Here we go again. Minneapolis. Another name in the news. Another tragedy. And right on cue, the suits come out to tell us everything is under control. The Deputy Attorney General stepped up to the microphone recently regarding the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti. He didn’t scream. He didn’t cry. He didn’t flip a table in rage. He told the press that opening a civil rights investigation was a “standard investigation.”

Think about that word for a second. Standard.

Getting your oil changed is standard. Filing your taxes is standard. Waiting in line at the DMV is standard. Investigating the death of a human being should not feel like checking a box on a clipboard. But that is where we are. We have reached the point where the machinery of death and the machinery of government fit together perfectly. They are gears in the same broken clock.

They opened a civil rights investigation. That sounds big. It sounds heavy. It uses serious words that make people feel like justice is coming. But let’s be real about what this actually is. It is bureaucracy. It is lawyers in expensive suits sitting in air-conditioned rooms, reading reports about a bad thing that happened in the street. It is the system doing the only thing it knows how to do: generate paper.

The Left hears “civil rights investigation” and cheers. They think the cavalry is coming to save the day. They think this proves the system works. It doesn’t. It just proves the system is slow. The Right hears it and rolls their eyes. They think it’s just federal meddling. They think it’s political theater. Guess what? You’re both wrong. And you’re both right. It is theater, but it’s the most boring play you have ever seen.

Minneapolis is tired. You can feel the exhaustion coming off the pavement. How many times does this city have to go through the wringer? A shooting happens. The community gets upset. The cameras show up. Then the feds show up. They promise to look into it. They use words like “transparency” and “process.” Then they disappear for a year or two. By the time they come back with a verdict, most people have forgotten why they were angry in the first place. That isn’t an accident. That is the design.

Calling this “standard” is the most honest thing a politician has said in years. It admits that this is just part of the flow now. It admits that they have a playbook for when people die. Step one: Announce the investigation. Step two: call it standard. Step three: hope everyone gets distracted by the next shiny object on their phones.

We accept this. That is the worst part. We read the headline and we nod. “Oh, a standard investigation. Good.” We have been trained to accept the unacceptable. We are like dogs waiting for a treat, except the treat is a press release from the Department of Justice.

The investigation into the Alex Pretti shooting will grind on. They will interview people. They will look at evidence. They will spend millions of your tax dollars. And maybe, just maybe, they will come to a conclusion. But will it fix the hole in the chest of this country? No.

We rely on these procedures to make us feel better. We want to believe that if we just follow the rules, everything will be okay. But the rules are written by people who don't live in the real world. The rules are written by people who think death is just another administrative hurdle to clear before lunch.

So, watch the show if you want. Read the updates. Argue about it on the internet. Pick a side. But remember what the man said. This is standard. This is normal. This is just another Tuesday in a country that has forgotten how to be shocked by its own reflection. The paperwork is being filed. The stamps are being inked. The system is working exactly as intended, and that is the scariest thing of all.