On May 1, 2023, Jordan Neely, a 30-year-old Black man experiencing homelessness and mental illness, died after Daniel Penny, a white former Marine from Long Island, placed him in a chokehold on a New York subway car. The incident became an instant Rorschach test: Was Penny a hero or vigilante? Was Neely a victim or menace? Three years later, author Anand Giridharadas argues the case reveals a shared American condition — abandonment. Neely had cycled through failed institutions since his mother's murder, also by neck compression, and his time as a Michael Jackson impersonator ended as mental illness took hold.

Prosecutor Dafna Yoran noted Neely "demanded to be seen." Penny's lawyers argued he acted because "the government wasn't there" and police failed to respond. Passengers testified to feeling helpless, with one 911 caller pleading, "Could y'all get someone over here? Because he's doing y'all justice." This sentiment — that power and protection exist somewhere other than where you are — defines the current political moment across disparate phenomena.