"Not a Smart Thing To Do"

Washington Post editorial cartoon saying Pretti wasn't "smart" misses point

There’s a sickening, inevitable meme circulating on the Internet’s hate channels about the murders of Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good. I can’t bear to post it but think it’s important that we understand how repugnant ICE supporters are.

“Q. How do you think ICE is doing in Minnesota?” the meme asks. Below are photos of Pretti and Good with their names written underneath, suggesting the answer is “pretty good.”

Pretti and Good committed no crime, sought to help and protect the most vulnerable in our society, and died for exercising their Constitutionally-protected right to freedom of assembly.

San Francisco beach protest on Jan. 10, 2026 in response to the killing of Renee Good. Photo by Inti Fernandez, courtesy of Brad Newsham.

The Washington Post published an editorial cartoon yesterday (Jan. 26, click link to see it) showing a caricature of Pretti holding a cell phone saying “This is NOT a weapon.”

There’s an arrow pointing to his other hand, an upraised open palm, saying “NOT a threat.” The cartoon has another arrow pointing to Pretti saying, “This is NOT a domestic terrorist.”

One might think the cartoon, created by Michael Ramirez of the Las Vegas Review-Journal for WaPo, supports Pretti, and perhaps he intended to do so.

But then there’s another arrow saying “This may NOT be a smart thing to do, but it should not be dangerous.”

Not a smart thing to do, Ramirez says. If Pretti were still alive, I think he’d disagree. Standing up for freedom and democracy is a smart thing to. It may be dangerous in these times, but it’s smart — and necessary.

Also notable is that the cartoon portrays Pretti with a long bulbous nose, unkempt beard, a swarthy complexion and olive-green sunglasses. This evokes Jewish and Muslim stereotypes, playing right into the fears and antipathy of white supremacists.

A far better cartoon appeared yesterday in the British newspaper, The Guardian, of Lady Liberty flat-lining, her torch falling from her right arm.

In this powerful image, ICU nurse Alex Pretti, an angelic halo around him, rushes to help but is thwarted by a masked ICE agent, gun drawn.

This incisive statement by The Guardian’s Ella Baron understands the tragedy of the Minneapolis killings. Unlike most major U.S. newspapers, The Guardian remains independent. I subscribe and encourage you to do so too, if you can.

Evil and malicious

After the Pretti murder, a friend wrote on Facebook: “What bothers me most about the latest ICE killing is that it wasn't a result of evil, malicious individual ICE agents trying to take over. It was the result of a lack of training and massive incompetence by ICE.”

I vehemently disagree. Lack of training probably played a part, but shooting 10 bullets — into a man with one hand on a cell phone, the other hand open and visible — is evil and malicious.

The U.S. is intentionally recruiting angry, aggressive, trigger-happy racists — at gun shows and NASCAR races — who look for reasons to shoot.

The administration is not averse to them committing heinous acts so that people rise up. Then they’ll have their insurrection and their excuse to crack down. It’s straight out of the Project 2025 playbook.

Worth the risk?

We all have to do what we can. For me, though I can hardly sleep at night, it means writing this Substack, even as family members and friends worry about potential retribution. It also means showing up for protests such as the No Kings rallies.

I have friends who can’t bear to watch or read the news. Lukas Nelson has a song titled “Turn Off the News” which gets a rousing reception when he plays it live.

I understand that response, but I feel that as a journalist and citizen, it’s my responsibility to bear witness.

Faith in our country’s ideals

Is writing this column worth potentially subjecting myself to government persecution down the road? Who knows.

Ultimately, I have faith in the resilience of this country. The beginning of the end of McCarthyism came when U.S. Army chief counsel Joseph Welch asked U.S. Sen. Joe McCarthy, “Have you no sense of decency, sir?”

The horror of the Ohio National Guard shooting and killing of four anti-war protestors at Kent State in 1970 helped end the Vietnam War.

I hope we’re at a similar moment, that the tide-turning of this administration’s assault on demonstrators, and on immigrants (or anyone who looks like one) is not the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, but the courage they showed in Minneapolis.

Standing up for democracy and decency, and for their community, cost Pretti and Good their lives. But don’t tell us they weren’t smart. They were brilliant.