Speak Freely. For now.

Government-sanctioned murders and kidnappings are happening right here, right now.

Poet Ali Asadollahi

If you can make excuses for this, you’ve lost your way.

—Tig Notaro

We’ve watched Minnesotans gunned down.

We’ve watched I.C.E. agents brutalize and terrorize a city.

We’ve watched Ilhan Omar attacked by a guy who looked like he rolled off his mom’s basement couch after a three-night binge—and all five-foot-whatever of her going after him.

We’ve asked for comprehensive immigration reform but got steroid-amped thugs running roughshod.

Damn, Minnesota. We see you and your ferocity.

Because brave people are documenting these actions, I’m beginning to understand the terrifyingly tricky terrain black and brown people negotiate to simply exist. And I now know with absolute certainty how people crossing our borders, people like us, people hoping for a better life, are treated.

The brutality on the border, of course, has always been there, lurking just out of sight, in the blurry periphery. It’s been going on for a long, long time. But during this regime’s first four years, we started hearing about particularly horrifying actions sanctioned by our government: toddlers and babies separated from parents, people being held in cold and dirty cages, lack of fresh food and water, no access to medical care.

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This kind of brutality is no longer confined to border towns. It has moved into the hearts of our cities—and we can no longer look away. After all, there’s video documenting I.C.E. agents’ unlawful actions.

“The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.”

George Orwell, 1984

Yes, George. We watch the videos, take them in.

And then we absorb another.

And another.

And another.

We now know that those who thought they were safe because of the color of their skin are not safe. When the fascists come, they come for everyone who opposes their world view. A few bootlickers benefit. The majority of us won’t.

Trump verbally attacks journalists and intimidates those who criticize his policies while, simultaneously threatening Iran for its brutal crackdown on protesters, journalists, and writers (while conveniently ignoring the deaths of journalists killed in Gaza).

Just last week, an Iranian poet published in Hypertext, Ali Asadollahi, a beloved artist in his home country, was violently arrested in the middle of the night by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Ali’s friends and supporters are reaching out, begging for help. One wrote, “Ali’s life is in danger, a poet who cares about nothing but poetry, freedom, and humanity…” and went on to explain that, “after killing thousands of innocent and unarmed people, the ruling Islamic regime in Iran has started to arrest and execute people, whether those who have already been recognized in protest rallies or those who have only posted something on Instagram about the prevailing situation...whether those who are well-known like Ali, or those who don’t even have anyone to look for them.”

PEN America has issued this statement about Ali and others kidnapped and taken into custody in Iran for no other reason than that they spoke freely. This targeting of writers who speak the truth is, sadly, a well-worn fascist tactic.

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I am a first-generation American on one side, a second-generation American on the other. I am fiercely proud of that. I am fiercely proud of being American. People are always telling me that I don’t “look” Lebanese, whatever the hell that means, but I am half Lebanese. One set of grandparents left Lebanon for Canada before coming to the United States, the other set immigrated from the Volga region of Russia.

My father fought in the shit, as they say, and physically survived WWII. At least six of my uncles served in the military.

My grandparents came here to build a better life and contribute, in whatever ways they could, to this country. That’s what the majority of people coming here want. And hell, look at the morbidly rich (and watch them getting richer). There should be enough for all of us.

And there’s this fact: Immigrants contribute billions annually to the U.S. economy.

I’m not ashamed to say that I’m scared shitless by the rise of fascism here (and abroad), by the horrifying thuggery and brutal tactics of our current regime. The constant chaos is exhausting, right? Our own modern-day Rasputin, Steven Miller, drones on incessantly about “strength and force” in statements so chilling and delivered with such certainty that we must take him seriously.

It’s no longer debatable: If not challenged, our current regime will continue to crush those who question its authority.

Fight back the best way you can. Some of us teach students to identify their voice on the page and write about what is important to them, to lead with kindness and vision, to lift others up, to be good humans.

At Hypertext, we volunteer our time, work tirelessly to publish important voices.

Is teaching and writing and publishing quaint? If you think so, well, go f*#% yourself.

Do what you can—but do something. Like and share posts on social media. Give to causes that align with your values. Organize. March. Talk to people, share facts, share truth, change minds. Vote.

Speak freely while you still can.