The Many Accomplices to the

One man faces charges of criminal manslaughter, but Jordan Neely's death had many accomplices.

the control of another Trump regime. Three stand out to foreshadow the worst of existence under a renewed Trump.

Interactively, if I asked readers who best mimicked the "Lying Lifestyle" of Trump, few would hesitate to say George Santos. To both, lying comes as easily as drawing breath. All but the most brainwashed have come to understand that their lying is primarily associated with them moving their lips. Their veracity is not the issue. The expectation for the acceptance of their lies and/or that their lies,

Killing of Jordan Neely

"His mental illness screamed of profits prioritized over people. … His Blackness disquieted the American ideals and sensibilities that proclaim us all equal. His existence, on that train, on that day, exposed just how poorly America cares for her people and how poorly we care for one another." — Brittany Packnett Cunningham

Ignorance and fear of mental illness. Implicit racial bias. A desperately inadequate health care system. Reckless and distorted political rhetoric about violent crime.

Jordan Neely didn't fall through the cracks. The world where he existed is nothing but cracks.

Neely's short, tortured life

Guest Columnist

Justice for Jordan Neely

be very clear: There was nothing heroic about the actions of Daniel Penny!

ended in the 15 minutes Daniel Penny gripped him in a chokehold on a New York City subway. But as a severely mentally ill Black man in America, Neely spent most of his adult life at risk of a violent death.

Most Americans experiencing a serious physical health crisis in public can expect to end up in a hospital, receiving treatment. An American experiencing a mental health crisis is far more likely to end up in prison — or killed at the hands of emergency respond- ers. Black Americans with mental illness are even more likely to face a tragic outcome. and the resulting consequences, would be ignored is the problem. Both unreasonably expect a getout-of-jail-free card or a functional "double standard" to mitigate their guilt.

Penny's lawyers claim he was acting in defense of himself and his fellow passengers. Whether he truly feared for their safety or simply was irritated by Neely's disruptive behavior is unknown. The risk of being assaulted in the New York City transit system is minuscule, and the chance an assault will be committed by someone experiencing a mental health crisis even smaller.

Marjorie Taylor Greene, MTG, is clearly representative of the intolerance and racism of Trump. Although both will "technically" deny the racism that motivates their actions, their actions belie any supposition of fairness or objectivity in their thought pro-

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Neely did have a history of violent behavior, but Penny could not have known that in the moment that he tackled him. Statistically, the passengers on that F train were as likely to be assaulted by any other passenger as by Neely. Fear often is irrational, however, especially when it is compounded by implicit racial bias and deliberately fanned by unprincipled politicians who distort and exaggerate the risk of

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Lately, there has been a lot of talk about how conservatives, Republicans and even some Christians are calling Daniel Penny, the ex-Marine who killed Jordan Neely, a homeless man on a subway train in New York, a hero. As a lawyer, former social worker, Christian, and an independent who voted for Trump, I want to

He killed a frail, hungry, homeless man who probably had mental health issues. I doubt that he would have jumped on a larger Black man, or even a Black man of his equal size. His actions were cowardly and reckless, and he should be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.

It seems as if white Americans of this generation don't know what true heroism is. I remember as a teenager in 1982 after a DC 90 plane crashed into the frozen Potomac River in D.C., and how Martin Lenny Shutnik saved the life of Priscilla Tirado following the crash of Air Florida Flight 90 by selflessly jumping into the freezing water and helping her take hold of a line dropped from a helicopter. He could have died from the freezing water alone.

Today, we have a different type of hero. White men like Daniel Penny, who think they have the right to kill Black men simply be- cause of their subjective view of what is "threatening behavior."

As seen in video of the incident, while Neely's behavior could be described as crazy or "acting out," there was nothing genuinely threatening about it to an ordinary and reasonable person. Threatening behavior typically is intentional and usually involves more than just words. A threat of serious bodily harm or death usually involves an immediate ability to act on the threat, such as a person holding a knife, gun or some other object in a threatening manner.

In places like N.Y. and D.C., if white people were allowed to kill Black people for yelling, screaming and begging, there would be daily killings.

I don't condone Neely's behavior. I get sick of having to deal with aggressive and confrontational panhandlers, but choking them to death is not the answer.

Furthermore, I am unmoved by all of the family members, loved

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