In the wake of two deadly shootings in Minneapolis involving left-wing street activists and ICE agents, the political left has once again elevated new figures into instant heroes.
It should cause reasonable people to pause and examine the strange and consistent hero-worship culture that defines the modern Democratic Party.
This pattern is not accidental. It is ritualistic and repeated so often that it has become predictable.
First comes the legend of the dead. This fallen figure is presented as gentle, misunderstood, and devoted to the oppressed. These people are painted as benevolent moms, nurses, aspiring academics, and future presidents.
Then the details about them emerge, and they almost always do.
Video, records, or eyewitness accounts reveal volatility, aggression, or criminal behavior that preceded the fatal encounter.
At that point, the narrative pivots. Character suddenly does not matter. Conduct is irrelevant. Context is dismissed as a distraction.
We have seen this play out for decades.
Rodney King became a national symbol after a video of his beating at the hands of police in Los Angeles spread nationwide.
Less discussed was his history as a convicted robber with repeated run-ins with law enforcement.
Alex Pretti is now being framed as a victim of Gestapo violence. Video confirmed by the BBC shows him spitting at and kicking ICE officers days before his death, while armed and attacking a DHS vehicle.
This footage is so damning, that you and I both know it will never leave X.
Now we know that Alex Pretti was not a kindly gentle nurse… he was a CRIMINAL!!!
An ARMED, VIOLENT, DANGEROUS, UNHINGED criminal.
HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN IN PRISON!!!!!!!
— Matt Van Swol (@mattvanswol) January 28, 2026
Renee Good died during a confrontation with ICE and was immediately sanctified by activists who ignored the circumstances surrounding that encounter.
Michael Brown was elevated after his death in Ferguson, despite evidence that he had just committed a robbery and charged a police officer.
George Floyd became an international icon, even though he was a convicted robber who died in police custody while loaded on fentanyl.
The pattern extends beyond recent events.
Che Guevara is still celebrated despite overwhelming historical evidence of brutality and mass executions.
Luigi Mangione has been praised in some circles after allegedly assassinating a healthcare executive.
At the same time, the left reserves its deepest hatred for people who act to stop violence.
Daniel Penny, a former U.S. Marine, was acquitted after fatally restraining a mentally ill man who was threatening New York City subway passengers.
The verdict triggered outrage and smears for a modern American hero.
Kyle Rittenhouse was vilified for defending himself against his attackers, even as evidence showed he was trying to escape and survive.
And of course, none of this is about denying wrongdoing by police. Bad cops should be removed, charged, and punished when appropriate.
Sometimes cops do behave egregiously.
But this is about a broader moral confusion.
The left does not merely mourn people lost in confrontations with law enforcement. It elevates them into secular saints and rewrites their histories to fit the political needs of the moment.
Everyone loves a redemption story. Many people with dark pasts turn their lives around and become forces for good.
But the left’s heroes almost always die while committing crimes or behaving in ways that law enforcement reasonably perceives as an imminent threat.
Rodney King may be the lone partial exception. He lived, spoke openly about addiction, and appeared to seek a better life before his death.
The others never had that chance. Whether they would have changed is unknowable.
Pointing out this pattern is not a judgment of souls. It is an observation of their values and the values who write history to make them heroes.
For a movement largely untethered from God, meaning on the left is often found in activism alone. Martyrdom replaces their desire for spiritual connection.
That is such an empty way to walk through life.
We should mourn the lives lost while foolishly taking on cops. Behind every headline is a person who at one point walked this planet as a child and as a person made in the image of God.
But these people are no heroes, and until the left stops treating them as such, more of them will die for nothing.
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.
