Murder in Minneapolis

This piece is part of Yellow Scene Magazine’s Opinion section. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent a reported news position. At Yellow Scene, opinion pieces speak freely, challenge assumptions, and say the quiet parts out loud.

Nelson’s Corner

A vicious, radical leftist was shot dead by a heroic ICE agent in Minneapolis this week after she attempted to murder the agent and his fellow officers by running them over with her compact SUV.

Or . . .

An innocent 37 year-old mother of three was murdered by an incompetent, cosplaying ICE agent who resented her failure to instantly comply with illegal orders and attempts to illegally extricate her from her car, without cause or warrant.

So, shall we believe the President of the United States, the Secretary of Homeland Security, many “dignified” members of Congress . . .?

Or . . .

Our own lying eyes?

We know that Trump and his band of merry sociopaths lie like a posse of pre-schoolers caught with fingers in the M&M bowl. But this incident is unusual in that the world has seen videos from multiple angles showing that the ICE version and the shameful characterizations made by Trump et al are, to quote Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, “BULLSHIT!”

The murder victim, Renee Nicole Good, was born and raised in Colorado, graduated Virginia’s Old Dominion University, was a fine poet, and has been uniformly described as kind, generous, and sensitive.

Kristi Noem, decked out in high fashion, cowboy hat and Botox-saturated epidermis, called Good a “domestic terrorist.” I suspect that no human on Earth has called Kristi Noem kind, generous or sensitive. A woman who brags of shooting her own dog is not likely to be a good judge of character.

If you have been spared the video experience, here is an executive summary:

Good’s car was parked in the middle of a snowless, one way street, perpendicular to the flow of traffic. Conjecture supposes she was protesting ICE activities, but there was ample room for traffic, including ICE agents to proceed. ICE agents and onlookers were milling around. An official vehicle arrived, ICE agents got out and briskly approached Good’s car. The first to reach the car aggressively tried to open the driver’s door, yelling obscenities while ordering her to get out.

In a few short seconds, the shooter had gone around the car and stood at the left, front bumper. Good backed up briefly to position the car to drive away. As she turned and tried to flee, she was shot through the windshield, followed by two shots from the side, just for good measure.

Given the real possibilities in this context, one can imagine what Renee Nicole Good might have felt with a small gang of unidentified men with guns drawn surrounding her car and violently yanking the door handle. Countless women, children and men have been abducted and “disappeared.” She was likely aware that being a citizen was thin protection. She had a hell of a lot more to fear than the brute who killed her.

There was no evidence that the shooter was even grazed by the fender as she passed, and he was observed, after her car crashed into a parked vehicle, strutting to the scene and strutting back without having offered any assistance to the dead or dying woman. The video showed the car’s interior, air bag deployed and blood splattered profusely.

Every BULLSHIT rationale offered by the government officials is refuted by video and multiple eyewitness accounts. The somewhat legitimate media, New York Times et al, tiptoed gingerly and refrained from calling it “murder.”

Writing for legitimate media, I’ll offer no such restraint. Renee Nicole Good was murdered in cold blood at the twitchy hand of a unqualified goon who appeared to be looking for any slight provocation that would allow him to fire his surrogate member. Renee Nicole Good had about as much of a chance as Kristi Noem’s dog. And to ICE, and the amoral thugs who enable their wanton violence, Good’s life had about as much value as Kristi Noem’s dog.

Public outrage has flared because the victim is sympathetic, but that detracts from the grim truth about ICE, immigration policy, and the lawlessness of the actions in Minneapolis and elsewhere. This incident would be equally horrifying if the victim had been an undocumented, brown-skinned immigrant.

Like the decaying rot that emanates from a fish head, this culture comes directly from the salmon-colored head of state. From early campaign rallies to daily social media screeds, Trump has encouraged violence against any person who dares challenge his – well, his anything. He too is a thug, just in fancy suits and too cowardly to act on his own orders. I was in Southeast Asia while he pulled his golf socks over his bone spurs, so I have special qualifications to call him a chickenshit. I have seldom typed a sentence this absurd, but I would respect him more if he had the balls to execute his own vile impulses.

There has always been a police inclination to expect immediate compliance with their every directive. It is often necessary, including for their safety. But many, if not most, police officers are trained to modulate this inclination and follow the rules of engagement that are crafted to protect all involved. A well-trained police officer would seldom do what we all saw in Minneapolis. (I recognize the deep irony of that assertion in light of the fact that Derek Chauvin snuffed out the life of George Floyd, only 8 blocks from Good’s murder.)

We have become a third-world nation, streets patrolled by unqualified men with anger issues; locked, loaded and trigger happy.

At least 16 people have been shot by ICE agents, four dead. Another 32 died in ICE custody in 2025. I challenge any reader to name a single one.

A murdered white woman draws disproportionate attention. That doesn’t minimize the tragedy of her death, but it shouldn’t overshadow the deaths of the others.

Perhaps her murder will bring some belated justice for the others.

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