Once again I’m reminded of just how sublime this little curse can be.
It’s exhausting to live under federal occupation. My beloved Twin Cities has spent enough time in the headlines — while the rest of my life would be fine with me. But I have to say, watching how Minnesotans have shown up this weekend, I’m proud of us. For the most part the protests have been peaceful. We are bearing witness, documenting what’s happening, trying to protect neighbors. When there have been clashes, by and large it’s been federal agents provoking it. They’re out there spraying chemicals, surrounding and beating protesters, detaining people in ways that raise real civil liberties concerns. They’re ignoring court orders about free speech, abusing their power, trampling constitutional rights. And, to the credit of people out on the streets with their phones and whistles, Minnesotans are saying “this is not okay.”
Let’s be honest. I’m privileged to live in a suburb. A mostly white, relatively affluent suburb. I haven’t seen many of the SUVs or agents in their tactical gear. And I certainly haven’t been out protesting. I’m way too risk‑averse for that.
My daughter lives just six miles away. Her neighborhood has a high immigrant population. There’s a large Somali and Hispanic community. She’s seen the SUVs and the guys in military hardware cosplaying heroes. My daughter isn’t white, which means she’s a potential — albeit low‑priority — target for profiling. She also wasn’t born in the United States, which elevates her risk. She (all of us, actually) are carrying passports with us at all times. I’ve always wondered when the “show us your papers” era in America would happen. 2026 seems to be that moment.
But at the same time, I can’t help but wonder what’s a proper way to register my outrage with what’s happening in my city, in my country. How do I go out to a meal knowing that behind the counter, in the kitchen, are honest, hardworking people who are at risk of being detained or assaulted because a bunch of imported agents have been trained to view certain communities with suspicion. I wish this was just hyperbole, that I was overreacting, but I’m not. And here we are.
During the Holocaust, the biggest question for sociologists and historians has been how the everyday person saw what was going on and at worst supported and enabled it, or at best enabled it by staying silent.
I’m reminded of a quote by Holocaust survivor and partisan Abba Kovner:
“It was not Hitler or Goebbels who killed us. It was the baker, the shopkeeper, and the neighbor who, when they put on the uniform, forgot who we were.”
Primo Levi, in The Drowned and the Saved, wrote that during these times the “monsters” were few, but the “functionaries,” the ordinary people who enabled by believing, by ignoring the truth, and by not questioning, were the real danger.
I’m glad that Minnesotans, to a larger extent than even I would have thought, have decided not to enable.
Next Friday, January 23, a general strike has been called in Minnesota. The AFL‑CIO has endorsed this action, taking it from a fringe idea to a significant event of resistance. And it’s going to be –20 degrees. For those keeping score, this isn’t new territory for Minneapolis. In 1934, Teamsters shut down the city in one of the most significant labor actions in American history. They fought the National Guard in the streets. Two strikers died on “Bloody Friday.” And they won. That’s the tradition we’re drawing on — ordinary people deciding that some things are worth standing up for, even when it’s dangerous.
This strike might bring another 1,500 troops from Alaska to support the 3,000 ICE and Border Patrol agents already imported to try to control the situation. Many Minnesotans see this as an attempt to suppress dissent and punish Tim Walz for criticizing the President and his administration. I’ll be watching very closely to see how this plays out. And to all of you out‑of‑state readers, thank you for your concerns so far. Stay tuned — we have a long way to go here in the Frozen North.
Old and in the Way 
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