This first month of 2026 has been unbelievably tense. In Minnesota, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers have clashed with protesters on multiple occasions, resulting in the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. It took no time at all for their names to become symbols of either brave resistance or unwise defiance. The totality of each life was suddenly defined by mere seconds. The same goes for the officers involved in each deadly incident. Simply working for the government in that capacity immediately brands them cold-blooded murderers or dutiful enforcers of the law.
There is nothing good about this toxicity. It rests on surface-level observations and obsessions. And it eats away at us. Ironically, we as observers believe our immediate, passionate defense of either side is principled. But if we’re not careful, it can be little more than flippancy. We yearn to find examples that support our positions, even if those examples are human beings whose lives are either cut short or forever changed as a result of the actions they take.
It’s unhealthy to anchor oneself to current events so much that it deeply affects our real, daily lives. But what we’re seeing now, where individuals are viewed as meaningless depending on where one stands politically, is just as destructive. Human beings are treated as a means to some political end. The 24-hour news cycle doesn’t help.
With so much information coming at us, we become desensitized to horrible situations. One terrible event is quickly overshadowed by the next. As a result, we begin to view the people involved as nothing more than random names. Worse than that is when they become political pawns and even punch lines. Social media both exacerbates and disseminates these attitudes.
On Jan. 24, the day Alex Pretti was killed, a viral post on X became a perfect snapshot of this rot. The user, a stand-up comedian and actor named Gianmarco Soresi, posted, “At least we don’t have to hear Charlie Kirk‘s take on this.” (It has received 3.7 million views and more than 316,000 likes.) If that were not enough, replies compounded the cruelty. “At least Renee Good won’t be at the protest tonight,” wrote one user. To that reply, someone responded, “Pretti good take.”
Kirk was assassinated for stating his opinions. His death wasn’t a win, no matter how one feels about his words. And responding with the names Good and Pretti as some sort of comeback turns them into nothing more than tools of mockery.
Far too often, any disgust at social media is met with, “Well, it isn’t real life.” While it’s not a flesh-and-blood reality, it is real people who put these horrible thoughts out into the open. Cowardly statements sent from a keyboard aren’t the same as saying it to another person’s face. However, what we post on social media is a product of our thoughts and intentions. It’s a reflection of our hearts. So, we should find no comfort in what we see online as just being online.
In all these tragic situations, the truth matters most of all. But this doesn’t mean we should lose hold of our humanity. The political and cultural times in which we find ourselves call for sober reflection, not glee.
Unfortunately, the request for clear-headedness is almost offensive to those who prefer to view protesters or ICE officers in a broad, bad light, no matter what the facts reveal. It comes off as an affront to individuals who prize partisan politics over anything else. How dare human beings be viewed as unique individuals with inherent worth when they can instead be reduced to nothing more than bad actors, depending on which party you voted for? It would be so absurd if it weren’t so sad and revelatory about where we are as a society.
It remains to be seen when or how the cultural temperature will die down. Right now, it’s turned up high, and those in positions of power seem uninterested in turning it down. White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller called Pretti a “domestic terrorist,” and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said he wanted to “inflict maximum damage.” Meanwhile, Democrats are all too eager to make ICE officers nothing more than villains. Larry Krasner, District Attorney of Philadelphia, said of ICE officers, “If we have to hunt you down the way they hunted down Nazis for decades, we will find your identities, and we will find you.” And Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) wondered aloud, “I mean, is this a Fort Sumter?” The reckless language from those who should no better doesn’t help the cause.
TRUMP SNUBS NOEM AT FIRST CABINET MEETING OF 2026
It doesn’t matter which political side of the aisle you’re on. It doesn’t matter if you’re a regular American or an elected or appointed official. Don’t let politics corrode you into becoming what you claim to oppose. You should never celebrate death, whether it’s by violence or by preventable tragedy. Protect your mind. This poison spreads easily, and it only needs your permission once.
