Column By John Young
Tin soldiers and Kristi coming; Discretion they’ve put on hold. All year, we’ve heard the drumming. Masked men who lock and load.
To the tune of “Ohio” by Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young
I saw Kent State on my TV screen the other day, and not in retrospect. In blood. In horror. In real time. In 2026.
Only one dead protester this time, but it wasn’t the first time Kristi Noem’s shock troops have shot someone. It’s happened at least nine times since September.
If even one of them was a “domestic terrorist,” as Noem tagged Renee Nicole Good, my name is Geronimo.
Kent State, May 3, 1970. Four dead at the smoking guns of the Ohio National Guard.
Despite news footage and mind-blowing implausibility, the power structure spun blame as apologists for militarized law enforcement sought to absolve the troops.
It was radicals in the trees. It was a long-haired sniper from a rooftop. And anyway, the hippies threw rocks. One tossed a tear gas canister back at them!
No matter that death visited students fleeing the scene and watching from yards away.
Minneapolis, Jan. 7, 2026.
Except for the cowgirl hat, Noem performed a solid Ohio Gov. James Rhodes, who sent the National Guard to Kent State and did all he could to deflect attention from their deadly actions.
“Surrounded,” Noem said of the ICE man who fired three times. “Fearing for his life.” These claims are unbelievably, unconscionably, after seeing video footage that shows nothing of the sort.
Later, she said the victim had been trained to attack agents with cars. This was a “coordinated” attack, not a mother on her way to pick up her child at school.
Stunned bystanders wasted their breath shouting, “Shame” at the shooter as he coolly walked away. Clearly, this man and his politician bosses have none.
Kent State, 1975
President Nixon said, “When protest turns to violence, tragedy happens.” Appropriate words — if any of the dead had threatened National Guardsmen in riot gear.
Minneapolis, 2026.
Nixon-style, today’s president couldn’t wait to pile on with bogus claims. The victim “violently, willfully, and viciously ran over” the agent. What? Did you expect, the truth?
Then there was JD Vance doing his best Spiro Agnew. Based on zero knowledge whatsoever, Vance called the victim a “deranged leftist.” You mean the mom who, the crime scene photo shows, had toy stuffed animals in her glove compartment?
If Kristi Noem were a police chief and not commander of a paramilitary unit, she would (1) be chased out of town by now; (2) have reserved judgment for an investigation and put the gunman on leave. Nah. Anyway, these aren’t police officers. These are bounty hunters for black and brown people.
Our president and his feckless enablers asked for this with their approach to ICE. They asked for it through inflammatory TV pitches that recruit them to chase down “the worst of the worst.” Any applicant who thinks ICE’s slogan is “protect and serve” has come to the wrong agency.
Making things worse in Minnesota were the president’s racist rants about the Somalis he wants out of our country.
Hence, a tragic overreaction in Minneapolis, not unlike when Ohio Guard officials indefensibly equipped troops with live ammunition.
Merciless, spineless, duplicitous. I’m not talking about the recruits. I’m talking about our ruling junta.
I was 17 when Kent State crashed through my senses. It was an “end of innocence” moment for many young people who believed in American justice.
After Minneapolis and across the country, the anger swells. Renee Good’s neighbors brave pepper spray and worse. They’ll be dismissed as “paid protesters” by the man who had to pay people to hail his run for president as he came down the golden escalator.
What if you knew her and found her blood on the ground? How can you run when you know?
Longtime newspaperman John Young lives in Colorado. Email him at jyoungcolumn@gmail.com.
The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author.
