January 4, 2026 – My dog Rebe had to poop and was urgently “asking” to go out. So I got my parka on and got the leash and we headed across the street to her favorite spot. It was cold and dark.

She almost always pees first, so that’s what she does. But while she’s peeing a muscle truck pulls up in front of my house with green emergency lights and whining the whine of an e-truck. This spooks Rebe and she starts trying to drag me home. I try to get this out of her head by pacing back and forth with her, which is what she usually does prior to pooping.

No luck.

The truck with the green lights belongs to the neighborhood vigilantes who call themselves Magen. Magen is Hebrew for shield. You may know that the Star of David is Magen David in Hebrew—David’s Shield. And the guys in the truck fancy themselves as the young biblical David standing up to the giant Goliath.

Our neighborhood has been called the most diverse in the country. And this is true. It has crime, but it is one of the lower crime areas in the city. We have white and black and brown. We have Hispanic neighbors and Hindi neighbors. There are Catholics and Protestants, Muslims and Jews. Many wear identifying clothing.

Magen grows out a fear of hate crime directed at Jews. The fear is not unfounded but the threat is most certainly not as great as imagined by the vigilante and vigilante-adjacent neighbors in the community. The other reason for the formation of Magen is that Chicago police are not seen as helpful. The vigilantes carry guns.

Rebe doesn’t know about any of this. But she’s spooked by the intentionally spooky appearance and behavior of the trucks as they patrol the neighborhood. At this point they haven’t moved from in front of my house. I’m not really crazy about them parking there in their elevated truck and flashing green lights. There’s no emergency. They are not rushing to a call. As far as I’m concerned, they’re nothing more than peeping toms.

If they want to protect the neighborhood, I’d be appreciative of that. But then they’d do much better getting out of their luxury truck and do their rounds on foot. The monster truck and the flashing green lights are not an embrace of safety. It’s just some guys out boasting.

The signs are so unmistakable that my dog gets it. So I take her back into the house to wait for them to leave.

They call themselves a shield, but in reality, they are a threatening sword.

===========================

What do you think? Scroll down to comment

Like what you read? Share with your friends.

If you are new to EightOh9, check out the site and let me know what you think.