Not sure why Facebook thought I wanted to follow an ICE post with a video of one of these kidnappings, but was horrified by the positive comments of fellow Americans. WTF is wrong with these hateful people!
Sad people with no hope and nothing to lose. The US has always been a cesspool of hate, it just wasn't PC to spew it until the vile POS in the Oval popped in to encourage all to unleash their ignorance, cruelty, and feel a sense of perceived retribution for their sorry lot in a life made by their poor choices.
I had to delete my fb app to keep myself from checking it. I have no impulse control to stop myself from reading comments on political posts. It was so disturbing to read the gleeful hate-filled comments from other Americans. It made me heartsick. It makes me ashamed to be American.
Wow…. But as brought up here… hearing, seeing and doing something about this horror of abduction and torture is our white privileged women’s duty. We must incorporate all this abuse into what we fight against….
True, which is why I read and subscribe to several Substack writers and the AP and Mother Jones. I try to stay informed, I call my horrible Iowa reps in DC, or write them nearly everyday, and I protest. I speak up and show up in my daily life. I’m not using fb right now, but I was mainly preaching to the choir anyway, and stepping back from the madness calms my worried mind so that I can actually do some good and necessary trouble.
I left Facebook on January 20, but is it possible that some of the posts were by bots? I know there are horrible real people on there, but I also think that the divisions are stoked by trolls and bots, many from Russia.
Tanya, I'm so sorry that your life has to be filled with so much angst. Know that there are many folks out here doing our damndest to fight in whatever way we can as regular people who don't have much official power. We are doing more than "thoughts and prayers" but we're doing that too because we care. Not a day (hour even) goes by where I'm not thinking about the suffering of innocent people. Sending a hug from Colorado.
Tanya--Echoing what Lisa says here. I can't express how devastating it is to watch the immigrant community being traumatized and treated so cruelly. I live near the AZ/MX border and work with a humanitarian nonprofit (Voices from the Border) that serves immigrants waiting in Nogales, Sonora and engages in pro-immigrant activism on the US side of the border. We are a little over an hour from Tucson (the birthplace of the sanctuary movement in the 80s). I'm not telling you this to be self-aggrandizing but to establish that I'm very immersed in the plight of immigrants personally but MORE IMPORTANTLY and as a result of my work with Voices, I am daily witness to the many, many sister organizations and the unbelievably robust community of folks in southern AZ who are organizing a full-throated resistance to the madness unfolding (honestly, my phone nearly blows up every day with the number of messages I get through the various Signal groups that I'm part of). So I just want you to know that there are MILLIONS of us who VALUE immigrants in our country and care about their well-being. Additionally, I can attest (through the magic of Signal and social media) that these organized resistance efforts are taking place ALL OVER THIS COUNTRY as we speak. This doesn't negate the incredible suffering that's underway but their are millions of us already engaged, with more people waking up every day to the terrible truth of what's happening. We are heartbroken and turning that grief into OUTRAGE and ACTION. Sending a fortifying hug from AZ.
Good question. Signal is an app--like WhatsApp but considered safer/better encrypted. It's where all of the resistance efforts I'm part of are organizing. And beyond AZ, I'm part of efforts in WI, VA and MT, too (long story). Point being--you can communicate with folks everywhere on Signal. You can add up to 1000 ppl on a Signal group channel (tho a group that size can be a little unwieldy), making community organizing efforts very effective and efficient. It's super easy to do. So, wherever you are--get some folks together who are interested in forming Rapid Response teams/accompaniment projects/protests/demos etc, create a Signal group channel and just start organizing. I can be reached at voicesfromtheborder@gmail.com if you have more specific questions.
India, the words and information you shared made me cry IN THE BEST WAY. (I find myself crying often these days :). I could feel something fundamentally shift in my heart as I let it land how many people are fighting for truth, for humanity, for decency, for morality, for LOVE. I adore America and this just allows me to take a deeper breath. Thank-you!!
Tanya--and now I'm crying too IN A GOOD WAY (thank you). I find myself crying a lot these days, too--but not happy tears. I love this country and will never, never, never give up doing my part to create the more beautiful country our hearts know is possible. It's true that I'm surrounded by folks fighting for everything you named, as a result of the work I do, AND I take so much comfort and inspiration from the Substack community as well. It's here that I find "my people"--we find each other. And that's priceless in these times.🗽🙏🏼💙
Oh my goodness, I wish I could HUG YOU right now! I can feel your heart. Know that mine beats right alongside it! Thank-you so much for YOU. This thread has meant the world to me.
I cry with you Tanya. The state of this country and the hate filled people who think f45 is their God sicken me and make me heart broken. You are not alone. There are good people fighting for ALL human rights every day. Let's hope we see this evil that has covered the US lift soon. Please know you're supported and loved.
Thank-you so much! Honestly, this week-end I have felt a shift... There's no 'tangible' reason to feel that but there's something else in the air now for which I am so very grateful.
As a brown skin person whose parents worked the fields to put food on American tables and those three brothers were in the military to keep America safe. Even though we might be looked upon as being at the bottom of the totem pole, without us and others ,there is no America!
Growing up in the 60’s in our country, I could not understand then the deep hatred and perhaps fear I saw in the adults who wanted at the very least to have our society separated by color and class. People of color were expected to defer to the white population. Schools should not be integrated. And I wasn’t allowed to play with a girl of color because, well, the neighbors were talking. To see now how far we have slipped on the treatment of brown people is chilling. Any one that is different from white males is considered “less than” and in many incidents that includes women. Who are we as a nation? Truly we are now being “led” by people who have no heart. No moral compass, no compassion. No acknowledgement of the pain in being separated from children. The heartless leaders find satisfaction and even joy in seeing innocent people subjected to detention camps that are cruel and inhumane. Many subjected to modern day concentration camps just because they came to the US for a new opportunity and their skin is the wrong color. God help us and may we find the courage to stand up and say “enough”.
We are being 'led' by people like 'Moses' Mike Johnson, who apparently 'hears God' and interprets this not as leading All the people to a Promised Land, but subjugating those, including women, skin color outcasts, those who DARE to love deeply a same-gendered human to a very narrow worldview of control by standards no one can know unless they drank his brand of cool-aid.
We need more strategies. Thanks John for the interview with Robb, great choice, great content.
Gee, the god I used to believe in apparently decides who he actually loves and favors and who can just suffer and die. Not all of his children are equal? I've been misinformed....
Margaret, you're dead right. I grew up in your generation too, and Never expected for society to come to this pathetic, hate filled morass of people who enjoy inflicting pain on others.
I have been concerned about the little sweet lady that has cleaned for me every two weeks for almost two years because I know she came to America from Honduras. She’s been here 26 years. She cleans houses and raised adult children here. She has little grandchildren here. She’s the most thoughtful and appreciative woman. I just learned from her today that she is being forced to go back to Honduras and leave her family here. My heart is shattered for her and her family NOT because I’m losing my housekeeper.
This rascist, gestapo regime is absolutely RUINING lives of innocent people and taking America down the drain. My housekeeper trusts that God will protect her and her family. I, however am losing faith. I am so angry that I cannot even think straight.
I am so ashamed of every single person who voted for this and YES, they DID vote for this!
A fifth verse of the Star-spangled Banner written in 1861 by poet Wendell Holmes (Wikipedia) at the beginning of the American Civil War reflects today's moment in time; one in which each person's voice and vote saves America of the tyranny from within:
When our land is illum'd with Liberty's smile,
If a foe from within strikes a blow at her glory,
Down, down with the traitor who dares to defile
The flag of her stars and the page of her story!
By the millions unchained when our birthright was gained,
We will keep her bright blazon forever unstained!
And the Star-Spangled Banner in triumph shall wave
While the land of the free is the home of the brave!
I think most of us are physically sick about the everyday violence against immigrants. I say physically sick because your heart hurts so much that your body isn't in good health. Its in constant distress. I wrote my two Senators and my Representative again this morning. All three profess to be lifelong faithful members of the LDS Church. I have written them with facts. I have written them appealing to do the common good. I have written them about cowering to a man who is so morally vacant. All falling on deaf ears as evidenced by their votes and the insulting lie infused form letters they send me. This morning I begged (yes, begged) them to examine what their faith would direct them to do. Surely, armed ICE thugs acting like street gangs terrorizing immigrants isn't compatible with the LDS faith, especially a church that sends missionaries all over the world and preaches God's grace to people of all skin colors. The LDS might as well cease missions work in the Trump era. Missionaries from the U.S. have no suasion any longer in the world. We are now a nation that terrorizes. The letters were probably another wasted exercise and the email will end up in the email trash bin because frankly, appealing to the religious faith of these guys seems ridiculous at this point. Their votes and their lies are evidence they haven't been faithful to God for a long time.
Brown-skinned people are being aggressively kidnapped and then secretly sent to Crimes-Against-Humanity Torture-til-Death tRump-Approved Holding Pens all over our country!
Torture by Starvation with 1 maggot-infested meal/day and maybe 1 bottle of water; no showers; sleep deprivation; no protection from disease-carrying mosquitoes; threat of death by pythons & alligators; no contact with family; no legal representation!
Thank the stars that I don't have FB. What I do have are suggestions for supporting those being targeted. Simplest if you can: https://www.chirla.org--Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights Los Angeles, especially if you live in California. Check your state for something similar. Check online for the national ones. At the next protest, see if you can arrange for someone in your group (Indivisible? Swing Left? Your neighbors? Your fellow congregants?) to collect bags of rice and beans to deliver to a site collecting for those in need (we have several churches in LA). Start a Go Fund Me site for a family that could use support. Make protest signs that are all purpose pro-immigrant. Mine have a photo of the Statue of Liberty with text saying HONK IF YOU'RE WITH HER! Check with your local Indivisible or other protest group for information about how to deal with an ICE Raid, whom to call, what to do, and so forth. Of course keep hounding our Reps and Senators and thanking those who are fighting.
I've been appalled after the ascent in January and all the inane and unconstitutional XOs. I am nauseated by the US paramilitary police force wreaking havoc and destroying lives and our nation. I persist in calling my red hat nabobs, to no avail. But they hear from me daily and I call the cruelty and name the offense. These are concentration camps. I spend roughly 2 hours calling them. I last as long as my mental health allowed. I also join protests.
There's actually a church in Indianapolis that has called for the state to arrest LGBTQ people abd execute them. I just can't! So there will be a protest at their doors tomorrow. Oh my! Just so much, too much!
Not sure why Facebook thought I wanted to follow an ICE post with a video of one of these kidnappings, but was horrified by the positive comments of fellow Americans. WTF is wrong with these hateful people!
Sad people with no hope and nothing to lose. The US has always been a cesspool of hate, it just wasn't PC to spew it until the vile POS in the Oval popped in to encourage all to unleash their ignorance, cruelty, and feel a sense of perceived retribution for their sorry lot in a life made by their poor choices.
He opened Pandora’s box.
I had to delete my fb app to keep myself from checking it. I have no impulse control to stop myself from reading comments on political posts. It was so disturbing to read the gleeful hate-filled comments from other Americans. It made me heartsick. It makes me ashamed to be American.
Wow…. But as brought up here… hearing, seeing and doing something about this horror of abduction and torture is our white privileged women’s duty. We must incorporate all this abuse into what we fight against….
True, which is why I read and subscribe to several Substack writers and the AP and Mother Jones. I try to stay informed, I call my horrible Iowa reps in DC, or write them nearly everyday, and I protest. I speak up and show up in my daily life. I’m not using fb right now, but I was mainly preaching to the choir anyway, and stepping back from the madness calms my worried mind so that I can actually do some good and necessary trouble.
I left Facebook on January 20, but is it possible that some of the posts were by bots? I know there are horrible real people on there, but I also think that the divisions are stoked by trolls and bots, many from Russia.
Absolutely. They're smart, shrewd, and devious..... possibly bringing an enemy to their knees with nary a shot being fired.
I don't understand one bit!!!!
This regime’s M.O. has shifted from chaos and distraction to blatant traumatization. If this is America, I am no longer an American.
Know that I ugly cried when I read your words. I am brown skinned and the fear is so very real. Thank-you for this.
Tanya, I'm so sorry that your life has to be filled with so much angst. Know that there are many folks out here doing our damndest to fight in whatever way we can as regular people who don't have much official power. We are doing more than "thoughts and prayers" but we're doing that too because we care. Not a day (hour even) goes by where I'm not thinking about the suffering of innocent people. Sending a hug from Colorado.
Lisa, thank-you so very much. Your words mean A LOT!
Tanya--Echoing what Lisa says here. I can't express how devastating it is to watch the immigrant community being traumatized and treated so cruelly. I live near the AZ/MX border and work with a humanitarian nonprofit (Voices from the Border) that serves immigrants waiting in Nogales, Sonora and engages in pro-immigrant activism on the US side of the border. We are a little over an hour from Tucson (the birthplace of the sanctuary movement in the 80s). I'm not telling you this to be self-aggrandizing but to establish that I'm very immersed in the plight of immigrants personally but MORE IMPORTANTLY and as a result of my work with Voices, I am daily witness to the many, many sister organizations and the unbelievably robust community of folks in southern AZ who are organizing a full-throated resistance to the madness unfolding (honestly, my phone nearly blows up every day with the number of messages I get through the various Signal groups that I'm part of). So I just want you to know that there are MILLIONS of us who VALUE immigrants in our country and care about their well-being. Additionally, I can attest (through the magic of Signal and social media) that these organized resistance efforts are taking place ALL OVER THIS COUNTRY as we speak. This doesn't negate the incredible suffering that's underway but their are millions of us already engaged, with more people waking up every day to the terrible truth of what's happening. We are heartbroken and turning that grief into OUTRAGE and ACTION. Sending a fortifying hug from AZ.
What is signal and how do I learn more about this tactic?
Good question. Signal is an app--like WhatsApp but considered safer/better encrypted. It's where all of the resistance efforts I'm part of are organizing. And beyond AZ, I'm part of efforts in WI, VA and MT, too (long story). Point being--you can communicate with folks everywhere on Signal. You can add up to 1000 ppl on a Signal group channel (tho a group that size can be a little unwieldy), making community organizing efforts very effective and efficient. It's super easy to do. So, wherever you are--get some folks together who are interested in forming Rapid Response teams/accompaniment projects/protests/demos etc, create a Signal group channel and just start organizing. I can be reached at voicesfromtheborder@gmail.com if you have more specific questions.
India, the words and information you shared made me cry IN THE BEST WAY. (I find myself crying often these days :). I could feel something fundamentally shift in my heart as I let it land how many people are fighting for truth, for humanity, for decency, for morality, for LOVE. I adore America and this just allows me to take a deeper breath. Thank-you!!
Tanya--and now I'm crying too IN A GOOD WAY (thank you). I find myself crying a lot these days, too--but not happy tears. I love this country and will never, never, never give up doing my part to create the more beautiful country our hearts know is possible. It's true that I'm surrounded by folks fighting for everything you named, as a result of the work I do, AND I take so much comfort and inspiration from the Substack community as well. It's here that I find "my people"--we find each other. And that's priceless in these times.🗽🙏🏼💙
Oh my goodness, I wish I could HUG YOU right now! I can feel your heart. Know that mine beats right alongside it! Thank-you so much for YOU. This thread has meant the world to me.
I cry with you Tanya. The state of this country and the hate filled people who think f45 is their God sicken me and make me heart broken. You are not alone. There are good people fighting for ALL human rights every day. Let's hope we see this evil that has covered the US lift soon. Please know you're supported and loved.
Thank-you so much! Honestly, this week-end I have felt a shift... There's no 'tangible' reason to feel that but there's something else in the air now for which I am so very grateful.
Tanya,
I am so sorry you are so scared. There are several of us who are so angry, sad, and scared for you, but, we don't know how to help.
There are plenty of ways to help -
-Email your representatives on a daily basis.
-Find a protest in your area to participate in.
-Follow Heather Cox Richardson on Substack (https://open.substack.com/pub/heathercoxrichardson/p/july-10-2025?r=219sdg&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false ) or Facebook.
-Join Red Wine and Blue https://redwine.blue/ - a women's political organization that offers guidance on how to help.
-Join the ACLU.
Pick just one and get involved.
Thank-you for listing this so clearly!!
Thank-you for your compassion. Please know that that in itself makes a difference.
Thank-you!
As a brown skin person whose parents worked the fields to put food on American tables and those three brothers were in the military to keep America safe. Even though we might be looked upon as being at the bottom of the totem pole, without us and others ,there is no America!
Thank you Michael for your family and their TRUE representation of what every American should aspire to.
Growing up in the 60’s in our country, I could not understand then the deep hatred and perhaps fear I saw in the adults who wanted at the very least to have our society separated by color and class. People of color were expected to defer to the white population. Schools should not be integrated. And I wasn’t allowed to play with a girl of color because, well, the neighbors were talking. To see now how far we have slipped on the treatment of brown people is chilling. Any one that is different from white males is considered “less than” and in many incidents that includes women. Who are we as a nation? Truly we are now being “led” by people who have no heart. No moral compass, no compassion. No acknowledgement of the pain in being separated from children. The heartless leaders find satisfaction and even joy in seeing innocent people subjected to detention camps that are cruel and inhumane. Many subjected to modern day concentration camps just because they came to the US for a new opportunity and their skin is the wrong color. God help us and may we find the courage to stand up and say “enough”.
We are being 'led' by people like 'Moses' Mike Johnson, who apparently 'hears God' and interprets this not as leading All the people to a Promised Land, but subjugating those, including women, skin color outcasts, those who DARE to love deeply a same-gendered human to a very narrow worldview of control by standards no one can know unless they drank his brand of cool-aid.
We need more strategies. Thanks John for the interview with Robb, great choice, great content.
I don't think he's listening to "God."
Gee, the god I used to believe in apparently decides who he actually loves and favors and who can just suffer and die. Not all of his children are equal? I've been misinformed....
Margaret, you're dead right. I grew up in your generation too, and Never expected for society to come to this pathetic, hate filled morass of people who enjoy inflicting pain on others.
I have been concerned about the little sweet lady that has cleaned for me every two weeks for almost two years because I know she came to America from Honduras. She’s been here 26 years. She cleans houses and raised adult children here. She has little grandchildren here. She’s the most thoughtful and appreciative woman. I just learned from her today that she is being forced to go back to Honduras and leave her family here. My heart is shattered for her and her family NOT because I’m losing my housekeeper.
This rascist, gestapo regime is absolutely RUINING lives of innocent people and taking America down the drain. My housekeeper trusts that God will protect her and her family. I, however am losing faith. I am so angry that I cannot even think straight.
I am so ashamed of every single person who voted for this and YES, they DID vote for this!
Interestingly enough, even the original NAZIS did not wear masks. Why are American Nazi ICE officers now wearing masks? Hmmn?
Because they are cowards. Every picture I see of them in CA, in the heat, I hope they are miserable and unable to breathe.
It's only the beginning. Those of us in the LGBT world are waiting for another shoe to drop.
I fear for the LGBT people too. We must stand united against this sickening hatefulness.
A fifth verse of the Star-spangled Banner written in 1861 by poet Wendell Holmes (Wikipedia) at the beginning of the American Civil War reflects today's moment in time; one in which each person's voice and vote saves America of the tyranny from within:
When our land is illum'd with Liberty's smile,
If a foe from within strikes a blow at her glory,
Down, down with the traitor who dares to defile
The flag of her stars and the page of her story!
By the millions unchained when our birthright was gained,
We will keep her bright blazon forever unstained!
And the Star-Spangled Banner in triumph shall wave
While the land of the free is the home of the brave!
I think most of us are physically sick about the everyday violence against immigrants. I say physically sick because your heart hurts so much that your body isn't in good health. Its in constant distress. I wrote my two Senators and my Representative again this morning. All three profess to be lifelong faithful members of the LDS Church. I have written them with facts. I have written them appealing to do the common good. I have written them about cowering to a man who is so morally vacant. All falling on deaf ears as evidenced by their votes and the insulting lie infused form letters they send me. This morning I begged (yes, begged) them to examine what their faith would direct them to do. Surely, armed ICE thugs acting like street gangs terrorizing immigrants isn't compatible with the LDS faith, especially a church that sends missionaries all over the world and preaches God's grace to people of all skin colors. The LDS might as well cease missions work in the Trump era. Missionaries from the U.S. have no suasion any longer in the world. We are now a nation that terrorizes. The letters were probably another wasted exercise and the email will end up in the email trash bin because frankly, appealing to the religious faith of these guys seems ridiculous at this point. Their votes and their lies are evidence they haven't been faithful to God for a long time.
Religious faith? Hahahaha Hahahaha Hahahaha Hahahaha Hahahaha Hahahaha
Birthright citizenship got a victory just now
Any judge that doesn't understand this Constitutional right needs disbarred.
Brown-skinned people are being aggressively kidnapped and then secretly sent to Crimes-Against-Humanity Torture-til-Death tRump-Approved Holding Pens all over our country!
Torture by Starvation with 1 maggot-infested meal/day and maybe 1 bottle of water; no showers; sleep deprivation; no protection from disease-carrying mosquitoes; threat of death by pythons & alligators; no contact with family; no legal representation!
No Constitutionally-required Due Process!
Thank the stars that I don't have FB. What I do have are suggestions for supporting those being targeted. Simplest if you can: https://www.chirla.org--Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights Los Angeles, especially if you live in California. Check your state for something similar. Check online for the national ones. At the next protest, see if you can arrange for someone in your group (Indivisible? Swing Left? Your neighbors? Your fellow congregants?) to collect bags of rice and beans to deliver to a site collecting for those in need (we have several churches in LA). Start a Go Fund Me site for a family that could use support. Make protest signs that are all purpose pro-immigrant. Mine have a photo of the Statue of Liberty with text saying HONK IF YOU'RE WITH HER! Check with your local Indivisible or other protest group for information about how to deal with an ICE Raid, whom to call, what to do, and so forth. Of course keep hounding our Reps and Senators and thanking those who are fighting.
LDS doesn't have the greatest history with non-whites. Not that many other churches are any better.
Another touching post.Thanks John, you really make us dig deep down.
I've been appalled after the ascent in January and all the inane and unconstitutional XOs. I am nauseated by the US paramilitary police force wreaking havoc and destroying lives and our nation. I persist in calling my red hat nabobs, to no avail. But they hear from me daily and I call the cruelty and name the offense. These are concentration camps. I spend roughly 2 hours calling them. I last as long as my mental health allowed. I also join protests.
There's actually a church in Indianapolis that has called for the state to arrest LGBTQ people abd execute them. I just can't! So there will be a protest at their doors tomorrow. Oh my! Just so much, too much!