Letter to the Editor: Political violence

Well, here we go again. Another sick individual has decided that the best way to silence a person whose views they disagree with is to kill them. And we are now hearing the usual pleas from the media and our elected officials to “tone down the hateful political rhetoric”, and “learn how to work through our disagreements with respect and understanding of those with whom we disagree.”, and “we need to find common ground.” Good advice, yet I remember these exact same conversations and pleas for civility happening immediately after the 2011 shooting of Gabby Giffords, which lasted all of about a week before we were right back to hating and blaming and personally attacking each other in the media and in the halls of government and on social media.

Within the past 50 years we’ve had several acts of political violence, all across the political spectrum, yet after listening to some of those in the media and even some of our elected officials, you’d think these acts of political violence were all being committed by one side.

Do the names, JFK, Malcom X, Martin Luther King, Jr, Robert Kennedy, ring a bell?

Attempts on the lives of Ronald Reagan, Gabby Giffords, Steve Scalise, Nancy Pelosi and her husband, Mike Pence on Jan 6, Josh Shapiro, Donald Trump twice.

And earlier this year two Minnesota Democratic lawmakers were killed.

If we are going to point fingers at the rise in harsh political rhetoric and hate speech and threatening statements, whether or not “in jest” as some would try to have us believe, and use that as the cause for the rise of political violence in this country, it seems there is plenty of blame to go around.

If our media and our political leaders can be quick to condemn political violence, yet not even mention the violent acts committed against those on the other side, then is there any real hope that anything will ever change? Or, are we just fooling ourselves into thinking things will ever get better in this toxic political climate?

John Moore

Newton