The social media rot following the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti

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