When we stop talking to one another, fear fills the vacuum. And there are plenty of others who are more than willing to shape the “truth” for us.
By Annie Caplan and Becca Kearl | For The Salt Lake Tribune | Jan. 30, 2026, 7:05 a.m.
This month Keith Porter, Renee Good and Alex Pretti were killed during separate altercations with ICE agents. Within hours of these tragic events, the familiar machinery of our polarized times began to turn: speculation, outrage, competing narratives, certainty delivered at high volume.
As a result of this “noise,” real human lives — a father, mother and son; a family man, poet and ICU nurse — risk being flattened into headlines before the facts have time to settle.
As Utahns, we’ve been here before. Just four months ago, Utah was at the epicenter of a high profile and tragic shooting as Charlie Kirk’s life was taken in broad daylight. In response, a coalition of national peacebuilding leaders who reside in Utah urged people to turn toward each other. Moments like this expose not only how divided we are, but how poorly equipped we’ve become to sit with complexity. Especially when fear is running the show.
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