AM, January 24th. I wake a bit later than usual, tired from the long work week. I do the regular mouth wash and tooth brushing, get to the kitchen for my meds, and coffee. “Don’t look at socials this morning” my spouse warns me. Tears in his eyes, “a man was killed by ICE, it’s graphic, I don’t think anyone should put that in their brain”. “Worse than curb stomp?” I reply coldly. Almost as if it would be a light-hearted joke. He describes the incident. It seems like I was close enough with my guess. I tell him I’m sorry he had to see that, hug him, and go about my day normally. I feel nothing.
January 7th, 17 days prior to the incident. A woman is shot and killed in her vehicle, later identified as Renee Good. As usual for me, I avoided the violence of any video or photo. The words usually paint better pictures of violence for me. The Minnesota Star Tribune, a local outlet, runs a headline of a bystander account of the incident on January 12th with more info.
Bystander medical assistance was declined to George Floyd and Renee Good.
“I don’t care”.
Bringing it up in Discord among older personal crowds, I pivot.
Ah. Right. Who could have predicted the events of January 24th.
I felt nothing.
I scroll further back. January 11th. White Houses Border “Czar” Tom Homan states on NBC:
“We gotta stop the hateful rhetoric. Saying this officer is a murderer is dangerous.”
“What a joke”, I think to myself.
I scroll further back.
January 8th. Socials spread news of ICE’s “security” systems, dubbed Webloc.
I am not surprised, having known about police abusing facelock and fingerprinting technology in the past. I password my phone and have as much location info off as possible. I felt nothing.
I scroll further back.
January 8th, a human is spotted on TV .
Humanity.
I should feel something.
I scroll further back. January 7th, the day of the shooting, a separate news outlet reports on the incident. The anchor focuses on something else. A lizard is spotted on TV.
“Lesbian. Disrupter. No evidence of legal degree.”
Unhuman. You should feel nothing.
Renee Good was a 37 year old innocent human being.
This morning, January 25th, my spouse changes his stance. “I think everyone should watch. I think everyone needs to see what happened yesterday. Watch it when you’re ready.”
I scroll back to yesterday. The day I was warned to stay off socials.
Memes are shared.
Today, Yahoo News publishes the following article:
Alex Pretti was a 37 year old innocent human being.
While MoistCr1TiKaL is often cited for being a “react andy“, there’s something important about what he does. He hits the algorithm of a broader audience, spanning multiple generations. Some of who may not be exposed to this content regularly, or properly. Cementing his presence firmly among 20-40 year olds, this isn’t the type of video that the younger people may really tap into right away. However, the clickbait video content is bluntly titled: This should make you very angry. We have the accounts, the video, the ranting, horrific details of what occurred that day. Maybe this is the best way to digest the terrible state of reality. Maybe you can relate to this guy. Maybe you find him funny. I don’t know, I don’t really care. You should be watching from the perspective of humanity. Of truth. Grounded in reality. So find an honest outlet and learn more, whoever you choose to learn from.
I look further back again. Back to January 7th.
“The bottom line is this: when a federal officer gives you instructions, you abide by them and then you get to keep your life”
I’m not entirely sure that’s a guarantee, Wesley.
I feel… hesitant. The most I can do is the same as those with platforms are doing; raising awareness. Spreading truths. First hand accounts. So I’m sharing this with you, so that you are aware of the violence in the streets. That anyone can be a victim. Clips are brought to you by Aaron Rupar. Please support him if you can. You should be following.
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