Bad Vibes

"Operation Midway Blitz." "Operation Catch of the Day." "Operation Metro Surge."

These sound like moments from history that Rob would spend 10 minutes explaining to the rest of us on a podcast, when, in fact, it's the history that we're living through, the most thoroughly public display of state power and violence from the Trump administration—yet.

Where is hope in moments like this? How do you move through the day when the news endlessly loops clips of an American citizen being killed?

In a letter series written both in, around, and after the murders of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti, Rob and Patrick try to figure that out. Sort of, anyway.

Rob, Jan. 15: The other day I was driving down to Boston for a doctor's appointment when the semi next to me let out a series of loud blasts from its horn. I briefly panicked, wondering if they were about to merge into my lane or if they'd spotted something up ahead that I couldn't see. Then I caught a bit of movement from the overpass we were approaching. There were people waving from behind a large sign made of pasteboard letters: GET ICE OUT FOREVER.

A few hours later I was at a grocery store in Lexington and overheard a customer talking to one of the stockers. He was describing being confronted by federal agents sometime recently. Finding himself suddenly surrounded by a bunch of guys getting out of government SUVs yelling at him and the people he was with. "I've heard that's what they do," the well-meaning older white lady said. "They travel in these packs and just swarm people." She then continued on, helpfully explaining the tactics of immigration agents to someone who had literally just gone through the experience. In its way it was a testament to the indomitable spirit of the northeast, where empathy is often expressed in the form of a book report on recent news stories that have upset your liberal interlocutor.

It's hard not to drive down Massachusetts Route 2, running from Boston through Lexington and Concord and not think about how 250 years ago the road was littered with British dead and swarming with Minutemen in response to provocations that are relatively tame compared to what we see daily on the news. The redcoats on Lexington Common were at least confronting an armed militia force when they opened fire. Jonathon Ross couldn't speak to a mom in a car full of children's toys for ten seconds before he decided to fire half a pistol clip into her at point-blank range. Somehow I don't think John Adams would have taken his case the way he did for the British sentries who carried out the Boston Massacre. Would loyalists have started a GoFundMe for them? "After seeing the woodcuts of the incident I think they were 1000 percent justified in using deadly force."

There are increasing stories that DHS is going to have another campaign in Boston in the coming weeks, not that its agents ever really left. They were here last year but their tactics have only gotten more aggressive. I feel like you can chart a path of escalation from what they were doing in Boston to what they did in Chicago to what they're doing in Minnesota. To live in an American city or a "blue" state right now is to know that the government sees your home as a stage for state violence and statements of moral and legal impunity. Life goes on, but I can't overstate the degree to which every conversation you have around here is in some way circling around the ongoing crisis. Hell, my doctor couldn't even give me my blood pressure check without caveating, "You know, when you consider the… everything… I think we can feel especially good about this result."

Patrick, Jan. 16: I was at a PTA meeting for my kids’ school last week where the principal explained a recent decision by the Trump administration to gut a series of educational grants. Practically, it means the school’s Boys and Girls Club program, which primarily serves the 60% of low-income families whose kids attend our school, was going to run out of money soon. The grant subsidizes the program and means it’s “free” for families who need to take advantage of it. It’s not only a form of after care—they get a free meal.

The principal told us there were plans for a rainy day fund, plans for exploring other grants, longshot hopes a lawsuit against the administration would mean everything would turn out okay…but they were also staring at a situation where the program would have to start charging families to continue operating. 

Is this a cut targeted at a blue state like Illinois, or part of a broader attack on education? I have no idea, man, and I’m not really interested in reading news articles to find out. I raised my hand to find out if there’s a way to personally contribute money to the so-called rainy day fund, and I was put in touch with someone who would tell me what steps to take next. My hope is to livestream a fundraiser in the next few weeks.

That, at least, feels like a tiny ray of hope. A way I can contribute. But…