Virtue Signaling Turned Deadly

Reactive Abuse

God knows, Renee Good, mother of three from Minnesota, did not intend to become a martyr after dropping her 6-year-old off at school on January 7, 2026.

But she and her partner apparently were part of a local group committed to obstructing ICE agents in their community. The couple had been using their vehicle to block the armed agent vehicles that morning; apparently this was the third location. Her partner was using her cell-phone to record the interactions. Perhaps they thought that if they recorded everything they would be doing something for the cause of democracy. Perhaps they thought this was just a small step up from posting virtue-signaling signs in their yard. It isn’t.

• Any time you give a group of young men weapons and tell them they are the good guys who have to go get the bad guys, you are going to have shootings. The militia will defend themselves, and people will get hurt or killed.¹

Let me be clear, Renee should not have been shot. She was impeding law enforcement, whether you believe that enforcement is valid or not. But she was only attempting to leave the scene at the time of the shooting. The ICE Agent could have shot her tires if his trigger finger was so itchy and he felt she deserved to be arrested immediately. Or as her partner, Rebecca, said to the officers when Renee refused to get out of the car in a brief exchange prior to the shooting, they could come arrest them later; they had their license plate number. Or Renee could have complied with the ICE demand that she get out of the car and let the agent arrest her. Instead, she reflexively followed the instructions of her partner who said, “Drive, Baby, drive!”²

On the other hand, I have a hard time condemning the ICE Agent for his over-reaction. He and his team were being systematically harassed in the performance of their duties by a self-righteous group who feel entitled to act as they chose in order to control the actions of the ICE Agents.

• Feelings of entitlement and lack of accountability are hallmarks of narcissism.

I also understand the Agent who shot Renee was dragged by a vehicle trying to speed away last year which resulted in a serious wound to his leg. He is only human. Yes, there needs to be an investigation, a report, and some punishment, whether it’s a demotion, reassignment, training, dismissal or some jail time for man-slaughter. This was a “fog of war” situation for him, not a murder. It all happened in a matter of a few seconds.

• What the ICE Agent does not deserve is having his name and address, along with a photo of his home, being shared in social media, an action that further inflames emotions and invites more violence.

This was tragic and predictable. It is an example of what happens when you are being gaslighted and psychologically manipulated. It’s escalation and reactive abuse.

REACTIVE ABUSE
When a narcissist keeps acting inappropriately (the Goods), eventually their target (ICE Agents) is likely to be baited into a response. It doesn’t matter how the context is set up. In this case, Renee’s partner was more overtly aggressive with the camera and verbal baiting, but Renee was baiting the ICE Agents in a passive-aggressive manner with her car. The Goods were being abusive. The Goods’ intention was to control and aggravate the men with the guns, and they tag-teamed them.

• Reactive Abuse is escalation. The shooting was reactive abuse.

The mainstream media and Democratic politicians keep telling us we need to “stand up” to these bullies. I’m an activist, too, and I stand up plenty. But the praise for various rallies isn’t doing anything but adding fuel to a fire– inflaming the sense of self-righteous entitlement in ordinary people with little to no skill in handling the situations in which they may find themselves. Consider the barricades during the French Revolution; many ordinary people were slaughtered battling government forces. Nothing changes in human nature and social psychology. People like the Goods (ironic name), may feel they are being good by fighting for their cause for an hour or so in the morning after dropping off their kids at school. It’s an illusion.

Escalation in a narcissistic environment is not empowering. The episodes of abuse/baiting and reactive abuse are traumas that can result in learned helplessness, social withdrawal, and a loss of confidence in one’s judgment and credibility, i.e. Complex PTSD. Reactive abuse also increases power in players who understand the rules, who in this case are the mainstream media and political players in Washington.

• Each of us need to understand the context and the motivations of the players, especially when we engage in a narcissistic environment that thrives on drama.

Martyrs to the cause like Renee Good do not make their children, or anyone’s children, safer. Instead, they increase the risk for all of us.

God bless her and her family. She didn’t deserve to be shot in the street. But the guilty parties are those who fan these flames for their own agenda, be it the Democratic Party, Mainstream Media, Late Night Comics/Influencers, or the White House.

Dance with the Devil: Love in the Age of Covid by Maggie Russo, Atmosphere Press. Feb. 27, 2022.

1. I’m old enough to remember Kent State: On May 4, 1970, members of the Ohio National Guard opened fire on a crowd of unarmed college students at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, killing four and wounding nine others during a protest against the U.S. invasion of Cambodia and the Vietnam War. The shooting occurred after a peaceful rally on the campus commons was dispersed, and over a 13-second period, 28 National Guard soldiers fired approximately 67 rounds. The victims included Allison Krause, Jeffrey Miller, Sandra Scheuer, and William Schroeder, with the latter two being in the vicinity of the protest but not directly involved in the demonstration.

2. I learned a long time ago that if I did not want to be chased, I should not run. I remember that whenever I’m dealing with a barking dog or an angry man.