In my last two blogs, I have expressed my disgust about the increase in the political violence that is occurring in our country. The attack on Paul Pelosi turned my stomach. The comments from the attacker are frightening. His wanting to break Nancy Pelosi’s kneecaps so she could be wheeled into congress to show other Democrats what might happen to them should make everyone who believes in our democracy shutter in fear. I have read many articles about the attack. The following excerpts from an article written by Dan Rather and Ellliot Kirschner express many of my thoughts.
We should not let go of what happened a few nights back at the San Francisco home of Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the House. It was a moment of reckoning about where we are as a nation.
What actually took place — the truth — is coming into focus. An intruder armed with a hammer broke into Pelosi’s house in the middle of the night looking for the speaker. According to court records, his intentions were to kidnap Pelosi, interrogate her, and break her kneecaps if he felt she “lied.” Instead, he found only her 82-year-old husband, Paul, at home. Paul Pelosi is now in the hospital with a fractured skull.
The facts of this case, what we know of them so far, are harrowing. Like the events of January 6, we also are left with a sense that as bad as it was, it could have been a lot worse. But that should provide little comfort. It is imperative that we zoom out and see a bigger picture, because how some of the country reacted to this attack, particularly many prominent Republican politicians and their cheerleaders and normalizers in the media, is chilling. It should also be shocking. That many of our fellow Americans are not shocked is a sad validation of how vitriolic right-wing rhetoric has become.
Decrying violence should be a given. But instead, we have seen outrageous conspiracy theories, false equivalence, a general lack of outrage, and even people trying to turn a violent assault into a joke. A joke. It is obviously not a joke. It is the opposite of a joke.
We have Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and the new owner of Twitter, taking to that platform to mainstream a vile conspiracy theory that somehow this was a lover’s quarrel between Paul Pelosi and the assailant. Donald Trump Jr. eagerly promoted these lies. The former president’s son shared a picture of a hammer and underwear with a quote: “Got my Paul Pelosi Halloween costume ready.” Such behavior is beneath contempt. It is inhumane.
These were but a few of the many reactions that are so far beyond the pale that they would have been unimaginable in the not-so-distant past. Now they are part of the discourse within a Republican echo chamber bouncing from the stump to the studios of Fox News to the legions of trolls on social media eager to bathe in lies and the supposed humor of political violence.
Nancy Pelosi has long been a target for Republican derision and outright hate. Part of that is undoubtedly due to her status in House leadership — and frustration at her effectiveness. Republicans have turned Pelosi into a caricature that they can pummel for their political gain. It’s all attack, attack, attack. Sneer, sneer, sneer.
This is a culture that the political right has fomented for years. Donald Trump recognized the power of divisiveness and outright hatred and exploited it. The ethos of Fox News, where political enemies are vilified, has overtaken vast swaths of the Republican Party. This is a culture in which more violence can easily take root.
The premise of our system of government is that we can disagree without being disagreeable. We can debate passionately our points of view while recognizing our common destiny as Americans. We can work together for the betterment of all, regardless of party. These ideals have been challenged many times over the course of our history. The present era is particularly challenging. If we are at a point when we are turning a brutal assault on an 82-year-old man at home in the middle of the night into a joke, we are in serious trouble.
There is nothing funny about what is going on. No one who cares about this nation should be laughing.
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In my blog on Tuesday my Question of the Day was, “What difference does it make as to why the two Michigan players were in the tunnel and not with their team on the field? Last night, Leah and I were out to dinner when a four people at table near us got into a big discussion about the what happened in the tunnel. They couldn’t understand why the Michigan players were in the tunnel at the same time as the MSU players. One person said, “They shouldn’t have been there. They should have known better to be in the tunnel with the MSU players.”
It took everything for Leah and I to not get up and tell them, “What difference does it make why they were there? They shouldn’t have been attacked.”
What is happening in this country? Since when is OK to attack someone because you don’t agree with them or because they are on a different team? Since when is it OK to justify or make excuses for the attacker and blame the victim?
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I am so happy for my 10-year-old granddaughter Alaina. For the last 4 years she has not had her top two front teeth. After losing her baby teeth, the two permanent teeth never dropped down as normal. It turns out she had three extra teeth that were crowding her front teeth and preventing them from coming. After one surgery in which the three extra teeth were removed, had braces installed and then had a second surgery removing gum tissue, her two front teeth are now coming in. It has been a long journey for Alaina. She has been a trooper from the beginning. I was so happy for her earlier this week, when I saw the pictures of her two front teeth. It was a beautiful thing.
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Elections Matter. Pray for peace and tolerance. What are you doing to stop the violence and mass killings?
Quote of the Day: “You get slapped in the face yesterday and go back today and make a statement. You try to have the mind of the goldfish in this game. You try not to think about anything. You just want to go out there and try to produce and put a ‘W’ in the column.” Houston Astro closer Ryan Pressly, after saving the Houston Astro’s no hitter in game four of the World Series on Wednesday.
Orchid of the Day: The four Houston Astro pitchers who combined for a no-hitter in yesterday’s World Series game 4. It was only the second no-hitter in World Series history.
Onion of the Day: Michigan Supreme Court Justice Brian Zahra’s who opposes Prop 3 but paid for an abortion for his ex-wife when she was pregnant as his girlfriend prior to their marriage.
Question of the Day: Should day light savings time become permanent?
Video/Image of the Day: The Lloyd Carr Tunnel following the Penn State/Michigan game two weeks ago. This is what an end of game tunnel should look like.