A Winter of Discontent: ICE, Cold, and Snow

January 2026

“Now is the winter of our discontent”-opening line from Shakespeare’s “Richard III”

ICE in the streets of Minneapolis

memorial on the site of Alex Pretti's murder

During the winter of 1978-79 in the UK, widespread strikes and industrial chaos led to national disruption and public anger that resulted in the downfall of that country’s Labour Party.  That period was labeled, “The Winter of Discontent.”

Now the Trump Administration’s actions and narratives have spread from Minnesota throughout the US and beyond, similar to an Arctic plunge and winter storm that has crossed the US.

"A brutal surge of cold air affecting millions across the US is set to intensify this weekend [1/30-2/1/26]. More than 200 daily low temperature records could be broken from today through Monday across the eastern half of the country as another wave of bitter air moves in. It comes as several states are still recovering from last weekend's historic winter storm, which has been blamed for at least 85 deaths in the US. In much of the South and East, temperatures in the coming days could plunge more than 30 degrees below normal. At the same time, a powerful bomb cyclone is expected to bring heavy snow, hurricane-force winds and coastal flooding to the Southeast."

The murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by agents of the Trump Administration have sparked outrage throughout a polarized country, and like a brief ray of sunshine, the narrative from the Right has temporarily softened.  But let’s not be deceived, the fascist ideology of this regime hasn’t changed.  People must stay alert and continue to speak up against abuse and injustice.

Blizzard

Snow falls:

years of anger following

hours that float idly down —

the blizzard

drifts its weight

deeper and deeper for three days

or sixty years, eh? Then

the sun! a clutter of

yellow and blue flakes —

Hairy looking trees stand out

in long alleys

over a wild solitude.

The man turns and there —

his solitary track stretched out

upon the world.

-William Carlos Williams

As each of us faces the blizzard, each must decide what “solitary track” we leave in the snow.  For guidance I consider advice from David Brooks in his final opinion piece for the NYT.  He writes:

Where do [people] go to revive their humanistic core? They find these things in the realm of culture. In my reading of history, cultural change precedes political and social change. You need a shift in thinking before you can have a shift in direction. You need a different spiritual climate.

By “culture,” I don’t just mean going to the opera and art museums. I mean “culture” in the broadest sense — a shared way of life, a set of habits and rituals, popular songs and stories, conversations about ideas big and small. When I use the word “culture,” I mean everything that forms the subjective parts of a person: perceptions, values, emotions, opinions, loves, enchantments, goals and desires. I mean everything that shapes the spirit of the age, the moral and intellectual moment, which constitutes the shared water in which we swim. In this definition, every member of society has a role in shaping the culture. We all create a moral ecology around ourselves, one that either elevates the people we touch or degrades them.

As we look to the sun, may we Be brave, Make tracks.

CPW