First Kirk, then Good. America, come to your senses, stop this insanity: Celebrating violence is deeply wrong
America, please stop. Come to your senses.
The political debate in this nation has turned into a battle. It was waged with words, then insults and threats. Lately, deadly violence has bloodied our nation’s consciousness and soul.
America, please stop.
The deaths of Renee Nicole Good on Jan. 7, and the assassination of conservative firebrand Charlie Kirk on Sept. 10, and the wildly varying interpretations and reactions to their violent demises illustrate how broken we are as a country.
Good, 37, was a mother of three, a writer and poet who was on a snowy street in Minneapolis to protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents who are rounding up people for allegedly violating the law by being in the United States.
Kirk, 31, was famous for his political activism, his connections to powerful people, including President Trump, and his fiery speeches and media presence.
The deaths of both Good and Kirk were tragedies. Period. There is no other acceptable reaction to the loss of these two young people.
Good was killed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer Jonathan Ross, who fired three shots into the maroon Honda Pilot she was driving. Ross said he feared for his safety as she pulled ahead to escape ICE agents trying to pull her from the vehicle.
Video of the shooting clearly shows she was turning away from him and trying to drive away. The final two shots were fired through the driver’s side of the SUV with Ross standing alongside it.
We can’t even agree on those details, even with several video accounts of it and numerous eyewitnesses.
Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, both Republicans, said Good had weaponized her vehicle to kill or harm ICE agents. Noem called it an “act of domestic terrorism.”
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, both Democrats, blamed ICE. They said it was murder, and Ross should be prosecuted.
The FBI has taken over the investigation, and with Trump holding firm control of federal law enforcement, we doubt there will be federal charges. Local prosecutors are investigating and considering charging Ross.
We understand the ICE agents are under extreme pressure as people who disagree with Trump’s stepped-up immigration enforcement are taunting them, blowing whistles and calling them foul names. Some are blocking their paths, both on foot and in vehicles, and it appears Good might have been doing so as well.
That can be cause for a citation, even an arrest. Three bullets in the head? No, that was a huge step too far.
Ross has been through a lot. He served in Iraq with the Indiana National Guard, and became a US Border Patrol agent in 2007.
On June 17, an undocumented immigrant he was trying to stop drove away, pulling Ross by his right arm and making him fear for his life. The suspect, Roberto Carlos Muñoz-Guatemala, had been charged with sexually abusing a teenage relative in 2022. He was convicted in December of assault on a federal officer with a dangerous or deadly weapon and resulting in bodily injury.
“That very ICE officer nearly had his life ended, dragged by a car, six months ago,” Vice President JD Vance told reporters. “You think maybe he’s a little bit sensitive about someone ramming him with an automobile?”
We are not hearing a lot about that aspect of this horrific incident. The temperature is so hot, and the voices on both sides so loud, there seems to be little interest in all sides of the story.
Kirk’s murder took place before a crowd of people at Utah Valley University. He was there to speak and engage in debate with young people, a popular part of his public persona. Kirk was quick on his feet, glib and not averse to using controversial words and topics to inflame an audience.
That was why he had became famous. It was his path to political prominence and growing influence. He had many critics who despised his beliefs and statements, but he seemed to welcome the challenge.
Tyler James Robinson, raised in a family of conservative Republicans, had adopted more liberal political and social views. Robinson grew to despise Kirk, and made the irrational decision to shoot him.
Despite safety precautions put in place on the college campus, he was able to take aim from the roof of a building near where Kirk was speaking and fire one shot, striking him in the neck. Kirk was pronounced dead a short time later.
Robinson confessed to killing Kirk on Discord, an appropriately named social media platform, on Sept. 11. He surrendered to authorities and is awaiting trial, with a possibility of the death penalty if convicted.
The reactions to these shooting deaths have been dramatically different. Far too many liberals celebrated Kirk’s murder, and far too many conservatives have blamed Good for her death, attacking her as if she was a political candidate.
The cowardly freedom offered by the privacy of unsocial media has allowed people to express despicable things about both Kirk and Good. These tragedies have become political weapons to be used to taunt the opposing side, to stir up anger and fuel further emotion.
Trump, who has dominated American politics for a decade, has provoked and sparked anger and resentment during his years in power. He has the ability to lower the heat, if he would just choose to do so.
America, please stop.
We always will differ on politics. We always will have loud, lively debates. But we have gone too far and must turn back.
We are all frail humans, easily injured and all too often deeply harmed. We must cease celebrating pain and violence, anger and hatred.
America, please stop.
Fourth-generation South Dakotan Tom Lawrence has written for several newspapers and websites in South Dakota and other states for four decades. He has contributed to The New York Times, NPR, The London Telegraph, The Daily Beast and other media outlets. Do not republish without permission.
Photo: public domain, wikimedia commons
The South Dakota Standard is offered freely and is supported by our readers. We have no political or commercial sponsorship. If you'd like to help us continue our mission to advance independent political and social commentary, you can do so by clicking on the "Donate" button that's on the sidebar to your right.
Follow us and comment on X and Bluesky
