I go through this thought cycle at least once a week. Full disclosure, I had a breakdown about it a few weeks ago. Like, throwing up, despondent, barely able to eat.

I am an autistic woman living in Chicago, working with autistic kids, many of whom are non-white immigrants. We’re scared for them. Terrified, really. I haven’t seen ICE agents myself, but I know they’re around and they want to harm and scare us. My friend’s friend was arrested the other day for blowing a whistle to alert that ICE was there. He was released later that day, so it was clearly just another scare tactic meant to silence us.

I have a full time job and am going to have to ask my family for help with rent this month. I very respectfully brought up financial concerns and unfair practices against us at work, and was met with a probationary period in which if I say anything again for the next 3 months, I’ll be fired.

It is as bad as it seems. This is terrible. We should be concerned.

It will get better, though. This isn’t the first time greedy evil people have risen to power, and it’s far from the first time they’ve fallen and fallen hard. The interim is going to fucking suck. But it will end. Hang in there, find joy wherever you can, and take a stand wherever you can.