The Power of the Bare-Faced Lie

Sympathies to the family of Renee Macklin Good, the woman murdered by an ICE agent on Wednesday. And solidarity with the people of Minneapolis that have taken to the streets to protest this outrage. As everyone knows, the US joke of a vice president, JD Vance, has thrown his oar in. ICE employee Jonathan Ross, the killer, is exonerated because Good was driving right at him. As this is an open-and-shut case of self-defence, who wouldn't pull the trigger? Camera footage showed how, quite clearly, Good was set on driving away from the scene. Ross's own body cam footage was then released, which showed that before attempting to drive away she said "That’s fine, dude. I’m not mad at you" to him. He then shot her three times in the face through the windscreen and called her a "fucking bitch".

Presumably, ICE released Ross's footage to bolster their version of events. Something Vance doubles down on. Obviously the self-defence argument does not stand up. Vance knows what the footage shows. ICE knows they haven't got a leg to stand on. And Ross knows he shot in anger, not defence. There is no good faith here, no honest disagreement. It's an exercise in outright cynicism. Only but the most gullible, those who've willingly surrendered their faculties to Trump's misinformation machine are going to believe it. But the lie isn't about shoring up the base, giving activists lines-to-take on social media. It's much worse.

For Vance, his lie is a weapon. Not of misinformation, but as a demonstration of power. It shows that he cannot be called to account, no one can correct him, and that the administration he's (formally) integral to can say and do what they like with impunity. This is important because, along with filling the zone with shit, the brutality and brutalism of Trump's regime is based on shock and awe. We have military spectaculars abroad, and the lawless violence of a state-funded militia for domestic consumption. Particularly in those places that have the temerity to vote for Democrats. In seeming to be beyond democratic checking and reason, murderous violence and brazenly lying about it is supposed to frighten people, cow them, demobilise, and push millions into resigned pessimism. Vance and co. know the polls are against them, but if most opposition-minded people are sufficiently fearful, what are they going to do about it? The lie stands for unaccountability. Its obscenity can stand because no one can cast it down. It's a goad, an insult Vance and ICE are rubbing in the public's face.

Such is the political use of the bare-faced lie. But relying on arms for political power is never the safe bet in the long-term. And the lie, which emotes power, also issues a challenge. Are you going to stand for this? Vance and friends need to be careful, because sooner or later enough Americans will say "No".

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