We Are ALL Renee Good
Using Our Superpowers To Resist Tyranny
What is it that allows someone like Kristi Noem to blame a victim of an ICE agent’s crime, Renee Good, for her own death? In the most dismissive and unemotional fashion possible, Noem simply declares Renee Nicole Good to be a… “domestic terrorist.” The implication being, she had it coming.
She saw the same video we all did… yet, instead of empathy or compassion, her response was jaded and judicial… not human. It was a public display of a person who is so disconnected from humanity, including her own, that she tried to turn this situation around to blame Renee Good for her own death.
Noem’s response reveals her weakness…not her strength.
Kristi Noem, like most of the Trump administration, is a malignant narcissist who uses the “DARVO” method to deny, attack, and reverse the roles of victim and oppressor. I wrote about this in my prior column on White Supremacy and the Narcissistic Administration. (If you haven’t read that post, I suggest you do, so that you can understand the context of this column)
However, there is something even more fundamental and, dare I say, inhuman, that this situation reminds me of; Kristi Noem, Donald Trump, J.D. Vance, Stephen Miller, and Pete Hegseth all have one thing in common that enables their narcissistic behavior. They are all uniquely separated from the humanity of other people. They are the disconnected ones, with no empathy or compassion for others.
This isn’t just an unfortunate psychological phenomenon; it is a huge problem for all of us. Understanding that our basic human connectedness is foundational to a functioning civilization, we are at the precipice of disaster when those in government fail to recognize it. When a ruling elite has no sense of its connection to people, especially those who aren’t like them, it can only lead to oppression, marginalization, and even violence.
We are seeing it play out now.
Those of us who are shocked and outraged by the shooting of Renee Good are those who likely have a connection to other human beings that creates distress when something like this happens. In fact, it is one of our superpowers. It is why so many people were impacted by the death of George Floyd. Our connectedness to other human beings at a primal level allows us to identify with their pain, harm, and, in this case, their death.
My connection to other human beings at a conscious level is what allows me to say, “I am George Floyd,” “I am Breonna Taylor,” or “I am Renee Good.”
We Are All Renee Nicole Good
The ghastly murder of Renee Good, a mother and loving wife, represents all of us. We are connected to her. That is why the reaction has been visceral and emotional. It could have been any of us. We are Renee Good!
The Trump administration immediately called her a “domestic terrorist” as a justification for her killing. They claimed she had weaponized her vehicle and tried to run down Jonathan Ross, the ICE officer who shot her.
If you read my last post, this is a classic DARVO maneuver: blaming the victim and shifting responsibility onto the victim. Understanding how Trump and his minions use DARVO is our second superpower.
The gaslighter-chief of the Dept of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, declared that failure to obey the ICE agents’ demand to get out of the car labels her as a domestic terrorist. And despite the film footage which the whole nation has now seen, Noem continued to argue that Good was a terrorist trying to run over the ICE officer, as she was turning the wheels of her car away from him.
We have all seen it with our own eyes… we know the truth. We cannot be manipulated. This is important… I’ll say it again… we cannot be manipulated.
If Noem can simply declare that Renee Good is a domestic terrorist for disobeying orders and trying to flee from a scene and therefore is deserving of death, any of us could find ourselves in a similar situation.
We are all Nicole Good. We are connected to her story and her humanity.
The Practical Impact of Disconnectedness
DHS is harboring the killer and protecting him now. This puts every citizen in danger. From the perspective of ICE, they now know they can kill citizens, and DHS and the Trump administration will have their back. It is open season.
What is even more horrifying is that the Trump administration has broadened the definition of a “domestic terrorist.” You and I can now be declared domestic terrorists for having certain political beliefs.
On December 4, 2025, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi issued one of the most consequential internal directives in recent years — an aggressive operational blueprint directing federal law enforcement agencies to implement National Security Presidential Memorandum-7 (NSPM-7). The AG’s memorandum reshapes how domestic terrorism will be defined, investigated, charged, and resourced across the federal government.
The key message is unmistakable: federal law enforcement will target individuals, organizations, and funders whom the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) contends are “domestic terrorists,” under a definition that links political violence to “anti-fascist” ideologies.
TIME OUT. Our government is now saying that if you are against fascism and promote ideologies that oppose fascism, you are a domestic terrorist? I think the Trump Administration just admitted that it is a fascist government. No need for me to repeat their confession.
You see, it isn’t just Renee Good who can be labeled a domestic terrorist for trying to get away from a tense situation at the whim of an unqualified DHS director. With the Trump NSPM-7, anyone can be labeled a domestic terrorist for opposing fascism.
Here is how it might work using language directly from NSPM-7: You (and I) might be labeled a domestic terrorist if…
…we belong to a “charity, advocacy group, or political organization who the government perceives as espousing ‘anti-Americanism.’ (Anti-Americanism is anything that doesn’t support MAGA)
…we point out publicly the inherent inequality and unfairness of an unregulated capitalist system. (In other words, for trying to end inequality and unfair advantage economically, they label you as a socialist and a terrorist.)
…we espouse views that the administration interprets as “anti-Christian.” (Their view of what a Christian is prevails, and it is all about Christian Nationalism)
…we hold “extremist views on migration, race, and gender” (meaning you better not be in favor of sanctuary cities, teach the true history of our racist past, and be in favor of treating transgender people kindly).
…we are “hostile towards those who hold traditional American views on family, religion, and morality” (I’m still waiting for the definitions here…what is “hostile?” What views on the family, religion, and morality will get me labeled a domestic terrorist?)
We are all Renee Nicole Good.
If you hold views counter to this administration and speak out about them, go to a protest and make your incendiary ideas known, then you can be labeled a domestic terrorist. If you write a public column (such as this one) that resists and opposes the actions and positions of the Trump Administration, you can be labeled a domestic terrorist.
Worse, if you belong to an organization that holds these seditious counter ideas from that of the MAGA-world, you can be labeled as “Antifa” and declared a domestic terrorist.
Let me say this part again…if you espouse ideologies that oppose fascism…you might be labeled a domestic terrorist. Targeting individuals and groups with “extreme viewpoints on immigration, radical gender ideology, and anti-American sentiment” can all get you labeled as a domestic terrorist and put you at risk.
So, in light of this reality, what are we to do? Let me suggest… let’s use our superpowers to resist.
Using Our Superpowers In Resistance
When you realize the nature of the people in charge right now and the depth of their incessant narcissism and lack of connection to other human beings, it can seem hopeless to try to confront or resist such a lack of humanity.
However, I have come to the conclusion that there are two superpowers we have that will allow us to resist, confront, and avoid despair or hopelessness. What are these superpowers? Our connections as humans and our understanding of the DARVO techniques they use.
First, those of us who are appalled by this government’s actions can resist through the power of our connection to each other. That is solidarity…it is what allowed Poland to resist and overcome the Communist regime in 1980 and eventually overturned that harsh system. It is what allowed people of color to resist and overcome an unjust system during the Civil Rights movement.
In fact, Dr. King said it best:
“In a real sense all life is inter-related. All men are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be, and you can never be what you ought to be until I am what I ought to be...
This is the inter-related structure of reality.”
―Martin Luther King Jr.,Letter from Birmingham Jail
It isn’t hyperbole or sappy sentimentalism to suggest that the power of human connectedness is a superpower. It is the one thing that has allowed human beings to overcome suffering, oppression, and hardship throughout history. It may be the only thing that can save us now.
But this connectedness requires much from us. We have to show up, be there for each other, help one another in a myriad of practical ways, and never give in to the propaganda spewing out of this administration’s misinformation machine. It takes courage, strength, fortitude, and… a deep sense of connection to each other.
It is what allows us to say… “I am Renee Good.”
The second superpower we possess is an understanding of the DARVO tactic that this administration is particularly adept at using. It is the basic narcissist’s tool to wear down their victims, blame them for trying to hold them accountable, and escape any responsibility for the harm they have caused to people.
Our superpower is unmasking that technique. Speaking truth always, and letting MAGA know that we cannot be manipulated by their psychological exploitation, is how we fight back. Narcissists will become enraged by people whom they cannot control, but that anger only exposes their weakness, not their strength.
Finally, how do we use these superpowers in an operational and practical way? It is called non-violent, direct action. Groups of people, as we see in Minneapolis right now, demonstrate peacefully, but engage in direct action to confront the oppressors.
Do not underestimate the power of non-violent, direct action. By actively and peacefully confronting unjust laws and governmental action, the people are demonstrating their non-cooperation.
Political scientist, Erica Chenoweth, rightly observed that…
The “3.5% rule” holds that no revolution has failed once 3.5% of the population has actively participated in an observable peak event, such as a battle, a mass demonstration, or another form of mass noncooperation.
That is how we use this superpower.
We use these superpowers by organizing food for families who are afraid to go to the market. We use our superpower to help families who are afraid to take their children to school or pick them up. Every action we take on behalf of others is a resounding “in-your-face” statement to this regime that we see what you are doing, we understand your techniques, and we cannot be manipulated by you. It tells them… you cannot overcome our connections as human beings. We will stand together.
Our superpower is to stand up to this oppression and say, loud and clear…
Very good article, Dan.
Very good article-Noem needs to be impeached--someday maybe. It is like when in doubt blame the victim.