have their actual card. ICE was at our bus stops and we had to go speak to every bus driver to tell them not to stop the bus if they saw ICE at the stop — one driver thought I meant literal ICE and was so confused, lol. Counselors have been riding the bus routes that have majority Latino students so that they feel a little better. Teachers are standing outside for a half hour every morning and after school so there are extra adults present in case there’s another Roosevelt situation. In my “personal” life, I want to put signs up in my yard or my house windows, but I don’t want to draw attention to my immigrant neighbors. We slipped a card in our backyard neighbor’s mailbox making sure they had our phone numbers in case they needed anything.

I normally come to Cup of Jo more or less daily, but in the last couple of weeks nothing has been normal. I’m seeing this article a few days after it was published, and it made me tear up with gratitude. I live about a mile and a half from where Renee Good was killed, and my kids’ school is even closer. Life in Minneapolis is utterly permeated by the fear and rage that this occupation has caused. All the worst stuff you hear about—blatant racial profiling, pulling people from their cars at intersections, aggressively detaining people who have broken no laws, armed agents staking out food shelves and hospital wards—are not just news headlines for us now. They are things we or people we know have witnessed personally. It is stunning. AND YET. Last night we took our kids to a neighborhood restaurant that is down the block from where a big ICE raid/tear gas incident took place. We went because the restaurant had taken a strong stance against ICE on Instagram—and the place was PACKED. Minneapolis is so activated, and it really helps to feel that community. Thank you for supporting from a distance. It’s so important for this to be seen and understood.

Life-long Minnesotan and regular reader, and I want to say thank you so much for this post. It helps to feel seen, so thank you for such empathy and consideration. It feels post-apocalyptic in the Twin Cities right now. We’re going about our everyday lives and doing the normal things, but ICE agents are at the grocery store across the street and knocking on doors in our neighborhood. We watch carefully, wondering about trucks and SUVs with nearly blacked-out windows on our streets. And the news is an addictive nightmare to check every few hours—what can we expect next? And yet, I’ve been so encouraged by the way people are banding together to take care of each other. There are many threads with all sorts of ways to help: driving people to work, dropping off food, checking on neighbors and friends. I see people asking for peace and loving each other so well—even while there are now abandoned cars in the streets. Sometimes I have so much adrenaline, my hands shake, but “hope is the thing with feathers” (as Emily Dickinson says). What a comforting presence it is to see how resilient the people of our Cities are in the face of such difficult times.

Thank you to Joanna and all of the people here who have taken time to voice their support for us. As someone who has called Minneapolis home for 40+ years I am not only terrified right now, but also mortified and shocked about what is happening. I have been privileged enough to live somewhere where I generally feel safe. That is no longer the case. We are under attack. Thank you to everyone out there fighting for us. If you do nothing else today please call your senators and representatives. I echo what many on here have said – the 5 Calls app makes it so easy. Be safe.

Born and raised St. Paul resident here. I came to read the comments, and I echo everything that’s been said. None of this is normal. As a mom of three young kids, it feels like whiplash—going from making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to getting alerts on my phone….ICE being reported at our local Target, to Venmoing friends to buy groceries for our community school because parents are afraid to leave their homes to work, back to math homework and hockey practice… followed by more alerts. Driving past local daycares and seeing neighbors in yellow vests with whistles, on patrol in case ICE decides to show up that day. I’ve gone past the word anger into something I haven’t felt before. What I hope the rest of the country is seeing is how truly incredible the spirit of Minnesotans is. I’m flooded with emails and texts—requests for donations, fundraisers, and any way we can help our neighbors. We are tough people. We stand up for what’s right. Please don’t turn away from this. Keep paying attention. Keep making noise. This is not right

I don’t have anything new to add to describe what is happening here in MN, but did want to share a bright spot. I just read a report on the local news that over 26,000 Minnesotans have trained as constitutional observers with a local organization. 26,000 citizens stepping up to protect the community, and that is just those who have trained. Seeing things like this gives me a glimmer of hope. https://www.kare11.com/video/news/local/ice-in-minnesota/unidos-mn-26000-trained-as-constitutional-observers-amid-ice-surge-in-minnesota/89-16556038-19d0-45cb-a6b0-f6020570494d

If you are wondering what you can do to help (and this applies no matter where you live) one thing I have realized is that it pays to start learning right now how to document activities that you think are problematic, start getting community groups together right now, learn what rights you have, think about how to respond, steps you can take to be an observer and a helper. We are all in this together no matter where we are located. Today it is at my door and tomorrow it may be at yours. I am using the brave people of Iran as inspiration, let’s work today to keep authoritarianism at bay wherever we can.

Late to this post, but I felt the need to comment to let the folks in Minnesota know that we support you. I despise what is happening. It does feel like we are going through Nazi Germany. Right now I am calling my representatives EVERY SINGLE DAY to let them know that I do not agree with this administration. I will continue to call every single day, too.

I just want to say how very grateful I am to all the Minnesotans that have shared their stories here. It helps us who are not there to understand. We stand with you, we love you. Thank you. ICE out now

The absurdity of it all is probably the most difficult emotion to manage. Of course I feel rage, sadness, helplessness and despair for the people being attacked. I am worried about rising global tension. I am Canadian but I have nieces and nephews whose parents actively support this government, I wonder what will happen to them as they grow up in an environment that supports such inhumanity. These feelings have been difficult and I’ve processed them as best I could. Perhaps the most challenging emotion to mange though is the absurdity of it all. It’s disorienting and I constantly feel as though I cannot keep up. And I think that’s the most dangerous place of all. It keeps us stuck, waiting for the horrors to pass and unclear of what to do next.

I was raised in St. Paul, and watching what’s happening in my beloved hometown and state is sickening and horrifying. Seeing ICE agents abuse people in the parking lot of the gas station I used to walk to after school for a Slurpee breaks my heart. My family members are safe, but they are scared. I’m scared for my foreign-born sister-in-law and my nieces. I am proud of the community members who are showing up every day to witness and document and to help their neighbors. You are amazing. You are brave. Please don’t give up. It’s working. I know it’s only a matter of time before ICE comes to my state. I’m watching and learning from everyone on the ground in Minnesota, and with every video I see, I find myself asking the same questions: What will I do? How will I show up?

I am a 16 year resident of Minneapolis and am so proud to call this my home. What is happening here is terrifying, unconstitutional, and heartbreaking. I was active in the George Floyd protests and spent a lot of time volunteering during that period in our history. Now I have a toddler and am pregnant with my second baby. It is hard to not be the active participant I once was. I’m finding our ways to give back, primarily through donations. We also have an immigrant nanny. We have had conversations on what to do if ICE comes to the door or she gets stopped while driving. But the deep fear of what could actually happen if she is stopped haunts us. There is hope in community though. When I hear the whistles, shouting, horns, I know it’s our community rallying to keep our neighbors safe as best we can.

I live in south Minneapolis. Thank you, thank you, thank you for this post. I’ve started writing to the national news outlets I follow, begging them to increase coverage of not only the two shootings and relevant legal questions but the reality of daily life here, because it scares me that most of America is still unaware. I am immensely grateful to you for acknowledging what’s going on and asking to hear our voices. It is really strange to know that it’s bad, hope it’ll get better, and also be aware that it could get much, much worse. I have periods – hours – of high anxiety and adrenaline, some strange and irrational moments of calm, and a fair amount of time in the middle where my brain is just tired and buzzing. I can echo what everyone else has said – you wear a whistle, you listen for the honking, you join neighborhood networks and mutual aid efforts. People are 3D printing whistles, screen-printing shirts, collecting diapers, delivering food and giving people rides. When you go to an immigrant-owned market the door is locked and they take a look at you before unlocking it. The amount of violence in your city makes you feel sick. I’m applying for jobs right now and it is just the strangest thing, because I don’t know how to imagine life here even a month from now. I can still go out and about and have my day (albeit in fear) and I’m afraid for all the ways in which that could change. To everyone in the smaller towns that are probably not getting as much attention as Minneapolis – we are with you. Keep speaking up. Stay warm, stay strong, stay safe. To everyone who is not in a city with a current ICE presence – get connected with your neighbors, learn about your rights, and follow the leadership of immigrant-led groups. Call your representatives and tell them to defund this damned goon squad.

South Minneapolis resident, parent, and therapist here who is weary, angry, and inspired by my community. Today I dropped my kiddo off at school, and the corners were flanked by community members with whistles who keep watch for ICE. Other community members are taking kids to school whose parents don’t feel safe leaving their homes. Can you imagine entrusting your precious child with a stranger because you’re so scared you will be abducted? Still others are delivering groceries, and raising money for rent funds. We are stronger together. What a thing to be simultaneously struck by the cruelty of what’s happening around us, and the power of love. I’m witnessing such courage! Readers, you can help!!!! Here’s a compilation of various individual and community fundraisers. We need money to help our neighbors and students who are being targeted by ICE: https://www.standwithminnesota.com/. Call your representatives! Let them know that ICE needs to leave Minnesota immediately. It is not safe to have teargas in neighborhoods; to have ICE following school buses; to be murdering citizens. Tell your representatives how you feel. Your voice does matter.

Fellow Minnesotan and I wanted to say how touched I was for the check in, and the post highlighting what’s happening here. It feels dystopian and what I’d imagine it would be like to be living in the Stanford prison experiment.. I’m commenting late because I just didn’t have the words when I saw this post. I still don’t. But: I just discovered this song thanks to our public radio music station, and wanted to share. Singing along feels like a little outlet… https://www.instagram.com/reel/DTdkzSzD2s3/?igsh=cDhrNTB1MWE2eW8x

I live in SW Minneapolis, which is a very white (and affluent but liberal) pocket of Minneapolis. Prior protests did not seem to affect our neighborhoods directly, so we were able to continue living in our little privileged bubble. This time, things feel different. Our middle and high schools went on lockdown earlier this week. We are also the same neighborhood where the Annunciation shooting took place earlier, so we are still recovering from that tragedy. It is feeling impossible to explain to our children what is happening, keep up with the news, figure out what to do to support our communities, work, and then also make dinner and do the laundry. The domestic chores feel particularly ridiculous given the atrocities occurring and yet we need to eat and have clean clothes. The most frustrating part is there seems to be no path out of this madness, and anything we can DO feels microscopic compared to what actually needs to happen.

Long time twin cities reader here–Saint Paul resident and teacher. My heart is breaking as I witness, read, and hear the inhumanity that surrounds our state right now. My anger has been the hardest emotion to wrestle with. I find myself dehumanizing the bootlickers and brainwashed when I know that are a product of the misinformation, fear, and privilege. We need to find a way to come together and recognize our shared humanity. There is some peace knowing that, as a teacher, I can be a role model and purveyor of kindness, love, inclusion, and empathy for the future. If this ugliness is history repeating itself, I hope that peace and love follow soon.

I live in Minneapolis and I’m feeling angry, sad, and grateful for the good people in this city. It feels scary. This not a drill. It’s not a thought experiment about what you’d maybe do. We are in it. It’s happening. We’re doing what we can, including showing up at immigrant-owned restaurants that are struggling due to ice raids, donating food for people too afraid to leave their homes to do shopping. A month ago could I have imagined having to ring a doorbell at a restaurant to keep employees there safe from the federal government? Could I have imagined schools closing to protect kids from their own federal government? No. Who knows what’s ahead, but we will keep showing up. You can call or write Deputy Attorney Todd Blanche, who has announced that the DOJ will not be investigating the killing of Renee Good. His email address is [email protected]. His phone number is 202-514-2101. Tell him we want the DOJ to investigate the ICE officer who killed Renee Good. Tell him we want the justice department to respect the civil rights of all Americans. Tell him we want him to do his job or step aside (per Liz Oyer). Our voices matter.

I’m an American that left the US for Europe with my husband who had become a citizen while we were living in the US. We saw what was happening in the US and we left in May of 2021, right after Biden was elected and January 6th. I said to my husband “I feel like we’re leaving Germany before WWII started.” It’s really freaking scary to see what is happening now and it there’s no sensation of “see?! I was right.” It’s more disbelief. I have so many questions. How does this get better? How do we move on? How do we come together? How can anyone think this is right? How can you not see the hypocrisy of the outrage of “government interference” when it came to mask wearing during covid and forcing people to show their papers?

As a person who has lived through military dictatorships, I’ve learned that nothing lasts forever. Bad men come and go. History won’t be kind to them. Standing in solidarity with you all.

Thank you for standing in solidarity with us. I cannot describe the absolute horror we are living through. Together our community is going to make it through. I thought this community might enjoy this press conference that caregivers and educators put together calling on ICE to leave Minnesota.

Sending love to you all in Minneapolis. I admire the bravery and strength of everyone protecting their neighbors and vulnerable communities.

Echoing other Minnesotans in saying that your check-in and everyone’s supportive comments are so nourishing. I lived many years in occupied Palestine previously, and it’s so strange to experience what amounts to a military occupation here. But oh the humanity of my neighbors! It’s bringing me to tears so many times a day. I wrote a list of all the tactics of resilience and resistance I’ve been seeing, and it made me feel better. Maybe it will make you feel better too: https://www.instagram.com/p/DTi5yXpCd_z/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

We are not doing great. It feels really weird / sad/ terrifying/awful/heartbreaking/devastating/scary and I’m shocked at how quickly our baseline of normalcy has shifted. We lived through 2020 so we are already somewhat jaded. Our kids have been through too much especially our teenagers. Option of Distance learning (!again!) , spotting these proceedings while out to lunch in our suburb, asked my 18 yo to avoid the area w the latest shooting last night only to find he drove near it on his way home from skiing. But we also got caught in a riot in 2020 after George Floyd’s killing so this kid has seen more than his share. For those in peaceful untouched parts of the country, count your blessings!!

We’re not doing well. The whole city is traumatized. We try to channel that energy into looking out for our neighbors, and checking in with friends and coworkers. I worry that the rest of country is going to forget about us out here—that the lies and propaganda will be believed, and we will be stuck living through a never ending siege. As a transplant to the Twin Cities, the grace and generosity I have witnessed in the last two weeks has been stunning. From gas station attendees looking out for their black and brown customers, to students organizing protests and walk-outs, to religious leaders who use their pulpit to speak truth to power, I have just been in awe of Minnesotans. And yet, every morning we wake up to news of fresh horrors, to the sound of helicopters overhead, and we strategize. How do we protest? How do we help our neighbors? How do we keep our kids safe? How do we keep our humanity and sanity in the face of cruelty and stupidity? My kids count the ICE vehicles we pass on the way to school. My students ask if their families are in danger. I write lessons, and grade papers, and teach teach teach, in hopes that they will grow up and lead, and make sure that this never happens ever again.

Oh Minnesota. Saying the rest of the country is with you doesn’t seem like enough but pls be safe and be strong.

Living through, and parenting through, a national crisis like this is intense and scary. I live right in the city, work in Minneapolis and my husband teaches high school. I echo all of the above sentiments. It’s hard to imagine how the media could ever actually capture the real experience of whats’s happening here. Endless families are being torn apart with tactics not used in a democracy. Some days it feels like early Covid when we were all trying to understand how to be safe in this new, strange reality and developing new protocols. Except this time, it’s trying to keep our children and neighbors with brown skin safe from our own government. It is absolutely surreal.

CAN WE START A NATIONWIDE OUTDOOR WHISTLE BLOWING TIME TO SHOW RESISTANCE AND SOLIDARITY AGAINST ICE – SAY AT 8PM EST, 7PM CST, 6PM MST, 5PM PST?

I grew up in Minneapolis but now live in DC and from what I hear from my friends and family is that it’s so much worse that it seems in the news and on social media. That said, I’m incredibly heartened by the community and engagement — my teacher friends raising money to buy groceries for their kids in need, transporting friends to work, and showing up for their neighbors and community when it is very very hard. As someone with no representation in congress, please keep calling your elected officials — even if you think they don’t care or aren’t listening.

Echoing others in MN right now- we are not ok. It’s worse than what people think they know. How to help? https://www.standwithminnesota.com/ This is an incredibly well-researched and organized directory of how to help. Back to patrolling these streets as a working mother. I’ve deputized myself with this shit.

Thank you for caring about us. Truthfully I’ve never felt more scared and uncertain about our current life and future. Our immigrant neighbors and community members are amazing people and so important to us. I’m heartbroken over it all. And I struggle with how do I support them, stand up against these injustices and not be passive while I also am terrified that any ICE encounter could be a huge risk to my safety. I’m a mom of 3. I’m trying to focus on the support piece. Food, supplies, giving extra love to my students.

It’s all so scary. Thank you deeply to everyone protesting out there.

In Minneapolis, working in St Paul- I’ve never feared for my community more, and that includes 2020, the murder of George Floyd and the civil unrest that followed. The federal government is trying to break our communities. ICE agents are radicalizing before our eyes. The terrible stories are constant and close. I work for an agency that assist small, BIPOC owned businesses, and the attack is economic as well as social and familial. Businesses can’t function because workers can’t come in for fear of being arrested and abused. There will be evictions when rent can’t be paid, and I’m worried about the future of our rich cultural corridors and the families who make a living and a home there. We’ve been through so much and I’m so proud of us. Everyone I know is helping through their heartbreak. We hold grief in one hand and care in the other.

What we let continue, will continue. Please look up how Srilanka and Bangladesh became free from dictatorship. The latter was started with the murder of 1 person- Abu Sayeed. What goes around will come around.

South Minneapolis born and raised. I went to the library this evening and it was eerily quiet. It occurred to me that most of the usual patrons are probably hiding in their homes, afraid of being swept up. It is surreal here. Horrifying and surreal. Thank you for this post. What’s happening here isn’t really breaking through to the national news, other than the TWO people who the feds have shot in the last week (obviously this is newsworthy!!), but the fact that we are living under siege, that there are a few thousand federal agents roaming the streets, really isn’t making headlines, and it’s horrifying.

Thank you for this post! Writing from St. Paul & I am feeling it all. I am exhausted and terrified and enraged and shaking with grief, but also motivated and fueled and encouraged by the community and support systems that MN has in place and is continuing to grow. Our state has been through a lot in the last 5 years in particular and has extensive mutual aid and community networks prepared to respond to an emergency like this. MN is a target for a lot of reasons, and your beloved cities and states could be next. Please don’t look away. Make time to learn what your role(s) can be before it becomes a crisis closer to home. The Twin Cities are offering remote learning for the next month to protect students and teachers from our own federal government. ICE agents are going door to door, profiling people, tearing people out of their cars, physically and verbally harassing folks and detaining them without warrants. They’re not trying to protect anyone. They’ve done this to US citizens, to children. The Department of Homeland Security is holding three Oglala tribal members at Fort Snelling unless the Oglala Sioux Nation enters into an “immigration agreement with ICE.” People are afraid to go to work or school, because there are no rules at this point. Community members and parents are taking shifts to be observers outside of schools. I’m currently on call with my church to provide rides and run errands for neighbors who are vulnerable and can’t leave their homes. We’re making music and art and writing and taking to the streets and sharing our time and talents. We are rising to the occasion, but things are not okay. Here is a linktree with mutual aid you can support: https://linktr.ee/mplsmutualaid?utm_source=linktree_profile_share BrightSide Produce has been expanding access to fresh food in the Twin Cities with a pay-what-you-can and delivery model for years. They have the experience and infrastructure to expand in a sustainable way, but demand has risen 3x in the last week. They could use your donations. Here are some folks & organizations to follow for updates on insta: @onsitepublicmedia @toussaintmorrison @sabocat_teacher @bygeorgiafort @jchavezmpls @hwajeongkimstp @zaynabmmohamed @southwestvoices_ @isaiahorg @couriernewsroom @peggyflanagan @sunrise.twincities @mprnews @erinmayequade Minnesotans are resilient and loving and connected. We will keep fighting for each other. Please don’t look away. Take care of your neighbors and take care of yourselves.

Everything feels very heavy. My kids go to Spanish immersion schools- my daughter’s teacher was detained. I am driving teachers to and from school; my brown husband is taking parking lot shifts with his passport in his pocket. I delivered food to a teacher this weekend and drive past a ribbon tied around a tree honoring victims of the Anunciation school shooting. It wasn’t long ago that a man murdered our politicians in their homes. This city has been through a lot. And yet. The Signal chats are on fire. People are mobilized. We’re ready for this fight.

Angry. I’m also sad – grieving for the future I was promised as a teenager in the 90’s – and scared, for me, my family, my community. But mostly I’m just really, really, really angry. And I’m angry that every thing I want to do to act on that anger would get me jailed or rounded up or killed. My financial situation doesn’t allow me to donate or help GoFundMe’s and the like as I’d like to. So I just angrily type out weekly messages to my senators/house reps, and I try to stay informed but also try to find the small joys every day. I guard myself against misinformation (pro tip: any comment that talks about how we’re not going to have midterm elections is a bot or a bad operator, do not fall into that particular pit of despair. Of course this regime is going to try and disrupt them, but there’s a lot of good work to safeguard that right of ours. Plus elections are state run, not federally run). I don’t know, man. I know it all matters but it doesn’t feel like enough. I need terrible things to happen to this regime, and I need it to happen a lot quicker.

Minneapolis mom of 2 young kids. How do you explain to them the sudden tension, the fear, the inability to deal with petty childhood squabbles when it feels like the weight of the world (or at least your city) is on your shoulders? I try to limit my consumption of media to the hours they’re at daycare or asleep—since it’s all bad, and makes me cry often. Yesterday, a parent in our school district was taken in front of her elementary-school-aged child. A car full of children (including a baby) were tear-gassed, a mere mile away. I look at my children, safe on our couch, and thank the lord it wasn’t us in the wrong place—today, at least. But I also want to illuminate the way our community is banding together. Mutual aid is flourishing. Neighbors are buying food for each other and helping patrol streets. Brave upstanders are whistling and filming ICE. Children are drawing messages of support for other kids. So yes. It’s a difficult and dark time. And, there is still light. I only hope we -as a nation- can emerge from this with our civil rights and due process intact.

Minneapolitan here. It doesn’t *feel like* we’re under occupation, we straight up are. Take a look at our local Reddit page to see video. ICE is brutalizing and terrorizing our communities. They are targeting anyone who they think is BIPOC, and anyone who they know is protesting. High surveillance, high terror, extremely low intelligence, absolute idiots. As a nation, there is no easy coming back from this. It will continue to get worse for a while.

How do I feel? I feel scared. I feel angry. I feel disgusted by what I see every day. But I will NOT feel hopeless. I know the this kind of evil will not continue. We need to keep speaking out. We need to continue to call our representative. We need to vote and vote and vote them out! Stay safe everyone.

I am so proud of the people in Minneapolis who I see in videos online observing, protesting, standing up for their neighbours and resisting in all sorts of ways. I see you, I admire you, I thank you!

Fellow St Paulite here thanking you for posting this, Joanna. I don’t have kids but I monitor school pick up everyday.

I have family in Minneapolis, and I’m proud to say they’re standing up for their community. Sending so much love and support to all of you up north. On a related note: my boyfriend is looking for a blog/newsletter/online community experience similar to what we are lucky enough to have here in Cup of Jo. Of course he can just participate here, but he’s also looking for something more tailored to men (straight, cis-gender, I suppose, but not necessarily). Something with liberal politics, varied stories about health/fitness, fashion, news, lifestyle, etc. Not just sports! Does something like this even exist for men, or is this one of the zillion reasons we have this “male loneliness epidemic”? Any recommendations?

Thank you so much for this post! I’m just outside Minneapolis and am bouncing between getting things done like usual and learning about a new, horrible thing every time I check social media or the news and then promptly losing my train of thought and all ability to focus. And also worrying about Venezuela, worrying about Iran, worrying about Greenland. I’m taking heart that my local co-op grocery store in Minneapolis just donated a $100 gift card so I can buy snacks for the high schoolers who are doing an anti-ICE walkout tomorrow.

Minneapolis resident and mom here. Can’t help but think of the books and movies I’ve read/seen about the Holocaust. Feels eerily close to what’s playing out in my backyard. Terrified is the only word that comes to mind right now.

Chiming in to say that we stand with you Minnesota friends. PNW readers are sending donations, protesting here, wearing anti-ICE shirts, supporting all immigrant food trucks, calling Congress. White women readers (of which I am one) now is the time to take our privilege and use it to the max. Let’s keep walking our neighbors, partners, coworkers home or to work or school. Keep a whistle. Wear an anti-ICE shirt so people know you can be trusted. Film atrocities. If a neighbor is taken, show up for the rest of their family by connecting with a bilingual lawyer, bringing a meal over. We will triumph over this.

Minnesotan here, from a small town south of the Twin Cities. I started crying with gratitude when I saw the title of this post, just knowing that someone is taking notice of the nightmare that has unfolded in our state. Everyone in America should be enraged by what is happening in MN right now. Each day is equally infuriating and terrifying and heartbreaking; there is a significant daily physical and emotional toll of living through the militarization of our state, and the sudden loss of our rights. As others have noted, Minnesotans are fighting back and supporting their communities in truly incredible and inspiring ways. In the face of ICE agents’ blatantly lawless and authoritarian actions, there are so many daily examples of the goodness in people. Today’s bright spot came from the many middle schoolers and high schoolers throughout the metro, the suburbs, and even our little town, joining school walk-outs in protest of ICE and in support of their classmates and communities. My heart feels so tender for these young people, who are meeting this moment with bravery and resolve…and then my heart breaks all over again, because they deserve so much better than this. I am so grateful to the COJ team and this incredible online community for your support. Please keep the people of MN in your minds and hearts, and please keep speaking up and out.

I don’t live in the US but I can assure you my family in Minnesota are scared and resisting, exhausted and strong. From the kids walking out of school to the adults altering business to support those who need extra help. We’re with you Minnesota ❤️

I recommend the podcast Diabolical Lies, it’s the only thing keeping me sane right now. It’s also refreshing to have women in my ear amongst the Ezra Kleins and Pod Save America bros. A lot of their episodes are behind a pay wall but it’s because they don’t do ads.

I am starting to feel what the citizens living under an unhinged dictator must feel like. As a kid I naively used to think the president was held back by Congress, The House, the Senate and that big, scary actions were impossible to achieve without the full support of the majority in power, hundreds of elected officials and not just one person. Surely that majority would mean we’d all be safe and everything would make sense, no matter what. How did we get so twisted up?

Minneapolis, I’m so sorry you’re going through so much shit right now, know that your solidarity is a shining beacon to us afar. I had work trips to Minneapolis, warm city, even warmer people. It’s surreal to see pictures of your streets 😢 and alas, I was also there the day the legislators were shot. And now, more political violence…. I recall when my business contacts spoke with pride about Tim Walz (running mate then), “hey we shouldn’t talk about politics at work but we’re just so darn proud of him”, so heartwarming to hear. And the time I got some hours off to mosey in MIA to dreamily stare at Monets haystack, Joaquin Sorolla y Batista’s portrait, and Urban Couch’s, one of your own, and his Badlands… I cry together with you and hope for peaceful moments in your hectic days to catch your breath, keep standing strong.

I am feeling genuine dread watching ICE operations unfold. I didn’t vote for this regime, and now I’m watching it happen exactly as I feared, which somehow makes the helplessness worse. I’m also experiencing anticipatory grief for what this country is becoming (and has been for some time), and honestly, embarrassment at being American right now. I’m in Georgia- I know, too, that our state government won’t stand up to ICE. And this isn’t abstract for me. I live in Atlanta. ICE has already been here, targeting people on Buford Highway, where a large immigrant community lives. It’s cruel, and it’s obvious this isn’t about safety. It’s about power and punishment. I have so much hot, burning rage right now, and I really don’t know what to do with it. I am so sick of unserious people being in charge, and I feel so much dread for the folks in Minnesota – watching what’s happening there and knowing it’s spreading, knowing more communities are being terrorized. I don’t know what to do while living in this country, watching this.

Please read Rebecca Solnit’s newsletter, Meditations in an Emergency, when you need a reminder of what solidarity and strength we have against this cruel administration. Her most recent post is typically excellent: https://www.meditationsinanemergency.com/weak-violence-strong-peace-who-we-are-in-this-crisis/

Heartbreaking to watch from Ireland. Sending love. ❤️

Thank you for the message. I live in St. Paul and can only echo what others have said … I am numb, I am scared, I am sad, I am FURIOUS at any moment of any day. But I am also so proud because I’m watching us all do what we can, whether it’s march, patrol, donate, speak out … I have younger kids and it’s a lot harder to be out and about, but I’m trying to help feed and amplify all the messages, as well as just tell the stories that are close to home so that folks who are not on the ground here will know how it really is.

Thank you for bringing this up. I am a professor in the Twin Cities. Our students are scared to come to class, and international students are largely not leaving their apartments. Schools are cancelled. My kids are asking why anyone would not want immigrants here given all the great things they do for our community, and I have no answer for them. Let’s hope the judicial system, and our governor and attorney general, and all of the protests have some impact.

Thank you for speaking up about what is happening in my beloved state. It feels very heavy here, and this horrible occupation has had so many ripple effects that our communities are having to endure. What’s most disheartening to me is the naked political nature of it. Everyone knows this isn’t making us safer or better, and Minnesota is being targeted because of the fragile egos of small men. Cheering on Mayor Mamdani’s election from Minnesota gave me so much hope that we as a country can work toward electing empathetic leaders who want to use government as a force for good.

Thank you for checking in. I live in Minneapolis and walk right by the city hall and government center to annd from work and the air is fizzing with angst. There are definitely a lot of weird random ‘bros’ hanging around and I am not one to engage, nor am I a target (yet…feels like the Handmaids part is next) but I love that our city is pissed off and know that our strength and social-mindedness makes those who are weak absolutely bats. It’s…a lot.

https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5685388-shutdown-threat-dhs-ice-funding/amp/ Complicating horrific unchecked power further, funding ICE under HS is fraught with varying approaches during a close deadline. Where are the young DC Senate warriors ?

Hello from Minneapolis I’m tired, sad and scared. I feel like we are experiencing collective trauma as a community and city. The hardest part for me is not knowing when this will end, or if we will ever really be okay again. That’s not being dramatic….that’s the truth. If we fight against them, the administration will scream Marshal Law and there will be even less adherence to the legal and moral guidelines we all thought we had in the United States. If we don’t fight against them, it will continue without end and will only ramp up. So tired. So sad. So motivated to protect our community!

Thinking of you and observing this crisis from Germany. I am so worried and sad – will you be able to resist and to stop the violence? In Minnesota and elsewhere? In the US and in all the other places that turn to authoritarian regimes? Did we collectively learn anything from history that happened here in Germany? Sending Minnesotans all the bravery you need to resist individually and as a community. This is important for all of us!

Standing in solidarity with the message of this important post. And still, I struggle to understand the silence around Iran. Why no mention of the brave girls, boys, women, and men who are protesting—and being brutally killed—by the Iranian regime? Thousands have been massacred, by some accounts maybe even 20,000 people. This seems to be the largest mass killing in Iran’s history. These are ordinary people demanding the most basic freedoms. Why is there little public solidarity with them? Or with the Persian community in the U.S. who have lost contact with loved ones during an internet blackout at a moment of deep fear and grief? Support for human rights shouldn’t be selective. Iranians deserve freedom from an authoritarian regime that systematically represses women, LGBTQ+ people, journalists, and anyone who dares to dissent. If we stand for women’s rights, LGBTQ+ rights, and freedom of expression, then the moral stakes here are undeniable. I genuinely don’t understand how this isn’t being shouted from the rooftops. Where is the outrage? Where are the encampments? Why the silence?