2026-09-10
This won’t be a long post, with deep analysis or anything. But my most recent trip back to Minnesota revealed a lot to me, that places change and those changes change the people there. I’m well aware that in the 2020s, Minneapolis is the sacrifice zone for America’s greatest social issues ranging from mundane issues like single-family zoning to a police officer’s right to murder someone in broad daylight. The result on the ground is: a clear victory for progressives…but a real human and psychological toll on a place I used to call home. It’s hard to ignore the obvious differences that appear now.
Every time I visit Minnesota, I realize that the world is fluid and ever-changing. Nowadays there’s less people on the streets. Warnings to ICE on every door. Recollections of various war stories, when the federal goons came. My old watering hole, 100 feet from where the government executed Mr. Pretti, doesn’t have the same relaxed vibe anymore. Lil T’s and the city as a whole has hardened out of self-preservation. The great ‘exhale’ hasn’t happened yet, and everyone knows that’s not coming for a while. Then I come home to Toronto to a world that isn’t crashing down, where you can walk down the streets and feel safe, and not worry about your neighbours being whisked away to a concentration camp.
January 2026 will not be the last time battles will be fought on the streets of Minneapolis-Saint Paul. The divides will continue to widen and realities continue their rapid divergence. I saw through the first wave of it, and others will keep picking up the slack. Lord knows I would certainly accelerate the cause if I was able to.
I graduated with an amazing degree from a great university & it’s completely useless in the big ’26, but I think I’ve accomplished my goal of finding a community that fits my needs and loves me. Along with that, someone who touches all of my heartstrings in new ways every day. Thinking back to that scared girl looking down from the 45th Street bridge, this close to doing it, she would have missed so much.