barefootwriter
LightNews LightNews
bfwriter.bsky.social
barefootwriter
@bfwriter.bsky.social
1.8K followers 4.5K following 7.5K posts
PhD candidate, Educational Studies. MA, Human Development, Learning, and Culture. gamer (not the bad kind), budoka, NOLA girl. I blog about POTS at barefootwriterhaspots.com
Posts Replies Media Videos
bfwriter.bsky.social
a Rorschach test, really.
douglasmack.bsky.social Doug Mack @douglasmack.bsky.social · 29m
It's wild how many people are confused by the basic power of empathy and community
January 25, 2026 at 6:44 AM
Reposted by barefootwriter
douglasmack.bsky.social
It's the PTO moms and spreadsheet dads and other random-ass Minnesotans concerned for their neighbors. There is no one central organizing org, just a ton of people who give a shit. It's both beautiful that it's happening and laughable that anyone thinks there's some broader apparatus at work.
jeffsharlet.bsky.social Jeff Sharlet @jeffsharlet.bsky.social · 2h
James O'Keefe says he's never seen anything so organized as the anti-ICE movement, observers--he seems to think this term is code--everywhere he goes. Who is paying for it??? he demands to know. It's like he can't even imagine people caring for one another.
January 25, 2026 at 6:37 AM
Reposted by barefootwriter
internethippo.bsky.social
I don't talk about any of this shit with people in real life because I don't know how to do it without sounding completely insane
January 25, 2026 at 3:47 AM
Reposted by barefootwriter
banditelli.org
Saw a goth queen in the lake and had to get down to her level 🙏 🪶
Picture of a female wood duck, which is a mostly black and white duck with some blue accents
January 25, 2026 at 1:29 AM
Reposted by barefootwriter
mementomorty.bsky.social
I am seeing quite a few nurses calling for a nationwide strike over the killing of Alex Pretti. I think we are seeing one of the largest workforces being radicalized before our very eyes.
January 25, 2026 at 3:51 AM
Reposted by barefootwriter
nirebryce.breadthcharge.net
weird, their general council also committed pretty bad crimes www.abajournal.com/news/article...
NRA general counsel was once convicted of second-degree murder; conviction was overturned
The ABA Journal is read by half of the nation's 1 million lawyers every month. It covers the trends, people and finances of the legal profession from Wall Street to Main Street to Pennsylvania Avenue.
www.abajournal.com
January 25, 2026 at 5:04 AM
Reposted by barefootwriter
robbinsa.me
..........ann arbor should have thrown this man under the fucking jail.

extreme tw btw, not a single image in that link and yet.
carlbergstrom.com Carl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · 2h
I was a sensitive kid. I loved cats. I had OCD, undiagnosed.

When I was 9, a fraternity brother tortured a cat to death in my hometown. The details even now are beyond imagination. archive.is/xdmUL

I was traumatized for years from reading the news story.

The torturer? Now the head of the NRA.
January 25, 2026 at 5:22 AM
Reposted by barefootwriter
kyledcheney.bsky.social
JUST IN: In a new lawsuit, Minnesota officials say DHS mishandled evidence from today's crime scene and made "astonishing" law enforcement decisions. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
January 25, 2026 at 3:55 AM
Reposted by barefootwriter
hypervisible.blacksky.app
“The researchers observed what’s called a ‘dose response,’ meaning the more frequently someone used AI, the stronger their symptoms were.”
Using AI for advice or other personal reasons is linked to depression and anxiety
A new survey found that people who spend more time with chatbots for social interactions or emotional support were likelier to report mental health symptoms.
www.nbcnews.com
January 25, 2026 at 2:04 AM
Reposted by barefootwriter
socialistdogmom.bsky.social
this reminds me of the way i’ve seen susan bro speak about her daughter, heather heyer. when a fascist murders your child, you aren’t allowed to just grieve. you have to defend their memory, even their very grave.
jeffrueter.bsky.social Jeff Rueter @jeffrueter.bsky.social · 6h
Kare 11 local news just read, in full, this statement from Michael and Susan Pretti, the parents of Alex Pretti.

"Please get the truth out about our son."
Statement from Michael and Susan Pretti Parents of Alex Jeffrey Pretti “We are heartbroken but also very angry. Alex was a kindhearted soul who cared deeply for his family and friends and also the American veterans whom he cared for as an ICU nurse at the Minneapolis VA hospital. Alex wanted to make a difference in this world. Unfortunately, he will not be with us to see his impact. I do not throw around the ‘hero’ term lightly. However, his last thought and act was to protect a woman. The sickening lies told about our son by the administration are reprehensible and disgusting. Alex is clearly not holding a gun when attacked by Trump’s murdering and cowardly ICE thugs. He had his phone in his right hand and his empty left hand is raised above his head while trying to protect the woman ICE just pushed down, all while being pepper sprayed. Please get the truth out about our son. He was a good man. Thank you.
January 25, 2026 at 1:10 AM
Reposted by barefootwriter
myrrlyn.net
“they wear masks because they’re cowards, because they know that when we find out who they are and where they live they don’t get to play soldier anymore”
January 25, 2026 at 1:54 AM
Reposted by barefootwriter
myrrlyn.net
“this moment requires you not to worship your own life anymore” audience is stone cold “this moment requires you to put your life between them and their targets” audience erupts

i know there’s a selection bias here but. there is a Hunger in this room i’ve never seen before
January 25, 2026 at 2:00 AM
Reposted by barefootwriter
myrrlyn.net
the speaker started naming the chain of command of people who ordered alex pretti murdered and when he said kristi noem i watched a lady snap her knitting needle clean in half
January 25, 2026 at 1:22 AM
Reposted by barefootwriter
myrrlyn.net
i am at a unitarian universalist meeting. the attendance is fifty fifty retirees and college students. everyone here knows who alex pretti is and everyone here is pissed beyond belief

and none of us are afraid
January 25, 2026 at 12:17 AM
bfwriter.bsky.social
imagine those guys going to prison? that's a death sentence if their fellow inmates ever find out why.
dgranke.bsky.social D Granke @dgranke.bsky.social · 11h
They know they cant feed one officer to the machine cause then half the rest of those cowards will bolt. The chuds want to play real life call of duty, if there are possible consequences they will bail.
schnorkles.bsky.social Schnorkles O'Bork @schnorkles.bsky.social · 12h
The one thing that I don't think this administration understands is that holding this guy accountable is probably the best thing that lets them keep doing what they want.

This is such a powder keg, and the reason even authoritarian admins are leery about this is because it's hard to know whats next
January 25, 2026 at 2:13 AM
Reposted by barefootwriter
reichlinmelnick.bsky.social
You have to read this. Firsthand affidavit from one of the women who was there and recording the video. She talks about how Alex Pretti was directing traffic when she arrived. She watched him be killed in front of her. She's afraid to go home, worried she'll be arrested.
1. I am a resident of the Whittier neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota. I am over 18 years of age. I am a children's entertainer who specializes in face painting. 2. On Saturday, January 24, 2026, at about 8:50 am, I was getting ready to go to work when I heard whistles outside. I knew the whistles meant that ICE agents were in the area, so I decided to check it out on my way to work. I've been involved in observing in my community because it is so important to document what ICE is doing to my neighbors. Connecting to your local community and knowing who your neighbors are is something I profoundly value. 3. I drove to Nicollet Ave. and 26th where I could hear the whistles coming from. I turned south onto Nicollet. There were already several ICE agents there and they'd set up a sort of vehicle convoy on Nicollet and 28th. There were also about 15 observers there, recording and observing ICE. 4. I saw ICE agents surrounding cars and punching car windows. I also saw them stopping vehicles further down Nicollet, so I backed up because I didn't feel safe continuing on. 5. I noticed a man sort of acting to help traffic move more smoothly. He helped me find a place to park. I got out with my whistle and my camera. I went over to him and said something like, "I'm going to film and use my whistle." 6. It seemed like most ICE activity was happening a little farther down the street from us, near 27th. Someone was being thrown to the ground. 7. I started recording. There was an agent by a car across the street. Two observers were a few feet away from the agent, blowing their whistles. One was wearing a backpack. 8. I and the man who was observing and helping direct traffic were standing in the street. There was a phone in the man's hand recording a video. 9. An agent approached and asked us to back up, so I moved slowly back onto the sidewalk. 10. The man stayed in the street, filming as the other observers I mentioned earlier were being forced backward by another ICE agent threatening them with pepper spray. The man went closer to support them as they got threatened, just with his camera out. I didn't see him reach for or hold a gun. 11. Then the ICE agent shoved one of the other observers to the ground. Then he started pepper spraying all three of them directly in the face and all over. The man with the phone put his hands above his head and the agent sprayed him again and pushed him. 12. Then the man tried to help up the woman the ICE agent had shoved to the ground. The ICE agents just kept spraying. More agents came over and grabbed the man who was still trying to help the woman get up. All three of the observers looked to have been badly affected by the pepper spray. I could feel the pepper spray in my eyes. 13. The agents pulled the man on the ground. I didn't see him touch any of them-he wasn't even turned toward them. It didn't look like he was trying to resist, just trying to help the woman up. I didn't see him with a gun. They threw him to the ground. Four or five agents had him on the ground and they just started shooting him. They shot him so many times. 14.1 don't know why they shot him. He was only helping. I was five feet from him and they just shot him. 15. The video I recorded of what happened accurately depicts the events leading up to the agents shooting him and several minutes afterwards. The video is attached as Exhibit 1. 16. I have read the statement from DHS about what happened and it is wrong. The man did not approach the agents with a gun. He approached them with a camera. He was just trying to help a woman get up and they took him to the ground. 17. I feel afraid. Only hours have passed since they shot a man right in front me and I don't feel like I can go home because I heard agents were looking for me. I don't know what the agents will do when they find me. I do know that they're not telling the truth about what happened. I've heard that other witnesses might have been arrested and taken to the Whipple Building. 18. I am disgusted and gutted at how they are treating my neighbors and my state. I keep alternating between crying and feeling determined it is important to remember the value of documenting injustice. We show up for the people who need us to bear witness, because it can't just be one group of people bearing the brunt of their tyranny. This is a struggle to protect our freedom and democracy, those things are on the line. He lost his life for those values. I declare under penalty of perjury that everything I have stated in this document is true and correct. Dated and signed on Jan 24, 2026 in Hennepin County, State of Minnesota.
January 25, 2026 at 1:15 AM
Reposted by barefootwriter
faineg.bsky.social
Absolute banger of a comment on r/military:

www.reddit.com/r/Military/c...
jaderemedy • 4h ago And now comes the most nauseating part of this whole goddamn mess: the hypocrisy. The same loud-mouthed idiots who spent years screaming about tyranny are suddenly dead fucking silent, or worse, cheering, now that it's their side doing it. "ThEy'Re cOminG fOr OuR gUnS!" "GoVerNMenT oVerReAch!" "ShAll nOt bE inFrinGeD!" All that chest-thumping bullshit evaporated the second armed federal agents started terrorizing people they don't like. Let me get this straight: a civilian gets shot dead by federal agents, and the only thing you brainless cunts can muster is "well, DHS says he had a gun"? THAT'S your red line? Guns are sacred when they're strapped to your waist, but magically become a death sentence when they're used as a post-hoc excuse by the government? Either the Second Amendment applies to everyone, or you never believed in it at all. Fucking pick one and own it. This is exactly what tyranny looks like, by the way. Not jackboots marching in formation, but armed agents roaming neighborhoods, stopping people, killing civilians, and then daring the public to question it. Tyranny is execution followed by a press release. Tyranny is labeling the dead a "threat" so the state doesn't have to explain why someone's life just ended in the street. Tyranny is demanding obedience while shredding due process and calling it order. And all you so-called "freedom lovers" are fucking fine with it, as long as it's brown people, immigrants, protesters, or anyone you've already dehumanized. Turns out "don't tread on me" actually meant "tread on them." You weren't afraid of tyranny. You were afraid of losing dominance. There's a difference, and this moment exposes it completely. "Just comply" isn't a principle. It's cowardice dressed up as common sense. It's the language of people who have already accepted that the state gets to decide who deserves rights and who doesn't. And once you make that deal, don't act shocked when the line moves, because it always fuckin…
January 25, 2026 at 1:33 AM
Reposted by barefootwriter
troubledminnesotan.bsky.social
There’s a rally going on in Boston rn and they’re chanting “we’re not cold, we’re not afraid, MN taught us to be brave!” and I might cry
January 25, 2026 at 12:34 AM
Reposted by barefootwriter
donmoyn.bsky.social
This doctor tried to provide aid to the victim. They detail the deep sense of trauma they now feel.
14. When I returned to my apartment, I was extremely distraught. I was sobbing and shaking uncontrollably. Eventually, I called my sister, who lives in a nearby suburb. I called her for comfort and because I did not feel safe in my apartment; I wanted to see if I could stay with her for the day and maybe even a few days. 15.I also sought advice from a friend who works for the City of Minneapolis. He recommended that I shelter in place because the situation outside my apartment was so dangerous. I was going to follow his advice, but then ICE agents deployed tear gas on the crowd that had gathered below, and the tear gas began seeping into my apartment.
January 25, 2026 at 1:54 AM
Reposted by barefootwriter
theguardian.com
‘Repatriate the gold’: German economists advise withdrawal from US vaults
‘Repatriate the gold’: German economists advise withdrawal from US vaults
Shift in relations and unpredictability of Donald Trump make it ‘risky to store so much gold in the US’, say experts Germany is facing calls to withdraw its billions of euros’ worth of gold from US vaults, spurred on by the shift in transatlantic relations and the unpredictability of Donald Trump. Germany holds the world’s second biggest national gold reserves after the US, of which approximately €164bn (£122bn) worth – 1,236 tonnes – is stored in New York. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
January 24, 2026 at 8:39 AM
Reposted by barefootwriter
margaret.bsky.social
Nuremberg trials for ICE is the moderate position
January 24, 2026 at 4:01 PM
Reposted by barefootwriter
joelwwood.bsky.social
A British Columbia craft beer classic: Back Hand of God stout by Sorrento’s Crannog Ales, but now brewed and distributed by Kelowna’s BNA Brewing. #DarkDaysDarkBeers
a dark beer in a glass beside a copper coloured can
January 25, 2026 at 1:21 AM
Reposted by barefootwriter
martinobeat.bsky.social
I keep thinking “my god the people they’ve killed seem like exceptionally good folks” and I think the lesson there is that they’re not exceptional, but that wonderful people abound and that a baseline distrust in humanity is a shitty conservative trope that privileges power over collective strength
proptermalone.bsky.social post malone ergo propter malone @proptermalone.bsky.social · 7h
you don't become a martyr because you were a saint, you become a saint because you were martyred
aklingus.bsky.social A K @aklingus.bsky.social · 7h
I agree that we can’t make Alex Pretti a Benedictine monk because that’s a trap, but we can talk about the good things we did because people will see and hear them and think “I do those things too”
January 25, 2026 at 12:27 AM
Reposted by barefootwriter
maladroithe.bsky.social
Nobody should have to go on a fucking PR tour to combat misinformation about their dead kid hours after his death, fucking nobody
January 25, 2026 at 1:01 AM
Reposted by barefootwriter
chemotaxis.bsky.social
philando castile did this and they killed him anyway
atrupar.com Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 7h
Chip Roy: "As someone who carries a weapon in TX, if I'm in front of law enforcement or if I get stopped, I tell them that. I tell them that I've got a concealed carry permit. I show them my ID. I tell them where the weapon is bc that's what we're supposed to do. That's not what I think I saw here"
January 24, 2026 at 11:56 PM