Please watch the video "On Renee Nicole Good" by Robert Arnold before reading the post
Robert Arnold’s video, “On Renee Nicole Good,” made me think: What would the government and its propaganda machine say about Jeff or me if an ICE agent shot and killed us at one of the protests or prayer vigils we attend? Would our ordinary lives, our humanity, be erased by accusations?
Will they say we were “domestic terrorists,” erasing our work as teachers and pastors?
Will they say we were “radical leftist scum,” forgetting to mention we retired early and were living in northern Indiana to help my parents and not even considering that Jeff holds some what used to be called conservative positions?
Will they say we were “illegally impeding federal officers,” ignoring the fact that we understood our first amendment right to protest and our commitment to non-violence?
Will they say we were “paid protesters,” erasing the hours we spent volunteering at schools, churches, and missions?
Will they say we were “dangerous criminals,” ignoring the fact that we have never been accused of or arrested for a crime--and one of us has never even gotten a speeding ticket?
Will they say we “supported open borders” and wanted “violent gang members to overrun our country,” not mentioning that we once worked for the evangelical organizations World Relief and World Vision helping people who worked for the U.S. government in Vietnam (and who were abandoned when we abruptly pulled out of the country) to immigrate the right way?
Will they say were “violent rioters,” omitting the fact that we’ve never owned firearms and that nothing that could be called a weapon would be found in our home beyond some dull kitchen knives and a few lamps?
Will they slander our parents, siblings, and children or simply erase them from the narrative?
I’m confident they would label us whatever best serves their interests and agenda of the moment, and people around the country will believe them. Our lives will be “flattened” into labels just as the government has attempted to flattened Renee Nicole Good’s life. People believe the accusations and don’t stop to think about how accurate they might be. They won’t watch the videos, won’t listen to the eyewitnesses, won’t care how the people who knew Renee describe her. They will simply repeat what they’ve been told.
The thought that people who don’t know Jeff and me would believe false accusations and swallow lies from the government and their propaganda machines about us wouldn’t surprise me or bother me much.
What I wonder is: Will our family, friends, former neighbors, classmates, past co-workers, and people we’ve served and worshiped with at churches over the years believe the accusations and swallow the lies?
Will they really believe that either of us would drive a vehicle toward a person with the intention of hurting them?
Will they say we had it coming to us with our radical ideas about joining Jesus’ mission to “bring good news to the poor, proclaim release to the captives…and to set free those who are oppressed” [Luke 4:18-19] and obeying his commandment to love our neighbors [Matthew 22:39-40]?
Will they dismiss everything they know about us and choose instead to believe what the government tells them to believe? Those thoughts, I confess, hurt.
But maybe, a small part of my heart whispers, maybe they won’t all believe it.
Maybe some people who know us will pause for a second or two to think about who we were and who we served.
Maybe, as so often seems to happen these days when a policy or event affects people personally, they will stop to wonder about the accuracy of the words they’ve chosen to label us.
Maybe a few will consider, even for a moment, that the government is lying about us. And maybe, if they entertain that thought long enough, they might wonder if the government is lying about other people too.
Lying about people like Renee Nicole Good. A mother, a poet, a neighbor.
Will they say we were “domestic terrorists,” erasing our work as teachers and pastors?
Will they say we were “radical leftist scum,” forgetting to mention we retired early and were living in northern Indiana to help my parents and not even considering that Jeff holds some what used to be called conservative positions?
Will they say we were “illegally impeding federal officers,” ignoring the fact that we understood our first amendment right to protest and our commitment to non-violence?
Will they say we were “paid protesters,” erasing the hours we spent volunteering at schools, churches, and missions?
Will they say we were “dangerous criminals,” ignoring the fact that we have never been accused of or arrested for a crime--and one of us has never even gotten a speeding ticket?
Will they say we “supported open borders” and wanted “violent gang members to overrun our country,” not mentioning that we once worked for the evangelical organizations World Relief and World Vision helping people who worked for the U.S. government in Vietnam (and who were abandoned when we abruptly pulled out of the country) to immigrate the right way?
Will they say were “violent rioters,” omitting the fact that we’ve never owned firearms and that nothing that could be called a weapon would be found in our home beyond some dull kitchen knives and a few lamps?
Will they slander our parents, siblings, and children or simply erase them from the narrative?
I’m confident they would label us whatever best serves their interests and agenda of the moment, and people around the country will believe them. Our lives will be “flattened” into labels just as the government has attempted to flattened Renee Nicole Good’s life. People believe the accusations and don’t stop to think about how accurate they might be. They won’t watch the videos, won’t listen to the eyewitnesses, won’t care how the people who knew Renee describe her. They will simply repeat what they’ve been told.
The thought that people who don’t know Jeff and me would believe false accusations and swallow lies from the government and their propaganda machines about us wouldn’t surprise me or bother me much.
What I wonder is: Will our family, friends, former neighbors, classmates, past co-workers, and people we’ve served and worshiped with at churches over the years believe the accusations and swallow the lies?
Will they really believe that either of us would drive a vehicle toward a person with the intention of hurting them?
Will they say we had it coming to us with our radical ideas about joining Jesus’ mission to “bring good news to the poor, proclaim release to the captives…and to set free those who are oppressed” [Luke 4:18-19] and obeying his commandment to love our neighbors [Matthew 22:39-40]?
Will they dismiss everything they know about us and choose instead to believe what the government tells them to believe? Those thoughts, I confess, hurt.
But maybe, a small part of my heart whispers, maybe they won’t all believe it.
Maybe some people who know us will pause for a second or two to think about who we were and who we served.
Maybe, as so often seems to happen these days when a policy or event affects people personally, they will stop to wonder about the accuracy of the words they’ve chosen to label us.
Maybe a few will consider, even for a moment, that the government is lying about us. And maybe, if they entertain that thought long enough, they might wonder if the government is lying about other people too.
Lying about people like Renee Nicole Good. A mother, a poet, a neighbor.
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