This letter represents the view of Old Gold & Black Deputy Editor Miriam Fabrycky, not the Old Gold & Black.
Like millions of Americans, I saw footage of border agents killing Alex Jeffrey Pretti just hours after his death on Jan. 24. When experts published frame-by-frame analysis of the numerous, widely-circulated videos of Pretti’s last moments, their findings only confirmed what many of us had already concluded for ourselves when we saw masked federal officers firing their weapons into a citizen’s motionless body as he lay on a frozen Minneapolis street.
Pretti’s killing was – horrifyingly – normal. He wasn’t the first person killed by ICE. He certainly wasn’t the first person killed by law enforcement. And as usual, the Trump administration, supported by conservative media, moved immediately to smear Pretti’s reputation, describing him as a “domestic terrorist” and “would-be assassin.”
There was something unusual, however, in the sustained public outrage that followed Pretti’s death. The American people, including some typical MAGA allies, successfully resisted the lie that Pretti deserved to die. Their overwhelming backlash forced the administration to soften its rhetoric and prompted Senate Democrats to deny funding to the Department of Homeland Security.
How?
For one, it makes sense that Pretti’s particular death would be one to catalyze massive repercussions. As New York Times correspondent Kurt Street noted, Pretti seems to have been an “ideal victim”: a white citizen, a V.A. nurse, a legal gun owner and a deeply compassionate man who, in his final breaths, helped another protestor to her feet.
But there’s an additional reason Pretti’s death shocked so many: it was impossible to deny the truth. Trump backed down because Americans insisted, unrelentingly, that we understood what we saw clearly in bystander videos.
Even if he doesn’t attempt an unconstitutional third term, there are nearly three years remaining in Trump’s second administration. In the wake of his persistent assaults against basic civility, the path to a more perfect union is perhaps more arduous than ever. But the astounding fortitude and integrity of civilians in Minneapolis and across the country flood me with hope that that path is still possible.
Please, stay awake to the state of our nation. The word “woke” may have been appropriated into a partisan pejorative, but its guiding principle remains relevant: attention holds real power. Document wrongdoing and talk about it with your neighbors. Read good reporting – and create your own, if you feel so inclined. Don’t look away. Cling to the truth, because it still has the power to set us free.
