Violence and a President Who Seems to Fan the Flames

What you sow, you will reap!  This is an old proverb, but still true.  It is unprecedented to have an American President make statements that advocate for violence.  Acts of hate and violence here and world-wide are early fruits of the harvest.

What You Sow

Here are some examples:

--A President who repeated refers to the Press "is the Enemy of the People"

--A President who applauds an assault on a journalist:

• “Any guy that can do a body slam — he’s my kind of guy,” Trump said to cheers and laughter from the crowd, referring to Rep. Greg Gianforte's  assault on Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs.

--A President who, as a candidate, encouraged the crowds at his rallies to commit violence:

• "Knock the hell out of him!...I promise you I will pay the legal fees.”
• “Maybe he should have been roughed up.”
• “I don’t know if I’ll do the fighting myself or if other people will.

With these and other examples, it beyond credibility that Sarah Huckabee-Sanders said at the White House Daily Press Briefing on 29 June 2017:  “The president in no way, form, or fashion has ever promoted or encouraged violence.”  This is just another example of a President and aides who call proven lies as their alternative facts.  (Ref. https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/donald-trump-incitement-violence/)

The Harvest?

• June 29, 2018 - Five dead in shooting at Capital Gazette in Annapolis, Maryland. (Reference)
• October 25, 2018 - White gunman who killed two black people in supermarket made racist remarks before attack. “Whites don’t kill whites,” he said to an armed man who confronted the killer. (Reference)
• October 25, 2018 - Man sends 13 pipe bombs to Democrats who criticized the President. (Reference)
• October 27, 2018 - Man yelled "All Jews must die" as he kills 11 at Synagogue in Pittsburgh. (Reference)

Other acts of harassment and confrontation have occurred.  And there is the Unite the Right Rally in Charlotteville, VA on August 11 to 12, 2017, which included many carrying weapons, wearing Nazi insignia, chanting racist and antisemitic  slogans.  And there is the case of the the apparent assassination of a Washington Post contributor.

While most of the violence has been perpetrated by fringe characters (either with histories of mental illness and/or violence), the word seems to be "come out, it's safe" for the right-wing fringe.  And what is this saying to the world?

You can't sow the seeds of violence and hatred without expecting the harvest of the same!