“I’m not mad at you.” “Are you okay?”

It’s been hard to know what to say, or what to write. But all I can think about are their last words, “I’m not mad at you” and “Are you okay?” and the little boy in the blue bunny hat…

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On January 7, 2026, she said, “I’m not mad at you.”

He said, “Fucking bitch” after he executed her.

She said, “I’m not mad at you.”

Doing the job the agent should do: de-escalation.

She said, “I’m not mad at you.”

He left her overflowing glovebox of stuffed animals splattered in blood.

She said, “I’m not mad at you.”

They called her a “domestic terrorist”.

She said, “I’m not mad at you.”

They lied about why she was there, who she was, and what she did.

On January 24, 2026, he asked, “Are you okay?”

They violently shoved a woman to the ground.

He asked, “Are you okay?”

They pepper sprayed their faces, as he tried to protect her.

He asked, “Are you okay?” looking out for his neighbors.

They piled on top of him and executed him in the street.

He asked, “Are you okay?”

They fired more shots into his lifeless body.

He asked, “Are you okay?”

They called him a “domestic terrorist”, too.

He asked, “Are you okay?”

They lied about why he was there, who he was, and what he did.

She said, “I’m not mad at you.”

Her partner said, “We had whistles, they had guns.”

He said, “Are you okay?”

His parents said, “Please get the truth out about our son.”

He asked, “Are you okay?”

They said, “It’s like Call of Duty! So cool, huh?”

He stood between fascist, violent thugs, trying to protect her. He said, “Don’t touch her.” Healthy masculinity.

They shoved her to the ground and murdered him in sloppy, trigger happy, cowardice chaos thuggery. Toxic masculinity.

“I’m not mad at you.”

She could have been me; she could have been you. What she did is something I would do.

“Are you okay?”

He could have been me; he could have been you. What he did is something my partner would do.

On January 20, 2026, a 5 year old boy in a blue bunny hat stood in the cold, his little face riddled with fear.

They used him as bait.

A little boy in a blue bunny hat

An empty cubby at his school.

A little boy in a blue bunny hat. 3,800 children kidnapped in 2025.

No doubt there are more, those in prisons and covert encampments, those who weren’t on video. Imagine what’s happening to them.

A little boy in a blue bunny hat.

The system that exploits a child, that kidnaps children, must be dismantled.

A little boy in a blue bunny hat.

He could have been my child, he could have been yours. Like Baldwin said, “The children are always ours.”

Kieth Porter. Renee Good. Alex Pretti. Heber Sanchez Dominguez. Victor Manuel Diaz. Parady La. Luis Beltran Yanez-Cruz. Luis Gustavo Unez Caceres. Geraldo Lunas Campos. Killed by federal agents in 2026.

All of whom deserve remembrance and justice, and those before them in 2025, and those before them in years, decades, and generations past who suffered the same terror of oppression and tyranny at the cowardly hands of empire and police brutality.

“I’m not mad at you.” “Are you okay?”

They gaslight us. They expect us to believe their lies, and not our eyes.

“I’m not mad at you.” “Are you okay?” Jesus would say and ask the same.

When they (Stephen Miller and ilk) claim “plenary authority” and “total immunity” we should believe what they say. Empire would say the same.

But we remember, that even as those in power impose violence, oppression, death, lies and havoc, the love of Jesus is the ultimate authority, not the authoritarians.

“I’m not mad at you.” “Are you okay?”

Phrases we carry with us in resistance, in community, and in Christ, blowing whistles, and caring for each other.

“I’m not mad at you.” “Are you okay?”

On the right side of history and justice, are those who stood innocently in their winter hats, who wore Spiderman back packs, the deported, the detained and separated, the vanished, the isolated who fear leaving their homes, those who say, “I can’t breathe”, those who blow the breath of life and alert through whistles of warning, those everyday people refusing to do nothing, refusing to stay silent, those using their privilege, education, and experience to do what’s right, those banging their drums, singing songs of peace, shouting words of righteous anger, arranging rides, writing prayers, donning their stoles in solidarity, writing poetry, lighting candles, calling out the blasphemy of Christian Nationalism and white supremacy, the anti-racist, those who counter the disinformation, those wearing keffiyahs, making phone calls and writing letters, those donating their money, sharing political posts, those who see the cult of Tr*mpism for what it is, or finally do, those who clog the system, who boycott the corporate, who build, who disrupt, who strategize, who share their resources, who coordinate, people fighting for freedom here, and in so many places around the globe, the antifascists with phones, the marchers, the vigil attenders, those who protect trans people, the decent humans who love their neighbor and welcome the immigrant, those who shout, “Chinga La Migra!” Those who call out the xenophobia, those who show up with medicine, food, water, art, and care, with their bodies, minds, and hearts, like the prophets who remind us to love kindness and do justice, like Jesus who said blessed are the peaceMAKERS, and those who say,

“I’m not mad at you.” “Are you okay?”