Alex Pretti. Nine shots. A public execution. The second murder of an unarmed civilian by federal agents in Minneapolis in less than 20 days.

It is frightening that this page of political consciousness is becoming a graveyard of Americans killed by ICE. It is frightening that Phil Murphy could not even agree to pass laws that would allow us to see the faces of the individuals who are murdering us. All the letters we wrote, and the calls we made, and they will not even mark the vans they throw people into to send to concentration camps without trials.

If you are not furious, you are not present. If you are not grieving, you need to reassess why you don’t value human life. If you don’t want change, you are a fascist. If that is you, I hope for your sake that you find your humanity. History has not been kind to fascists after the dust settles.

For those of us who are humans, who feel empathy and who want to be free, then you have to stand with us. Stand beside your fellow humans against this insult to America, stand for accountability, and stand firm. If it was not clear before, we are not safe in our own country. And that will not change if we remain silent and if we stand alone.

History books will be written about the very moments we are living. What will the pages say? Will they say that Americans sat by and watched their country turn into a fascist regime, or will it say that regular citizens got together and made a difference? I know what I want. Do you?

MJ Mac (he/him, 22)