This had me in tears - thank you for your writing, and your humanity. I went to find the list of Chicago organizations to support but the Google Doc linked in the endnotes is restricted access - not sure if that was intentional so wanted to flag!
Something I love: I'm in a few FB groups for towns in my suburban (Chicago) area and every day there are people posting and offering help to anyone in the community for things such as picking kids up from school, going grocery shopping, etc - understanding that many are scared to leave their homes.
Beautiful, moving, uncomfortable and valuable essay. Thanks for the reminder that clean streets and neighborhood coffee shops are not the things that make our cities and our neighbors worth defending. Damnation! I shouldn’t need the reminder, but I do.
Thank you, Garrett. So much that has happened in Chicago seems to have gotten no attention outside local media. Your words mean a lot! and thanks for alerting people to two organizations working really hard on behalf of immigrants and of us all.
As someone who doesn't watch FOX, OAN, etc., I'm curious: have they actually been showing footage from Portland & Chicago that make it look like those places were dangerous hellholes before the troops came to town? I feel like you'd have to do a lot of fancy camera work to make them appear to be like something out of "Escape from New York." My brother and sister-in-law live in one of the Chicago neighborhoods that was recently in the news for being targeted by ICE. I've visited them numerous times, and have never felt unsafe. I'd honestly feel more threatened if I was in an open carry state where people were, like, walking around Walmart with assault rifles. (Props to my sis-in-law, who has been doing volunteer work with refugees & immigrants for many years now.)
Garrett, I felt this in my ribs. From Portland, I am not here to sell you latte pics. I am here to say we are fighting the same epistemic war you named, with love that bites.
They saturate the feeds, enclose our story, capture weak institutions, and then practice selective violence. We answer with receipts. Proof gates at city hall. Court watch and jail support on speed dial. Mutual aid that runs like a kitchen line at dinner rush. Librarians are unplugging the lies at school boards. Editors stamping Proof Gate on lazy copy. Neighbors time-syncing bodycam, street cam, and livestream into one truth tape. Care is logistics. Logistics win.
You are right to center love. In Portland, love shows up as work. Hot meals, warm rides, dry socks, clean data, named sources, chain of custody. No one here is arguing we “deserve” safety. We say that no one deserves state theater. Not in Chicago. Not in Portland. Not anywhere. The opposite of fascism is not brunch. It is neighbors with receipts. Say it with me, friend. Make noise pay rent to proof.
If they bring troops, we get a ledger. Every raid. Every badge. Every affidavit. Every charge dismissed. We keep score because our people matter, and because their propaganda burn rate is a confession of their own. Your piece reminds folks why we stay in the street, then go home and file the paperwork that makes the street stick. From my side of the river, consider this a standing offer of solidarity and source material. Same fight. Same love. Same receipts. Let’s win.
This had me in tears - thank you for your writing, and your humanity. I went to find the list of Chicago organizations to support but the Google Doc linked in the endnotes is restricted access - not sure if that was intentional so wanted to flag!
Oops, thanks for the catch! Should be open now!
Something I love: I'm in a few FB groups for towns in my suburban (Chicago) area and every day there are people posting and offering help to anyone in the community for things such as picking kids up from school, going grocery shopping, etc - understanding that many are scared to leave their homes.
Thank you for sharing this comment. That is also a wonderful reminder about the hard work so many people are doing.
Beautiful, moving, uncomfortable and valuable essay. Thanks for the reminder that clean streets and neighborhood coffee shops are not the things that make our cities and our neighbors worth defending. Damnation! I shouldn’t need the reminder, but I do.
Thank you, Garrett. So much that has happened in Chicago seems to have gotten no attention outside local media. Your words mean a lot! and thanks for alerting people to two organizations working really hard on behalf of immigrants and of us all.
As someone who doesn't watch FOX, OAN, etc., I'm curious: have they actually been showing footage from Portland & Chicago that make it look like those places were dangerous hellholes before the troops came to town? I feel like you'd have to do a lot of fancy camera work to make them appear to be like something out of "Escape from New York." My brother and sister-in-law live in one of the Chicago neighborhoods that was recently in the news for being targeted by ICE. I've visited them numerous times, and have never felt unsafe. I'd honestly feel more threatened if I was in an open carry state where people were, like, walking around Walmart with assault rifles. (Props to my sis-in-law, who has been doing volunteer work with refugees & immigrants for many years now.)
The question for me is why hasn't Trump's government been ousted?
Our leaders are like little yappy dogs.
On a less angry note, I am hosting a neighborhood party for neighbors who have never gathered. Thanks to you.
Garrett, I felt this in my ribs. From Portland, I am not here to sell you latte pics. I am here to say we are fighting the same epistemic war you named, with love that bites.
They saturate the feeds, enclose our story, capture weak institutions, and then practice selective violence. We answer with receipts. Proof gates at city hall. Court watch and jail support on speed dial. Mutual aid that runs like a kitchen line at dinner rush. Librarians are unplugging the lies at school boards. Editors stamping Proof Gate on lazy copy. Neighbors time-syncing bodycam, street cam, and livestream into one truth tape. Care is logistics. Logistics win.
You are right to center love. In Portland, love shows up as work. Hot meals, warm rides, dry socks, clean data, named sources, chain of custody. No one here is arguing we “deserve” safety. We say that no one deserves state theater. Not in Chicago. Not in Portland. Not anywhere. The opposite of fascism is not brunch. It is neighbors with receipts. Say it with me, friend. Make noise pay rent to proof.
If they bring troops, we get a ledger. Every raid. Every badge. Every affidavit. Every charge dismissed. We keep score because our people matter, and because their propaganda burn rate is a confession of their own. Your piece reminds folks why we stay in the street, then go home and file the paperwork that makes the street stick. From my side of the river, consider this a standing offer of solidarity and source material. Same fight. Same love. Same receipts. Let’s win.