Get Cozy

The videos have been watched millions of times from up to five different angles. All were horrific, even in this age of desensitization, where social media surges along without guardrails, filters, or decency.

It’s taken me days to fully absorb the visuals and subsequent commentary – to manage my own emotions in the wake of Renee Good’s killing. As if her recorded death wasn’t enough to consider, we have all been inundated with the very worst of humanity – those individuals whose need to “score points” on the political front supercede any instinct for empathy or respect.

Within minutes of Good’s death, the senior most officials in the current United States administration were in front of cameras, proclaiming facts that directly contradicted what was seen on the videos. It was more important for these people to get ahead of the story, to shape the narrative, than it was for the actual truth to reveal itself.

There was a time when our leaders, after a tragic event like this, would express regret and sorrow, de-emphasizing blame in favor of expressing condolences, calling for calm as officials are assigned to discover what actually happened, and for justice to prevail. Instead, we have our Vice President and our Director of Homeland Security labeling the victim a “domestic terrorist” worthy of public execution for her attempted killing of federal agent. For those of us who watched the videos, we were incredulous that we were being told to ignore our lying eyes, and to listen to what our government, including President Trump himself, were saying.

Renee Good was not a terrorist. She was a mother of three, participating in a legal protest as was her right. Yes, her car was partially blocking the road as she was executing a “K-turn” to get out of the way. Yes, she helpfully waved one ICE vehicle through, to pass in front of her, which it did without incident. Yes, she did get conflicting instructions from ICE agents who shouted at her to both “get out of the fucking way” AND to “get the fuck out of the vehicle”. Yes, she calmly told her killer seconds before he shot her, that “It’s okay, dude, I’m not mad at you.” She did NOT attempt to accelerate her vehicle directly into a federal agent. She reversed, and turned her wheels entirely to the right to avoid Ross who had inexcusably stood to the front left of the vehicle. Video analysis proves this, and I believe that a court of law (if it should ever get there), would confirm it. At this point, I’m not responding to the gaslighting anymore – from those cultists celebrating her death as if it were justified.

Now we are forced to confront our new American reality. Common decency would lead most of us to acknowledge the horror and sadness amongst Good’s family and friends, first and foremost. To those people, I grieve with you – not only for Good, but for the slow demise of American exceptionalism. We were once a society of proud individuals and groups with varying backgrounds and opinions – but with a revered understanding that accepting those differences was exactly what made America truly great. Defining America’s greatness has been appropriated by a very vocal minority that demands differing opinions and beliefs need to not only be refuted, but exterminated. There is little doubt in my mind as to when this extremism began.

So it has come to be that in the immediate aftermath of Good’s killing that my social media feeds became overrun with the bloodlust of a culture hellbent on revenge. The gentle brushing aside of Jonathan Ross, the now infamous ICE Agent in Minneapolis, by Good’s Honda Pilot, that removed Ross from harm’s way, was presented as attempted vehicular homicide. The first bullet that passed through the far left corner of the windshield, followed up by the two shots fired perpendicularly through the open driver side window, were apparently justifiable, and necessary.

To the troglodytes salivating over this murder – and that’s what this was – the actual law is clear on this situation. Ross was in violation of what the law demands:

• Ross should not have positioned himself in front of the vehicle in an attempt to stop it.
• Ross was only to use deadly force in the event of “immediate life-threatening danger or serious injury”. The video clearly demonstrated Ross was never in a life-threatening situation, he was gently brushed off the car AS IT WAS TURNING AWAY FROM HIM, and certainly the two shots through the driver side window had nothing to do with stopping the vehicle, only to kill the driver. This is indisputable. (Note that the far away, grainy video Ross supporters have pointed to that they believe proves he was violently struck by Good was tampered with. It was deliberately sped up to fake the impact of Good’s vehicle.)
• Ross broke the law by firing his weapon at a vehicle attempting to flee, because there was no visible weapon in the vehicle and there was no immediate threat to him or the public.
• Ross filmed the event with his own smartphone in his left hand while holding his gun in his right, proving his intention BEFORE Good’s vehicle moves forward.

Trump’s Department of Justice, Civic Division – the department assigned to investigate ANY wrongdoing by law enforcement in America, has already announced they will not be investigating this incident. If there were any doubt as to how far we’ve inched towards fascism under this administration, let this knock you on your ass once and for all. It will now fall to the Good estate, and anyone brave enough, to battle this government, to sue for justice. Jonathan Ross is an Iraq war veteran, and a 20-year veteran of border control in this country. He has been vilified in social media, and will continue to be for the rest of his career. If he were confident in his standing, he would welcome an investigation to ensure his vindication once and for all. The last we heard from Agent Ross was from his own video recording – as Good was slumped against the steering wheel of her car, having been shot in the face multiple times, foot stuck against the gas pedal and speeding fatefully towards parked cars and a light pole – “fucking bitch”.

Perhaps Agent Ross would like to close the books on this ugly event with a more congenial tone? Let justice be done.