You Can’t Be Brave When Nothing’s at Stake
Bill Gallegos, the author of this MSN article “Los Angeles Stands Up to MAGA,” ought to send a thank-you card to whoever first sold them the idea that yelling into a megaphone while surrounded by Starbucks and bicycle cops qualifies as heroism. This isn't journalism; it's a performance art.
In crayon.
Los Angeles didn’t “stand up” to anything. Nobody stormed the beaches of Normandy last weekend in Boyle Heights.
They chanted.
They made signs.
Some flashed cameras while their friends posed with raised fists like revolutionaries in a dorm room play.
That’s not bravery. That’s cosplay.
This entire article reads like it was written by someone who just watched Les Misérables for the first time and thought, “Yes. I, too, shall write the resistance.”
The problem? Reality doesn't care about your Hamilton soundtrack.
Protest Theater with AirPods In
Gallegos paints a scene where Los Angeles citizens courageously defy MAGA tyranny! The evil cited?
Immigration enforcement. Federal agents enforcing the law. Arresting people with outstanding deportation orders.
Imagine that.
Gallegos breathlessly describes Angelenos “pouring into the streets” like they’re freedom fighters rising against tanks. But what’s really happening? People are protesting ICE for doing their job. Arresting individuals, many of whom ignored court orders for years.
And then, the kicker: calling in the National Guard is described as “Trump’s overreach.” Nothing says fascism like restoring order after riots break out in your city.
That’s not tyranny.
That’s Tuesday in a sane country.
The people opposing law enforcement aren’t resisting oppression. They’re resisting accountability. But sure, let’s print another op-ed about “traumatized families” without mentioning why ICE was there in the first place.
The Left’s Unmatched Talent: Confusing Comfort with Courage
The modern left has perfected a dangerous illusion: the notion that living in an echo chamber is equivalent to taking a stand.
Take a look around. You’ve got actors, singers, politicians, tech giants, universities, the press, and 95 percent of corporate America behind you. You’ve got rainbow flags on bank ads, Black Lives Matter murals outside city hall, and school boards that apologize if a single protester feels “unsafe.”
And yet, somehow, you think you’re the resistance?
Courage is saying something your side hates. It’s speaking the truth where it costs you something: your job, your peace, your reputation. Real courage means risk.
This?
This is shouting into a padded room.
People who “resist” from the safety of tenured faculty lounges, elite film sets, and blue-check social feeds don’t understand they’re the empire. Not the rebellion. They're not risking anything. They're broadcasting from bunkers built out of NPR tote bags and college degrees.
And here’s the real kicker: Many of them know it. That’s why they scream louder. Because deep down, they suspect they’ve become the thing they once hated.
MAGA Will Always Be the Left’s Favorite Boogeyman
Since 2015, MAGA has been the left’s all-purpose scarecrow. When then-candidate Donald Trump rode down that golden escalator, half the country’s journalists collectively lost control of their bowels.
Before he even took office, he was labeled a Nazi, a white supremacist, a Russian spy, a fascist, a threat to democracy. And let's not forget he was a candidate for impeachment even before getting sworn in.
And every supporter? Painted with the same brush.
They don’t differentiate.
You wear a red hat; you're a Klansman.
You vote Republican; you’re enabling the next Reich.
You question mass illegal immigration; you're a xenophobe.
You oppose drag shows for toddlers? Now you’re transphobic, too.
And once the left saw the media would print anything, they accelerated. Trump’s name became a litmus test for outrage. The very mention of it in Los Angeles sparks Pavlovian screeches of “danger,” “oppression,” and “resistance.”
The sales of fainting couches skyrocketed because many people caught the vapors.
Never mind that Trump was the first president in decades to reduce overseas conflict, broker peace deals in the Middle East, and raise wages for working-class minorities.
None of that matters.
To them, he’s not a man. He’s a cartoon villain used to justify every tantrum they want to throw.
And Gallegos's column is just the latest: a wet kiss to the fantasy that Trump is hiding under every bed like a fascist Boogeyman waiting to goose-step through Santa Monica after arming himself at gun shows.
What They Never Say
Here’s what the article doesn’t bother telling you:
- Most deportations ICE carries out involve individuals with final orders from a judge
- L.A. city leaders refused federal cooperation for years, making it a magnet for fugitives
- The Guard isn’t targeting protesters. They’re restoring order after days of looting and firebombs
None of this made it into the piece. Because if you told the truth, the illusion would crumble.
But the illusion is the point, right?
L.A. isn’t resisting tyranny. It’s producing another sequel to the tired story where every latte-sipping hipster is somehow a war hero with scars from burns from those really scary hot drinks.
Meanwhile, the real chaos? It’s happening in neighborhoods torn apart by crime, traffickers, and fentanyl pipelines.
And those stories don’t sell ad space.
When History Becomes a Backdrop for Selfies
Real bravery is Rosa Parks refusing to move. It’s a Polish priest standing between Nazis and Jews. It’s a Tiananmen man with two grocery bags halting a tank column.
Bravery isn’t retweeting Rachel Maddow.
The L.A. protesters? They didn’t face tanks. They faced mild criticism. And yet they wear the language of resistance like it’s fashion week. With a riveting score written by Ennio Morricone, Gallegos calls them “unshaken,” “defiant,” and “moral beacons.” Meanwhile, they head home to watch Harry and Meghan's documentaries on Netflix while eating vegan tacos and butching up by reading old copies of Outdoor Life.
The modern left sees themselves as wartime saints. The reality? Most wouldn’t march if it meant losing their phone signal.
They co-opt the imagery of real struggle without enduring the cost.
Every cardboard sign quoting MLK without understanding his theology.
Every TikTok of a protest chant that turns a war cry into background noise.
Every moment, they steal valor from history to pad their Twitter bios.
You’re not Che Guevara. You’re a Karen with a brand new ring light.
Final Thoughts
Gallegos's MSN piece isn't brave. He isn’t insightful. He’s a tour guide for a city-sized delusion, peddling fantasy in paragraph form.
Los Angeles didn’t “stand up to MAGA.” It curled up in a cocoon of self-congratulation and filmed the whole thing in shaky portrait mode. They “resisted” with gluten-free snacks and backup chargers. Then went home and bragged about saving democracy between episodes of Succession.
Let’s stop pretending this was Gettysburg. It was a street theater for bored elites.
Nothing more.
And to Gallegos, if you’re reading this, wipe the soy milk off your upper lip, open a history book, and understand that journalism means truth.
Not fan fiction.
