Who was Renee Good, the woman murdered by ICE this last week? She was a mother, a wife, a poet, a creative. She was queer. She was a U.S. Citizen, jus soli (translation: having rights to the soil).She was present during an ICE operation on January 7. And, from a certain standpoint, her very existence as a queer person in America today doesnt just make her an activist; it makes her a voice for the voiceless. On that same day she was killed, the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security deemed her a domestic terrorist. Related People all over the world send $1.5 million to help Renee Goods family after ICE shot her There is something deeply unsettling with the many angles of video looped on national and social media clearly showing ICE agents were not in any clear and present danger from Good. The videos show her in the car, non-aggressively signaling for other cars to go around, audibly telling ICE officials to go around and that she wasnt mad at them.How did it end? With at least two shots. A fatal shot (reportedly to the head) took the life of a 37-year-old mother of three with no as-of-yet reported criminal history a citizen, on the soil to which she had rights. She has become the fifth known person to die at the hands of reckless ICE agents since the Trump administrations immigration crackdowns intensified.My reasons for writing this are twofold: First, to acknowledge the senseless violence this administration and its agents pose. This is the violence of a state that sees a citizen on her own soil and labels her a terrorist.Second, to ask one question of the American people: When will it be enough?Its only been eight days into 2026. We no longer stand in individualism. We can no longer hide behind the busy-ness of finishing the holidays. We are confronted with the dry, choking lump of reality.This is our national addiction: We are conditioned to play the love game when the latest album is released, posting on social media with the fervor of a Lady Gaga lyric: Lets have some fun, this beat is sick. In reality, these moments of levity and escapism are a luxury that come at a high expense, and eventually a cost: OUR FREEDOM. When authoritarianism shows itself on the streets, that kind of escape can become surrender. We can no longer whisper when it comes to our rights. Instead, we must use our real, loud voices to emerge from the background. Dive deeper every day Join our newsletter for thought-provoking commentary that goes beyond the surface of LGBTQ+ issues Subscribe to our Newsletter today We must treat the future of American democracy with the same fervor as we do when those legendary artists drop a new EP, album, or tour!With all that said, America, I leave you with this: When will we allow consumerism, capitalism, and convenience to no longer obscure the clear and present rapid approach of authoritarianism, presenting itself on the very soil we have rights to?Renee Good had rights to this soil. If hers could be voided, so could yours.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.