The Lady in the Pink Jacket

1/30/2026

I am lucky that my family has some proud radical left scum. My stepfather probably being the most radical like myself. My mom, dad, and stepmom are pretty freaking radical as well. After that, well, they are more independent than radical left scum, but it's better than the alternative.

Alex Pretti's death really took the wind out of my sails and I've been having trouble writing since it happened. I needed a break. I had a sleep study that went all day long. It's cold outside. I have a migraine. My foot hurts. It's cold inside. Then the guilt set in. I could make all the excuses I wanted. I could take a break from writing, if I really wanted. I could stop watching the news, and just watch dog videos for a while.

In my safe, drafty, yet still warm house.

Under my velvet soft, baby blue blankie.

Surrounded by seven furry yahoos.

Clutching my hot cup of Earl Grey Tea.

Sounds nice, right? I have that choice. While I might be iced in at my front door, ICE is not at my door. They are not terrorizing me. They are in my state. Every couple of days, I hear a report of ICE being within a few hours of me. People in Minnesota don't have the same luxury I do. They can't decide to just watch dog videos all day or just ignore what is going on in the country. It's at their door, in their homes, terrorizing their neighbors. They have to endure the presence, disruption and, violence of ICE being in their neighborhoods day in and day out.

My mom reached out to me this morning and asked if I had seen the interview with the lady in the pink jacket? She and I have discussed Alex Pretti's murder at length and how it has made us feel. We had both seen the lady in the pink jacket in the original video. We had both seen the video that the lady in the pink jacket took of Alex Pretti's murder and we had both read her sworn affidavit. We had talked about how heartbroken we were over, not only Alex Pretti's death, but that witnesses like the lady in the pink jacket were scared to go home because ICE agents and the federal government were looking for them. Citizens of the United States were scared of their own government for merely witnessing a government involved incident. That scares the crap out of me. It scares the crap out of my mom. It should scare the crap out of you.

She found listening to Stella, the Lady in the Pink Jacket, inspiring. Stella's words revived hope in my mom and it rekindled the fire inside that had been snuffed along with Alex Pretti's life. My mom knew that fire was gone inside of me as well. She told me I had to watch the video; I had to listen to Stella. Perhaps it could rekindle the fire that had just recently been burning so fiercely inside of me.

"It gave me a great idea and I don't know how to get the idea out there. She had to switch coats with someone to be able to leave and get to safety, because they were looking for the lady in the pink jacket. What if we all started wearing pink jackets? Not just pink, but hot pink? It's a great color, it stands out, and it'll show solidarity. What do you think? I'm ready to buy a hot pink jacket and some scarves regardless!" She suddenly blurted out her plan to me. "I don't know how to get my idea out to enough people though."

I have to admit. It makes sense. It reminds me of a story from Srdja Popovic's book, Blueprint for Revolution, about Sudanese activists. The activists formed a group called GIRIFNA, "We Are Fed Up." Their "color" was orange and they used the fruit as a symbol of their movement. Supporters began carrying oranges , then more and more supporters gained courage and began carrying oranges. You can't get arrested for wearing a pink jacket, but you certainly can show defiance and solidarity doing it. I told her I would watch the video and write about it today.

If you haven't watched the video there will be a link at the end; I highly recommend watching. In case like me, you need a reminder that not everyone in this country has the luxury of "taking a break" from the news. Or if like some people, you need to understand that the people of Minnesota have no choice, this campaign of violence has been brought to their homes. Stella was walking to work when she encountered the women running from a scary situation. This is where all the videos pick up. She was going to work. We've seen the videos. People going home, going to church, going to the doctor. Not everyone is trying to interfere with ICE; some people are just trying to live their lives. But it doesn't matter. The influx of untrained ICE agents has made it impossible for Minnesotans to live any sort of semblance of normal life, regardless of the fact that they are illegally, unethically, and immorally abducting and detaining their neighbors. ICE agents outnumber real trained law enforcement in the state right now.

What did the regime expect to happen when they rolled into Minnesota with thousands of ICE agents? Knocking down doors. Throwing women to the ground. Shooting young adults directly in the eye with a less-lethal round. Using five year old children as bait. Shooting unarmed scared women trying to flee in their cars. Shooting men in the back after they've been disarmed, without any provocation. They expected those nice midwest hospitable Minnesotans to roll over and not rock the boat. Minnesota cares about their people, their neighbors, and their community. They are nice, genuine, hospitable people who are tough as nails. In the interview, you hear the spirit of Minnesota as Stella tells you her story of how the community worked together and continues to work together to keep her safe. You see the spirit of Minnesota in Stella when she tells you she won't back down, and, yes, she will wear her coat again one day.

You know, Mom, I always did like hot pink on me. Maybe it is time for a new jacket. Maybe ICE will be greeted by a sea of pink jackets in every town they invade. A pink jacket brigade to show we are not afraid, we will not stop recording, we will help each other, we are a community, we will learn from Minnesota, we are the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

Addendum: After I wrote this, I took a break, ate dinner and putzed around on the internet. As you may or may not know, quite a bit more of the Epstein files were released. I went down that rabbit hole a little. I debated whether or not to even post this. I feel guilty posting a "happy fluff" piece after what I have just read. That fire that talked about being rekindled? Well, that bitch is raging inside right now. But, I'm going to drive myself to the brink of madness while I go down the Trumpstein rabbit hole of depravity. In the meantime, watch Stella's video below and get your emotion back if you felt that same void after watching Alex Pretti's murder and get ready to get enraged this weekend.

Watch the interview here