Good and Evil
The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command. George Orwell, 1984
Just remember: What you’re seeing and what you’re reading is not what’s happening. Donald Trump, 2018
With entitled, violent, masked thugs turning America’s cities into war zones, the killing of an American citizen was less of an aberration than an inevitability. The only thing more inevitable than the killing of Renee Nicole Good by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis was the lying from the administration and its enablers, which began almost before the bullets’ reverberation had fully dissipated. You can read the analyses from the NYT and WaPo that contradict the White House lies, suggesting that the ICE officer who shot Good did so in self-defense. But no such forensic analysis is necessary. You can just do what this administration has admonished you to avoid for years: Believe your own eyes. It’s really not a close call. Of course, the lies shouldn’t surprise you. The whole plan to flood blue city streets with ICE agents, there to instill fear and provoke reactions that can be used to justify further militarization, is based on the lie that there was some imminent threat to Americans and our way of life. More broadly, this administration lies nonstop about everything, from elections, to insurrections, to the economy, to war and peace, to the price of eggs. Why would that strategy stop when it comes to a killing?
+ Renee Nicole Good was victimized twice. First by the bullets. Then by the most powerful people in American politics smearing her good name. As Adam Serwer explains in The Atlantic (Gift Article): “Taking Good’s life wasn’t enough. The moment she died, it became imperative for the administration to also destroy her memory.” First the Shooting. Then the Lies.
+ How can the administration perpetuate the lies when the evidence so obviously contradicts their version of events? Well, it helps when you’ve corrupted previously independent government agencies. Minnesota officials say they can’t access evidence after fatal ICE shooting and that the FBI won’t work jointly on investigation.
+ What do we know about similar shootings that haven’t been clearly documented on video? NYT (Gift Article): “In the last four months alone, immigration officers have fired on at least nine people in five states and Washington, D.C. All of the individuals targeted in those shootings were, like the woman killed on Wednesday, fired on while in their vehicles. In each case, officials have claimed that the agents fired in self-defense, fearing they would be struck by the vehicle. At least one other person died as a result of those shootings.”
+ Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey: “I have a message for ICE: Get the f-ck out of Minneapolis. We do not want you here. Your stated reason for being in this city is to create some kind of safety, and you are doing exactly the opposite. People are being hurt. Families are being ripped apart … and now somebody is dead.” Here’s the latest from The Minnesota Star Tribune and CNN.
