The shocking right-wing response to Jordan Neely

The MoJo Daily newsletter, Monday through Friday. [View in browser]( [Mother Jones Daily Newsletter](     May 16, 2023 Hello, this is Jacob Rosenberg, an associate editor here at Mother Jones, working out of the New York office. It has been two weeks since Jordan Neely was killed on an F train. Since then, Daniel Penny, the ex-Marine who placed Neely—a Michael Jackson impersonator who had been on a list of the city's “[top 50](” homeless people at risk—in a chokehold, has been charged with manslaughter. [There have been protests](. And, as my colleague Noah Lanard reported, some national Republicans have used the opportunity to [raise their bloodlust bonafides](: Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida praised Neely as a “Good Samaritan,” exceeding the evasive response even of Donald Trump, who said he wouldn't make a definitive statement until he'd seen the tape of Neely's killing. In the city itself, and casually, I have been stunned by the number of "buts" that have accompanied conversations surrounding Neely's death. "Well, he should not have been killed, but…" Or, so often in those first days, "Well, maybe, we didn’t see something, it was probably bad, but…" As our own Abigail Weinberg wrote the day after Neely’s death, it was astounding to see so many publications demean and condemn Neely, as if there was a reason for his death. Why did so many people rush to wonder whether Penny had a reason for the chokehold? That empathy for Penny reminded me of something, an odd run-in. I have mostly told this as a funny story. Maybe it isn’t. Over a year ago, on a random night, I was at a bar in Crown Heights. I think it was winter. At the time I was smoking cigarettes—a bad habit I finally quit recently—and stepped outside with my roommate. I stuck a hand in my pocket, looked up, and saw a guy approaching us. He stood out—dressed beautifully, in a peacoat, and I even think a suit underneath. He asked to bum a cigarette; I said sure. And then, the usual chatter. “Have you ever met a Black Republican?” the stranger asked. He grinned and then said: “Well, now you have.” The well-dressed man explained that he liked to smoke fine, but he specifically wanted to come up to me because I reminded him of a hero of his: Bernhard Goetz. (At the time, I had a mustache.) He said that Goetz—an electrical engineer who [shot]( four Black men on the subway in 1984 with an unlicensed handgun—had a mustache, too. You, the guy said, look just like him. I think I laughed. The guy told us he was excited about the election of Eric Adams. I noted that Adams is a Democrat. And he said something like: "Yes, exactly, the last time the city of New York elected a Black mayor they hated it so much that they elected Rudolph Giuliani. Wouldn’t that be great?" By then, the cigarettes were dead. He then waved at his friend and told us he was going to go buy some coke. When we got back into the bar, I googled Goetz. He doesn’t have a mustache. His hair is thin; mine is thick. He has glasses; I wear contacts. He doesn’t even look much like me. He’s just an average white guy. —Jacob Rosenberg Advertisement [UC Press - Sanford]( [Top Story] [Top Story]( [Trump’s Republican Rivals Are Funneling Money to Daniel Penny]( Gov. Ron DeSantis said he "stands" with "Good Samaritans" like the former Marine charged with manslaughter. BY NOAH LANARD SPONSORED CONTENT BY INVISIBLE INSTITUTE   Invisible Institute Launches "You Didn’t See Nothin" Podcast with USG Audio Invisible Institute, a nonprofit journalism organization on the South Side of Chicago, works to enhance citizens’ capacity to hold public institutions accountable. Recently, we launched [You Didn’t See Nothin](, a seven-episode podcast with USG Audio. Hosted by Yohance Lacour, the podcast blends memoir and investigation to discuss the 1997 racially-motivated beating of Lenard Clark and its effects on Yohance’s life. [Listen to the podcast now]( and subscribe to our newsletter, [View from the Ground,]( for more updates. [Trending] [With a softball interview of Trump, “The Messenger” launches by legitimizing extremism]( BY DAVID CORN   [Oceans protect us by absorbing vast amounts of heat—but payback is coming]( BY GRAHAM READFEARN   [She filmed a teacher saying the N-word. Then she got suspended for it.]( BY ARIANNA COGHILL   [The DOJ just moved to stop Florida’s “sabotage” of Biden’s border plans]( BY JACKIE FLYNN MOGENSEN Advertisement [UC Press - Sanford]( [Special Feature] [Special Feature]( [Shit happens. Thank God we have Samantha Irby.]( The essayist proves once again she's the secret chronicler of our private humiliations and small joys. 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