We don’t even get a day to recover anymore, which is the plan and the point. They want to exhaust people like you and me, people who are heartbroken, scared and furious — so we become overwhelmed beyond comprehension, and stop raging. I don’t know what they think. Maybe they imagine we won’t post videos anymore, we’ll stop talking to one another, stop protesting. This is how an organized crime gang would behave if they moved into a neighborhood and wanted to make sure we understood they were in charge now. They’d let one of their own murder a mother of three in cold blood, and not worry about the videos with the five different angles, the slow motion renderings, the 3D models. They’d block local law enforcement from the scene, tamper with evidence, and allow the killer to walk free. They’d hide him, even. They’d send a puppy-executioner to tell a fictional, insulting tale about what happened, without even bothering to get the glaring facts right. Later, when the autopsy results showed she had a pulse for eight long minutes while her wife sat on the ground, sobbing into their dog — eight minutes they refused to allow a doctor to check on her — they’d just shrug. Then they’d sit back and laugh, watching their zombie-apocalypse-followers repeat the party line. Before we could wrap our heads around that, we’d see photos of a sweet, tiny boy in a light blue bunny hat being loaded into an ICE vehicle, a giant gloved hand on his back. They’d lie about that, too. They’d say his dad was here illegally, his whole family was — and not worry about the fact that it isn’t true. Because facts don’t matter, and they know it. They can just say a thing is true. I don’t even think their followers believe it — they understand the game. Daddy tells you what he wants you to say, or he sends Noem, Miller, Hegseth, Leavitt, or Vance to do his bidding. It doesn’t matter, they all spit venom the same, and you take your orders like a good soldier. Yes, Daddy. Understood, Daddy. We’ll go drive those left-wing liberals crazy, Daddy, hahahaha. Will you make us another AI video shitting on them later as a treat? Then they get on the internet and say black is white or wrong is right or good is bad or these people are getting what they deserve and soon America will be white again — like it or not you woke-ass whiners, why don’t you just leave if you hate it here so much? I don’t know to what degree you have to hate yourself to give your blind loyalty to a man who would step directly onto your head if it was in his way, but it must be a lot. I guess the rage must run so deep, you can look at an innocent little boy who is surely traumatized by now — and feel nothing — and be willing to make up stories about his family so you can laugh at devastated strangers on the internet. You can say it was his dad who abandoned him, or that his mother wouldn’t open the door and that’s why this happened, and what were these kindhearted, patriotic ICE agents supposed to do? Drive away and leave him on the doorstep with his mom right on the other side of the front door, begging them to do exactly that, while her husband screamed at her not to open the door — because if she did, they’d take her, too — and then who would be there when their middle school tween got home? You can watch a man shoot a woman in the face three times because of his teeny, weeny, peeny ego, and side with him, and feel not even a flicker of sadness for her, for her three children, for her wife, her parents, or her dog. You just don’t care. She should have stayed home, like you. She shouldn’t have given a crap about her neighbors, then she’d be alive. How about now, I wonder? Alex Pretti is getting dangerously close to someone you’d almost like, minus the liberalism and caring about your neighbors part. He was all heart and courage and kindness, so nothing like you, but you catch my drift. If you’d passed him on a hiking trail, you might not have been sure. He’ll never go hiking again, though. Tall, young, white, thirty-seven-year-old lawful gun-owner with a permit to carry. Totally legal in Minnesota. So now what. Now they’ve executed a white man who believed in the Second Amendment. It doesn’t matter, though. These folks will play whatever game their Daddy wants. A couple of weeks ago they were screaming that Renee Nicole Good should have stayed home, minding her own business. Then she’d be alive. Same people who have no problem that Kyle Rittenhouse drove twenty miles to go to a protest and involve himself in other people’s business. Hypocrisy runs through their veins in place of blood, it’s how it is. Today, a lot of these people were screaming that Alex Pretti put his hands on federal agents and then went for his gun — but he absolutely did not. This is getting so old and tired. This is a painful and horrifying execution, so do not watch unless you have the resources to do that right now, or feel the need to see for yourself. He was there filming. An ICE agent initiated contact with him, starting pushing him back toward the sidewalk. Then another woman, also filming, had a chemical agent sprayed directly into her face. Alex went to help her. He’s a registered nurse. He works at the VA hospital in MN, has for ten years. Everyone there loves him. Everyone there loved him. He was always helping people, always kind. He’s been protesting since Renee Good, he talked to his parents about it a couple of weeks ago. They told him to be careful, and he promised them he would, said he wouldn’t do anything but observe. They are heartbroken, obviously, but they are also furious. When they pepper-sprayed the woman, Alex went to help. He put his body between her and the agent. He said, “It’s okay!” attempting to de-escalate, a thing ICE agents are supposed to do but definitely 100% do not do. He also asked if she was okay. Then they sprayed him in the face. You can kill people like that. Then five or six guys tackled him. His hands were on the ground the entire time, likely because he couldn’t see. They beat him, and one of the agents took Alex’s gun out of his holster — you can see that happen in the video. Alex Pretti was not just incapacitated when they executed him, but also unarmed. Then one of the thugs shot him, multiple times. They executed him. At no time did he reach for his gun. At no time did he threaten the agents. If a single Democrat senator funds this DHS bill, that needs to be the end of their career. We need to vote out anyone who continues to participate in the war our government is waging against its own people. They’re killing us in the streets. Their supporters will be with them till the end if they’re still with them now, so stop wasting your energy fighting with people who want to pretend up is down. We need our energy to keep each other safe, any way we can. If you’re here in the states and you haven’t been doing anything proactive, if you thought this might pass you by, if you don’t like to “be political” — non-participation is not an option anymore. Truly, it is not. It hasn’t been. Please find a way to help. The incredible Wyrd Sister made two versions of the Renee Good t-shirts from my little protest sign. They’re so great. All the proceeds after cost go to either the ACLU (always doing incredible work to fight this administration at every turn): https://wyrdshirts.threadless.com/designs/just-another or the National Queer and Trans Therapists of Color Network: https://wyrdshirts.threadless.com/designs/just-another-trans-version Sending you so much love. I am angry, I am heartbroken, I am so horrified by people who are still supporting this — but I am not without hope. There are more of us. There are more of us, I promise you. We have so much heart. We have not lost our way. We have not lost our souls. It is scary, but we have each other. Meet you in the comments if you need a little love. Come As You Are is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Thank you for being here. These are scary times, and community is everything. I love you and I am sending hugs. I’m a mom, it’s part of the gig xo This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit allyhamilton.yogisanonymous.com/subscribe
