From Rage to Resistance

How Love of Neighbor Becomes an Act of Defiance

My mom has reached retirement age, but she still enjoys serving people and engaging them in conversation — if her knees, shaped by 55 years of labor, will allow. When I arrived home after a particularly long workday, she greeted me with, “Hey, you. How was your day?” I told her the truth: “I’m angry.”

I’m angry at the masked mercenaries with badges shooting protesters in the face with so-called less-lethal rounds, from California to Minnesota. I’m angry that our federal government has been waging a not-so-covert war against its own citizens — against us — on the streets of Los Angeles since July, and that Minneapolis now looks like a city under siege. I’m angry that masked mercenaries hired by the regime could kill Renee Good and believe they could walk away without consequence. That those same mercenaries could fire flashbangs into a family vehicle and nearly kill a six-month-old infant, then think they could simply disappear afterward.

I’m angry that the regime in power has created a reality where my neighbors and I cannot leave our homes without “freedom papers” — documents deemed more legitimate than our Real IDs or birth certificates. Passports are what they demand, and even those may not be enough if your accent is not American enough, your surname carries too many syllables, or your skin tone is a little too dark. Those masked mercenaries were hired by a regime allergic to accountability. That is why they have operated in Los Angeles, Chicago, Minneapolis — and likely Philadelphia — as if Stephen Miller’s claim that they are shielded by full immunity were real.

Watching agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection snatching people off the streets by the dozens, it’s impossible not to see the consequences of failing to reimagine policing in 2020. Racial profiling. A militarized police force. No-knock raids. Weapons labeled “less lethal” but used in practice to permanently maim and sometimes kill people like us. These are the excesses Angelenos — and an increasing number of Americans — are being forced to confront.

“I think everybody is angry. And some are getting pretty mean, too,” my mother said. These days, she avoids leaving home except to pick up medication, buy groceries, or visit friends. She told me about a recent trip to the store, standing in line with two younger women and an older man. When the women were served first, the man began grumbling that he had been there before them. My mom offered to step aside to keep the peace, but he refused and continued to complain. After paying for her groceries, she even offered to cover his small purchase in an effort to be kind. He rejected that, too — angrily, with curses.

Hearing her story made me reevaluate my anger. Earlier that day, I had coffee with a colleague who has been helping ICE observers in other parts of the city rather than photographing ICE kidnappings. My photographer suggested that the 2024 fires were a blessing in disguise: in the aftermath of the Eaton, Altadena, and the Palisades fires, residents came together in ways that surpassed any official response. Community organizations, faith groups, fraternal organizations, families and individuals formed bonds capable of resisting the damage this regime is trying to inflict on cities like ours. Untold thousands of pounds of food, clothing and services — financial aid, relocation assistance, legal support for insurance and tax issues — flowed across the city.

To my mind, that moment shows we have two choices: either we walk these streets as individual silos of anger, getting picked off by the regime’s mercenaries, or we show up for each other, support one another, and fight for each other — and do so peacefully for as long as it is still possible. 

In 2025, I’ve repeatedly told family and those closest to me that the most revolutionary act, the most important act of resistance we can practice right now, is to love our neighbor — to love our neighbor as we do ourselves.

When Mayor Karen Bass was elected in 2022, it followed the Black Lives Matter demonstrations, when activists called for abolishing the police or at least reimagining policing in Los Angeles. Violent crime that year totaled approximately 30,126 incidents, with a rate of about 762 per 100,000 residents, remaining high relative to prior years. The backlash against reform was already entrenched by the time she took office. It culminated in the passage of Proposition 34 in November 2024, reversing key elements of Prop. 47 by re-felonizing certain drug and theft crimes. By 2024, violent crime had decreased to roughly 27,656 incidents (about 729 per 100,000), yet District Attorney George Gascón, whose progressive platform sought to reduce mass incarceration and address racial disparities, lost his seat to Nathan Hochman and his tough-on-crime agenda — despite no surge in violent crime to justify it. The backlash has fed a political climate where expanded surveillance is accepted, and Police Chief Jim McDonnell’s respect for First Amendment and press freedoms seems to hold only when there isn’t a protest around the corner.

That is why I’ve always believed it was a naive gamble to think local law enforcement could defend Los Angeles residents from ICE raids. At best, they can choose not to assist the federal regime in collecting data on us or facilitating interactions with us.

This is a moment when we have only ourselves and each other for protection and for a way forward. That is why I say we must protect our neighbors as fiercely as we would our blood and kin — and do so to the best of our capacity.

To start, here’s what we can do now:

Protect our children: Trump’s removal of “sensitive locations” protections has left schools vulnerable to ICE enforcement, spreading fear among immigrant families. The Safe Schools for Every Student toolkit from Indivisible helps communities push school boards to adopt policies that keep schools safe for all students, regardless of immigration status, with practical steps and model policies.

Know your rights: Groups like the American Civil Liberties Union, or ACLU, and National Immigration Law Center offer vital resources explaining what to do during encounters with immigration agents at home, work, or in public. Understanding and sharing these protections helps keep communities safer and more informed.

Support and volunteer: Attorneys can provide critical legal support through the Immigration Advocates Network by advising or representing immigrant families. Everyone can help by donating to frontline groups like the National Immigration Law Center that provide legal aid and direct support.