In an era of a video for every event, it seems we have lost the ability to see.

The killing of Renee Good by ICE agent Jonathan Ross should be a watershed moment for everyone, regardless of political affiliation. We have the video, the evidence isn’t hidden away in a redacted file, it is available for all of us to witness with our own eyes. Every American should realize that the state is overstepping it’s bounds and authority, and if it isn’t stopped now, we can never go back to the America we once had.

First, let us examine the evidence.

There is another angle of the incident that has been widely passed around, claiming to clearly show Ross being struck by the vehicle, and this is reinforced by the footage from Ross’s phone, which seems to show him being struck, and is often called “body-cam” footage. In fact, the “body-cam” footage is from his phone, and it appears he is struck as he fires his firearm and dodges the vehicle. Meanwhile, the angle of the shooting that seems to show him being hit is too far away, and too bury to see details. By itself, it might be convincing proof that he was hit, but we have multiple videos from other angles, and eye witness testimony that says Ross was not hit. In fact, we have clear footage of him walking away after…not a scratch on him. So why would the government lie?

Finally, in regards to the event, and how it went down, I don’t think any one has said it better than DHS themselves during an internal review.

Based on a review of the submitted cases, it appears that CBP practice allows shooting at
the driver of any suspect vehicle that comes in the direction of agents. It is suspected that
in many vehicle shooting cases, the subject driver was attempting to flee from the agents
who intentionally put themselves into the exit path of the vehicle, thereby exposing
themselves to additional risk and creating justification for the use of deadly force.

Little focus has been placed on defensive tactics that could have been used by shooting agents such as getting out of the way. It should be recognized that a ½ ounce (200 grain) bullet is unlikely to stop a 4,000 pound moving vehicle, and if the driver of the approaching vehicle is disabled by a bullet, the
vehicle will become a totally unguided threat. Obviously, shooting at a moving vehicle
can pose a risk to bystanders including other agents.

https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/documents/PERFReport.pdf

So by CBP’s own assessment, their agents have a habit of placing themselves in front of vehicles in order to have an excuse to shoot the occupant. Supposedly CBP and DHS policy has been changed to disallow shooting into moving vehicles.

Yet, what we see in the aftermath is a terrifying psychological phenomenon driven by years of mental decay, and psychological warfare. We are watching a nation decide that defending their political views, prejudices, and desires, are more important than objective reality. People are literally rejecting what their eyes are telling them, that Ross murdered Renee Good in cold blood, because it contradicts what their political tribe is telling them…and throwing their rights down the drain as they do so.

The Death of Objective Truth

The moment the news broke, before the footage even fully registered with the public, the justification machine fired up. The victim-blaming began. “She must have done something.” “Just comply.” “They have a hard job.”, “She is a domestic terrorist.”

First of all, she was issued contradictory commands. One agent told her, “get out of here”, another agent tried to yank her door open. What would your sister, wife, mother, or daughter do? Don’t you think there is a chance you, or your loved ones, might panic? She had previously waived ICE vehicles past her as well, she was trying to cooperate while still protesting what they were doing in her community. Secondly, Ross had no reason to be in front of her vehicle. It was a stupid move, one that someone with his self declared level of training should have known better than to do.

The most disturbing element of this entire tragedy isn’t just the loss of life, it’s the willingness of millions of Americans to outsource their judgment to political commentators rather than trusting their own eyes.

Where Did the Fear of Tyranny Go?

For decades, a cornerstone of American conservative thought has been a healthy, necessary skepticism of federal power. It is the philosophy that warns against a militarized police state. It is the ideology that shouts “Don’t Tread on Me,” holds up Ruby Ridge and Waco as warnings of government overreach, and fiercely guards constitutional rights against an encroaching Leviathan state.

Where are those voices now?

An unarmed woman was killed by militarized agents of the federal government who were operating outside standard procedure, outside of their normal areas of operation, wearing masks, and tactical gear. By any traditional conservative metric, this should be a five-alarm fire regarding state tyranny and the abuse of power.

Yet, the silence from that corner is deafening. Why?

We are spied upon, in our own streets, neighborhoods, and airports by an ever growing federal surveillance system…but that must be good since Trump is president, right?

The hypocrisy test is simple: If Renee Good had been killed in the exact same manner by random “thugs” in an inner city, the outrage from the right would be incandescent. It would be cited as proof of societal collapse. But because she was killed by the state apparatus under a politically convenient banner, her death is rationalized away as “eh, it’s okay.”, or even gleefully reveled in and rejoiced over.

Manufactured Lethal Force

We cannot allow this to be dismissed as a mere “accident” or a “split-second decision gone wrong.” The video evidence suggests something far darker.

When an agent steps in front of a vehicle instead of stepping away, they are not de-escalating; they are escalating toward a pre-meditated outcome. To view the footage of Renee Good’s death and not question the tactical necessity of the agents’ actions is willful blindness. He stepped in front of her vehicle, while her attention was being taken by other agents, switched his phone to his secondary hand, and drew his firearm even as her tires turned away from him.

The Final Verdict

Nothing about this is normal. The video is not normal. The police procedure is not normal. And the public reaction, treating a state killing as if the victim “got what was coming to her”, is deeply abnormal. The divide in America…is not normal.

If we can watch a video of federal agents killing a citizen outside of standard protocol and shrug it off because it’s politically inconvenient to criticize these specific police, doing this specific activity, then we have lost something vital in this country. We have traded our principles for partisanship, and our eyesight for ideology. The fact that so many people blindly listen to the commentators in their little online circles, and don’t look into the truth, research, or think for themselves is the most disturbing.