In 2024 alone, authorities imposed 304 internet shutdowns across 54 countries - the highest number ever recorded. This reflects a growing trend of governments treating connectivity as a weapon.
Late last month, The New York Times published an investigation that detailed harrowing allegations of sexual abuse by Chavez, including the grooming and assault of minors. Chavez's longtime colleague Dolores Huerta alleged that he had raped her.
Losing staff could be detrimental to the projects we worked on, and there was a growing dissatisfaction with how meetings were run. These mostly one-sided discussions left the quieter half of us feeling pushed aside, like our thoughts didn't matter much. If things stayed this way, I worried the good people on our team would start quitting one by one.
"Are you okay?" These were Alex Pretti's last words, said to a woman after ICE agents had tackled and pepper-sprayed her. Videos from bystanders show Pretti holding up a phone, attempting to document what was happening before he himself was pepper-sprayed, wrestled to the ground, and killed by those officers. He lost his life not for committing violence, but for documenting it, and stepping in to protect someone facing it.
In an Instagram post, Equal Rights Oregon announced that "after thoughtful consideration," it was moving forward with the "difficult decision" not to pursue Initiative Petition 33, known as the Equal Rights for All measure. The measure would have let Oregon vote on adding a constitutional amendment stating that equal rights "shall not be denied or abridged" based on "a) pregnancy/pregnancy outcomes and related health decisions; b) gender identity and related decisions; c) sexual orientation, including the right to marry."
In the United States, we haven't yet seen rifles aimed at large crowds, but we do observe masked federal agents detaining protesters in unmarked vehicles, flashy ICE raids staged like military operations and pardons for political violence all clear warning signs. Ignoring this is the first step toward complacency, which can kill liberty. Fascism is often misunderstood. It is not just political oppression; it is a set of traits, as scholars and observers point out,
