What's the Point of Protesting?

My Wife (right), our friend Kimmie (lower center, photographer) and myself at the protest in Lancaster, Ohio on January 11, 2026

On January 10, 2026, I attended my first ever protest. It was a cold, rainy day, and the event had only been set up a couple of days prior in one of the most conservative parts of Ohio, so I didn't expect to see more than 5 or 10 people there. To my pleasant surprise, there were closer to 50 or 60 people that wound up showing up, waving signs and chanting in front of the courthouse as cars drove by looking at us like we were insane.

Some of the passersby waved and honked while giving us the thumbs up to let us know they agreed, and a small number voiced their opposition by using a different finger while grimacing.

A group of the protestors across the street from us

We were out there on that particular day to protest the use of deadly force by an agent of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) group only a couple of days prior. ICE had been building their presence in states and cities across the country for months, and while this particular shooting wasn't the first, it was the first to be captured on video and blasted all over the internet. The victim's name was Renee Nicole Good, and she had been shot by the ICE agent because he was mad at her and her wife for not doing what he and his fellow agents wanted them to do.

Her car was parked across a lane of traffic in a small neighborhood in Minneapolis, Minnesota as she'd been trying to partially block the road to hinder the ICE agents and protect her neighbors. At the end of the day, what she was doing was really harmless and nothing more than an annoyance to the agents, but as tensions had been escalating over 2025 between citizens and this group of government officials, a boiling point had been reached and the agents chose to exit their vehicles and attempt to harass and likely arrest the women that were impeding them.

Renee Good, realizing what was going on as an agent approached her vehicle and reached inside to unlock the door, attempted to just leave the area. She backed her car up and started to move forward, and that's when all hell broke loose. One of the agents, a man named Jonathan Ross, pulled his weapon from its holster and opened fire on the vehicle. He'd been standing at the driver's side corner as it lurched forward, and rather than getting out of the way as protocol states to do, he chose to use deadly force.

Three shots were fired.

It isn't clear which shot killed Renee Nicole Good, but as her car careened into a pole across the street, the world changed. Her wife lost a partner, her children lost their mother, and her parents lost their daughter. But outside of her family, the echoes of those gunshots would shake the United States to its core.

Up to that moment, the reality of what had been happening in the streets of America could be denied by many who chose to just ignore the reports. It wasn't happening to their neighborhood, and the only people being affected were those who some called "illegal". Sure, there had been a few videos of people being accosted in the streets, and several who'd been beaten, but if it didn't affect the lives of the "average" American, it wasn't that big of a deal, right?

But the shooting of Renee Nicole Good was different because it showed people, in a very visceral way, that it could really happen to anyone.

Sure, maybe she was a protestor that was intentionally blocking the agents and acting like a fly on their pile of shit, but she could just as easily have been someone who was trying to pull out into traffic at the wrong moment.

What if she'd just been visiting someone and happened to pull out as the ICE convoy was pulling up. Seeing a group of armed men, in masks, climbing out of their cars and approaching would have been enough to send most people into a panic. What if that panic caused her to hit the gas pedal, sending her car lurching forward when she didn't mean to and didn't see the agent in front of the vehicle, his gun drawn because he was on edge and ready to shoot first and ask questions later?

That could have easily been the situation, and that's the point.

Renee Nicole Good could have been any of us in an early morning rush, and that fact alone means that we are doing something wrong in this country. Even those who think to themselves, "well, I'd just comply and there'd be nothing to worry about", could easily find themselves being shot when an ICE agent with an itchy trigger finger decides that a movement was too sudden, or that the person wasn't reacting fast enough. There are no rules or norms that can ensure you walk away.

And realizing that, consciously or unconsciously, is what drove so many people to have such a strong reaction to this event. It's what ultimately brought people out to protest and caused such a media storm around the shooting.

And that brings me back to the protest I started this whole thing with.

After an hour and a half of standing in the cold rain, we all shuffled off back to our warm cars and homes, but nothing really changed. ICE was still out in the streets, with no rules and no penalties or semblance of structure, and the supporters of the policies and administration that put ICE out there in the first place still support the same things.

So, what was the point in protesting?

To put it simply, the true point was to show those who might be afraid that there is still hope.

Sometimes, especially on the internet, it can seem like the world is coming to an end with every news cycle. Every headline is doom and gloom, and looking at the comments on any given article or post can be enough to make anyone just want to throw in the towel.

For someone who is confined to a bubble, where they only really see the negativity online or hear the opinions of their close friends or family who support the horrific acts going on in the world, seeing large groups out in public who don't just accept tyranny can be encouraging and give them the hope they need to keep going. Those large numbers can also cause people who support the administration to stop and think for just a moment about whether their support is something they should be holding on to. If so many people oppose what is happening, maybe there is something to that opposition that is worth taking a second look at?

And I'll be as blunt as I can be here, because what is happening in The United States right now is tyranny. The actions of ICE are those of a corrupt and purposefully cruel organization that is meant to bring fear into the hearts and minds of those the administration wants to oppress. They aren't removing criminals that mean this country or her people harm, they are rounding up fathers, mothers, children, brothers, and sisters, and sending them to black holes where they disappear.

They want you to be afraid. To worry that you could be next.

A look down the street as the rain fell on the group of protestors that filled both sides of the road

Showing up to protest shows them that we aren't letting fear rule our lives. It shows others that there is hope to get through this dark moment in history, that we can and will overcome the cloud that has settled over America. There is strength in numbers, and try as they might, they can't arrest or kill everyone. The more people who show up, the faster this whole thing comes crashing down around them.

So the next time you see a protest being organized in your area, try to make it out for at least a little bit if you can and stand side-by-side with your neighbors. Your presence will encourage others and could just be the straw that breaks the camel's back.