The form of resistance has varied, shifting and adapting, but the inner content remains; Los Angeles is urgently confronted with a crisis of identity: who is this city for? The state makes its intentions clear, an overwhelming and violent occupation conducted by masked soldiers driving unmarked vehicles. The lively chatter of urban space now whispers, tucked behind closed doors and hidden from view. The heart of Downtown appears now as an empty chamber, the disgusting result of the blood-sucking parasitic activity of ICE – stealing away the people who give the city life. The state’s imagined city is a vehicle only for the reproduction of capital, sanitized and devoid of any movement at all, save for the scheduled bustle of rush hour, where chaos is organized, managed, and efficient. It is a total rejection of humanity.

Yet, humanity persists, and in the face of such explicit repression, it reasserts itself. Simultaneously, as streets in Los Angeles are eerily empty – they are also hardly ever so full. From the very first moment ICE was spotted until the day I write this, constant protest and activity has struggled to organize in resistance. From outright conflict with riot-squads to mutual-aid networks distributing information and groceries, the community ties that were so recently tested by the wildfires redouble their strength. Even as fears that the more-liberally organized No Kings Day protests that took place on the 14^th would stifle and co-opt radical energy, resistance against ICE continues to become more proactive – moving closer towards defense.

Resistance, quite simply, means letting the state set the agenda. Defense, on the other hand, is grounded in a temporality and a set of priorities generated by the local community in the making (Ross, 2024).

Narratives spun about the nature of this new activity in Los Angeles has taken on a life of its own in all different directions – outside the city, it appears as madness has gripped the masses, and that nowhere is safe. In a sense, this is the reality, that continued inaction will be the death of Los Angeles as we have known it, that none are safe so long as neighbors, friends, family, and anyone at all is at risk. Perhaps it is the madman who, in the face of such absolute repression, still dreams of a better tomorrow. In this sense, too, a “madness” has gripped the masses; from inside the city, there is a clarity of purpose and a strength of will that hardens the hearts of Angelinos. From inside the protests, I hear echoed the notion that whatever is necessary to keep our community safe is what we will do – regardless of the optics, regardless of support or condemnation – Los Angeles will be a city for its people.

Notes

Ross, K. (2024). The Commune Form: The Transformation of Everyday Life. Verso.