The Aug. 11 column by Ruth Ann Dailey “Politicizing Violence” argues that the recent spate of mass shootings should not be blamed on any single ideology or politician, particularly President Donald Trump. She notes that the Dayton, Ohio, shooter had leftist leanings and states that Democratic politicians are disingenuous for selectively focusing on the white supremacy aspect of the El Paso, Texas, shootings while ignoring the events in Dayton and ongoing gun violence in Chicago.
I would counter that Ms. Dailey herself is being disingenuous and selective in making her argument. She conveniently fails to mention that the perpetrators in the El Paso, Tree of Life and New Zealand shootings posted right-wing rants just prior to the shootings. (Although the Dayton shooter did seem to be liberal, there is no evidence that his actions were ideologically motivated. It seems more likely that this tragedy was triggered by his mental illness and fascination with serial killers.)
Ms. Dailey’s defense of Mr. Trump is also hollow. Perhaps the Tree of Life shooter was against Mr. Trump’s pro-Israel policy, but Mr. Trump also stated that those who chanted “Jews will not replace us” in Charlottesville, Va., included “many good people.”
Unhinged extremists take Mr. Trump’s hateful rhetoric (“send them back,” “enemy of the people” and laughingly responding “only in the Panhandle” to a comment about shooting immigrants during a Florida rally) as license to commit their horrific acts. Pretending otherwise is being willfully ignorant. Regarding Chicago, maybe a start would be for Republicans to stop blocking sensible gun laws.
Robert A. Vrabel
Churchill
Note from KBJ: Stop projecting your hatred onto President Trump, Robert.
