Over the weekend, the singer-songwriter known as Love Axe (aka Christopher Hatfield) shared a demo that he recorded a few years back when, as he explained on Instagram, “a close friend was going through a particularly difficult time.” It’s a stirring song that evokes both the anguish of despair and the mournful anger that often accompanies it—feelings many of us have felt of late, I think, due to the strange times we find ourselves in. We’re witnessing an administration that continually pushes past long-held norms by embracing authoritarian tactics, ruling by fiat in lieu of legislation and, too, attempting to stomp out dissent by any means necessary.
The well-documented shooting deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis aren’t the first ICE-involved shootings. In his Instagram post, Hatfield details the story of Alex Porter Jr., an L.A. resident who was shot dead by an off-duty ICE agent on December 31, 2025. This ABC7 report reveals that, like many folks on New Year’s Eve, Porter broke the law when he shot a rifle into the air; rather than alert law enforcement, the agent took it upon himself to respond and then claimed self-defense for what followed. But, as with the videos of the incidents involving Good and Pretti make clear, one cannot believe anything that ICE agents and DHS officials say. Like Trump, they lie and then they lie some more.
Hatfield is earmarking all monies raised from the song for donation to Porter’s family or similar fundraiser. It’s a great song for a good cause.
The Old Grey Cat 