ICE and Border Patrol agents descended upon Chicago this week, like a bunch of bored teenagers wearing headsets playing Call of Duty or GTA, just doing whatever they felt like, occasionally shouting nonsense into their headsets.

But they weren’t playing a video game. It wasn’t even a gamer playing a real person with a controller, like the massively underrated Gerard Butler 2009 film ‘Gamer.’ But instead of breaking down the groundbreaking themes of that movie, let me first acknowledge a few cold, hard facts:

These videos are everywhere. Instagram, Reddit, TikTok, Twitter and Youtube. They’re increasingly hard to miss - and that’s a good thing. As I mentioned a few weeks back in a newsletter, recording these events is more important than ever. It’s as bad as it looks. It’s getting worse. And many people are willfully turning a blind eye.

I keep finding myself comparing today’s events to the early days of the pandemic, not in the ways it’s similar, but in the ways it’s different. Because so many of us were stuck at home, we were forced to confront the reality of the gruesome murder of George Floyd. With so much time on our hands, we all became far more informed. Newspaper subscriptions went up across the country. People seemed to care more. Or, you know, they were posting little black squares that indicated some level of caring.

The White privilege so many of my fellow black-square-posters promised to exercise has vanished. Apparently speaking out for people of color was only applicable through the 2020 election, didn’t you get the memo?

Yet, our president is actively waging war with people of color in this country, indiscriminately targeting anyone that “looks” like an undocumented immigrant. He’s calling it the “war from within.” The guy who incited January 6th, claimed he didn’t incite it, and was thrown off most social media platforms, is now back on all those platforms, and inciting violence on a daily basis. You may be shouting into your phone, or the street, or into your neighbor’s ‘Don’t Tread On Me’ flag, “are you guys seeing this shit?”

And, of course, the deep irony is that “Don’t Tread On Me” is literally directed at authoritarian governments. In other words, on paper, Republicans shouldn’t like all the money and resources being poured into ICE. And according to recent polls, some Republicans don’t.

The Trump administrations actions aren’t popular, and are losing popularity amongst Trump voters:

These stats show the public is slowing beginning to become aware, despite the disinformation many media outlets friendly to the president spread. Fascism wants you to feel hopeless, but you’ve gotta “keep swimming” like the fish that worked together to break the net in Finding Nemo (yes, my toddler is now obsessed with this movie).

You might say “okay, but there are still millions of millions of my fellow Americans who are okay with ICE’s actions and that’s not okay.” You may also feel deep anger and hatred for the many people who voted for Trump a third time, who are making their decisions based on egg prices alone. But hate won’t help you. As my Grandma Bear used to say, “We don’t hate anyone, though we can highly dislike them.” (Yes, her real nickname in life was “Bear.”)

You don’t have to follow the advice of my amazing Grandma Bear, but I do think shaming voters for past elections is a moot point. It might feel good in the moment, but it’s not going to move the needle. It’s time to raise awareness about what’s happening right now. After all, in 2024, just 6 in 10 Trump voters supported a national effort to deport undocumented immigrants. People with hearts can and will listen. People without hearts are too busy spray painting hair onto their heads.

I’ve spent a lot of the last week wrestling with how my reporting on what’s happening could easily be perceived as partisan. I’ve seen a few comments that reflect that, but honestly, far less than I expected. I think the reason is because the truth is on our side. And “our side” is just the side that cares about humanity, or as I told the Times in July:

It’s not a political party. It’s reporting that clearly sees what’s happening, informs the audience it’s happening and correctly defines it as fascism.

Like my dog Lola, sleeping next to our toddler, I’m keeping both eyes open.