State Oppression 2026
The American people are facing wars on multiple fronts. The president of the United States has sent his private army into our cities to terrorize populations of vulnerable people, and to provoke reactions from others that they can exploit. There’s a propaganda war telling you to not believe what you see by the same people, and an army of bots, trolls, and talking heads to back their play. Then there’s a more subliminal war being waged on us all telling us not to care.
It’s always been bad.
Both sides are the same.
Yeah, but what about…
You know the type.
I feel like for nearly a decade everyone has been trying to not be this lady. So subconsciously we fight wars against ourselves to not care too hard, too loudly, and most definitely don’t be someone who is literally screaming in the street. We mask our vitriol in snark, memes, shit talk, or defeatism. No one wants to be an alarmist.
But wake up, people…it is that bad.
The ICE budget was already 10 billion dollars. This year Republicans passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act which allocated an extra $30 billion to ICE over the next four years along with an additional $45 billion for detention facilities. So you’re looking at about $30 billion a year annually, approximately the same amount it would cost to provide universal free meals in US public schools.1
Last year 31 people died in ICE custody, the highest in 20 years2. This year six have died in the first month alone.3
On January 7, 2026 Renée Good was murdered by ICE agent Jonathan Ross while attempting to drive away from him and others who were shouting conflicting commands from outside her car. Agents then blocked a physician from reaching her before EMS arrived.4 The same day, President Trump called Good a “professional agitator” in a Truth Social post, and said she “violently, willfully, and viciously ran over the ICE officer.” The Department of Homeland Security’s official account posted “rioters began blocking ICE officers and one of these violent rioters weaponized her vehicle,” and called it “an act of domestic terrorism.”5 The message is clear: obey or you are a terrorist.
On January 18, 2026 ICE agents broke down the door at the home of U.S. citizen, ChongLy “Scott” Thao, without showing a warrant. They took him out of his house wearing only Crocs, boxer shorts, and a small blanket in below freezing temperatures. He was driven around for at least an hour before getting dropped back off. Then DHS shamefully tried to float a story that there were convicted sex offenders living in that house as the reason for the raid. They will kick in your door, detain you without a warrant, and then make up stories to smear you.
Here’s a chilling video of an ICE agent telling a woman who is filming them that she is now considered a domestic terrorist and he’s putting her into a database:
Look, this isn’t a political blog and I don’t do a political podcast. But punk and hardcore should be about something and this year, you gotta stand for something. And that doesn’t mean generic lyrics where your bio has to explain why you’re radical. I mean clear lyrics and messages that say where you stand. And I get it, we all hate performative bullshit and sloganeering. But being someone who says nothing, does nothing, and stands for nothing is infinitely worse.
What side are you on?
Complacency means you’re on theirs.
https://www.bakerinstitute.org/research/address-child-hunger-through-free-school-meals-all
https://www.axios.com/2026/01/20/ice-custody-deaths-trump-surge
https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/un-human-rights-chief-urges-us-uphold-international-law-immigration-crackdown-2026-01-23
https://newrepublic.com/post/205373/evidence-renee-good-still-alive-ice-blocked-medic
Thank you thank you thank you.
You guys are just a little bit younger than me, but you still grew up with political punk/hc bands. It is astonishing to me that bands and people within our scene aren’t screaming from the rooftops with what is currently happening here.
It also is crazy that the LEAST political “punk” band has now become the MOST political band (DKM).
To paraphrase something COA had as their backdrop recently “if your favorite bands aren’t talking about facism and genocide, you need new favorite bands”
Excellent use of your platform. Thank you.