An American citizen got her life stolen from her last Wednesday, on Jan. 7. In Minneapolis, Minnesota, a woman was brutally shot and killed by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), just because she wanted to stand up for her community, for her immigrant neighbors. And these shots rang out across the entire country; her death had so much of an impact because we saw it. We all heard the calm tone of her voice and unmistakable compassion as she talked to the ICE agent and said, “That’s fine, dude. I’m not mad at you.” And as the agent’s anger and frustration rose because she would not respond to his demands for her to get out of her car, and she fled for her life, he shot her.
Furthermore, Cassandra Walker, the former Manager of Labor Relations for the United States Postal Service (USPS), wanted to express what she knew about the fatal shooting in Minneapolis.
“The woman that was shot by ICE was accused of running over the officer, but it didn’t seem like she was trying to hurt the officer,” Walker said. “She was simply trying to leave the scene and ICE shot her because she did not obey the directive to stop.”
Her name was Renee Nicole Macklin Good, and she was a daughter, a wife, and a mother.
Then, there was the outcry. Americans are enraged. Americans are grieving. Americans are distraught. And we feel this way because we had just seen one of our own get killed in broad daylight, in the middle of a suburban neighborhood, and just after she had dropped her child off at daycare. We feel this way because we had just seen an American woman get shot dead in her car, and as she lost control of the wheel and her car spun out of control, ensuing chaos.
Let’s also not forget why Mrs. Good was even there in the first place. She was there not because she was a well – renowned activist, but because she was an ordinary citizen who was concerned about her neighbors from being hunted and kidnapped off of the street. She didn’t want people to be afraid to go to the grocery store and drop their kids off school, and be forced to go into hiding in fear of being taken by ICE. She was able to see the value in immigrants and the greatness they fostered not only in her community, but in the country as whole and wanted to protect them. And for that she was killed.
What’s more is that she was murdered at the hands of Trump’s ICE, the people who are supposed to keep us safe. But they now have blood on their hands and the American people will never forgive them for that, for feeling like they have the right to take the life of one of our own and get away with it. And not only did they dismiss her killing but they blamed her for her own death and made the ICE agent out to be the victim.
Our very own United States Secretary of Homeland Security, even labeled her to be a “domestic terrorist” and J.D. Vance said that we should be “ashamed of ourselves” for being outraged at her death. But we all can clearly look at both videos and see that the shame should be truly reflected back onto them.
Then, Walker indicated what she thought about the comments that were made from the Trump Adminstration about this shooting.
“Also, there was no reason for them to feel like that agent was going to be hurt so badly that he would have to take measures that extensive. He did not need to use such deadly force,” Walker said. “He worked outside of his line of duty and the first thing they teach you when you become a police officer is how to maintain control and use the appropriate level of force. And what they did last week in Minneapolis was excessive, there were other ways to maintain control.”
However, if you still do not think that Renee Nicole Macklin Good was innocent, don’t take my word for it because I did not truly know her. But let’s hear from someone who did.
On Friday, Jan. 9, Renee Good’s wife, Becca Good, gave a statement to Minnesota Public Radio (MPR), and expressed to the public exactly who her wife was.
“This kindness of strangers is the most fitting tribute because if you ever encountered my wife, Renee Nicole Macklin Good, you know that above all else, she was kind,” Becca Good said. “In fact, kindness radiated out of her.”
“Renee was a Christian who knew that all religions teach the same essential truth: we are here to love each other, care for each other, and keep each other safe and whole,” Becca Good said.
Becca Good also conveyed the values that her wife lived by when she said that, “(…) no matter where you come from or what you look like all of us deserve compassion and kindness. Renee lived this belief every day. She is pure love. She is pure joy. She is pure sunshine.”
Becca Good communicated why she and her wife were in the area that the fatal shooting took place as well.
“On Wednesday, January 7th, we stopped to support our neighbors. We had whistles. They had guns,” Becca Good said.
Lastly, Becca Good left a final message for the public.
“(…) We honor her memory by living her values: rejecting hate and choosing compassion, turning away from fear and pursuing peace, refusing division and knowing we must come together to build a world where we all come home safe to the people we love,” Becca Good said.
In addition to that, we can not afford to stay silent in the face of injustice, and as a journalist, it’s my job to find and report the truth. And that doesn’t mean sugarcoating it, trying to neutralize my words, and trying to explain away senseless acts of violence and cruelty with euphemisms because that’s not the way the world works. Or at least that’s not how we should operate right now as a society in America.
The truth is real and raw and oftentimes not what we want to hear but it nevertheless needs to be said. That’s the type of news I provide and I try to portray the world and current events exactly as they are to provide the most accurate news possible. And as I see it, this shooting in Minneapolis was a direct attack on the American people, and even more importantly, a declaration of war on its citizens.
It’s like Trump is directly challenging us to do something about it and is trying to scare us from standing up against him and ICE. But the American people will remain undeterred and braver than ever. In fact, this killing will only deepen our resolve and our everlasting dedication to the cause, and only strengthen our drive to stand up and speak out for what’s right.
Furthermore, the American people illustrated this when they spontaneously showed up in droves to protest against ICE and the killing of Renee Nicole Macklin Good. For example, according to CNN, more than 1,000 protests named “ICE Out for Good” were planned to take place across the nation last weekend. Not to mention, the more than 1,000 people that attended a protest in Minnesota at a local park and then marched through Minneapolis neighborhoods, last Saturday on Jan. 10.
Plus, hundreds of protesters gathered to protest in Washington D.C., marched to the White House, and on Jan 10., they even held a moment of silence for Renee Good. Hundreds of protestors also marched directly to ICE headquarters in Washington D.C. last Sunday on Jan. 11 to demand justice for Renee Good and the removal of ICE from local communities. Additionally, these protests were largely nonviolent and lawful and these events were organized by groups like the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), No Kings, Indivisivable, MoveOn, etc.
Along with that, there were protests right here in Missouri. For example, according to the St. Louis Magazine, more than 800 people showed up to protest in Clayton, Missouri (St. Louis Area) at Shaw Park to speak out against the death of Renee Good. More than 500 people showed up to protest in St. Joseph as well according to KMBC, and rallies also took place in Kansas City at Mill Creek Park.
Then, Charity Conners, a State Agency Compliance worker, expressed what she thought about all of the Anti – ICE protests that took place across the country.
“I think that Congress needs to step in and put a ban on ICE because they are antagonizing and harassing people and not letting local law enforcement do their jobs,” Conners said. “ICE should also be held accountable for their crimes because if you look at the video you can see that Renee Good was trying to flee.”
Conners also brought up the fact that some Minnesota officials are now suing the federal government because of the mass deployments of ICE and what they called an invasion.
“I think that this needs to be done to make this wrong a right and hopefully the courts will see that,” Conners said. “I think it was an appropriate measure to take as well because we all have to abide by the constitution that our forefathers provided and it’s sad that even our federal government can’t do this.”
On top of that, Conners expressed that some Democrats are now considering withdrawing funding from ICE and some protesters even called for ICE to be abolished.
“Also, Obama deported more illegal immigrants than any president but you didn’t hear about it because he did it the right way,” Conners said. “But Trump is intentionally trying to be hurtful and using ICE to attack American citizens. The tactics of ICE are not only unjust but unlawful as well.”
Additionally, Donald Trump is now threatening to invoke the Insurrection Act and that would allow him deploy the U.S. military into Minneapolis, ensuing chaos in an American city and givng him a prime excuse to further abuse his power.
Finally, Conners wanted to leave us with a final statement.
“We have to stand together and keep protesting,” Conners said. “Some immigrants are even active in the military and they come here and fight for our country and this is how we repay them. It’s not fair that they are good enough to fight for us but then this is how they are treated.”
But after everything is all said and done, what’s it to you anyway? Not your state. Not your problem, right? Except for the fact that it is your problem. Anything that happens in one state will eventually affect all of us because if it could happen to her, it could have just as easily happened to you. In other words, it could have been you.
