October 26, 2018
A man sent bombs in the mail to a number of critics of
President Trump. Another man groped a woman on the plane, and said that the
president said it was OK to grab women by the genitals. People are blaming the president’s
intemperate remarks and approval of violent tactics for the men’s actions.
Donald Trump isn’t anyone I’d want as a role model, for
sure, but I’m inclined to think that people do things like that because they’re
mentally unstable, not because they’re fervent believers in politics. Like
people who bomb abortion clinics in the name of Christianity—the majority of
people who disapprove of abortion just don’t do that, no matter how strong
their beliefs.
It’s also funny that Hollywood, which has been denying for
years that its violent movies have led to real-world violence, is full of people
who are prepared to blame the president for the current climate of incivility. All
we need now is for the makers of Grand Theft Auto to start tsk-tsking at the president
for objectifying women.
Maybe, instead of aiming for how low we can go, we could all move a rung or two up the ladder and try to model good behavior, not
whacked-out violent scenarios that call to our basest selves; so that people
who emulate what they see and hear in the media would have a higher plane to
start from.
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