Francine Klagsbrun bemoans the “dark forces that assail us” insinuating in her column, “Cheshvan is the Cruelest Month,” that Republicans are the main culprits. The poisonous mood she refers to is in many ways a result of the blame game she as well as others engage in, pitting one side against another.
Too many people place the proverbial mirror in a direction that reflects someone else’s blemishes while deflecting attention away from their own.
Maxine Waters makes vitriolic statements and encourages violence against Republicans. Eric Holder says, “When they go low, kick ’em.”
Don Lemon of CNN claims, “The biggest terror threat in this country is white men, most of them radicalized to the right, and we have to start doing something about them. … They had the Muslim ban. There is no white-guy ban. So what do we do about that?”
An Antifa group threatens violence against conservative commentator and Fox anchor Tucker Carlson, as they scream epithets and damage the façade of his home. “We know where you sleep at night,” they chant.
Where is the outrage from the media and from people like Ms. Klagsbrun? No side is innocent, no side is free of responsibility, no one side deserves a pass. No doubt it would behoove Donald Trump to tone down his rhetoric, rise above the fray and project a controlled, less-retaliatory stance. Not every attack warrants a response. But to accuse one side over another for the “poisonous atmosphere” and claim that Republicans are the main purveyors of hate is to ignore the bias and inciteful rhetoric of groups like Black Lives Matter and [those supporting] BDS.
Let’s all turn the mirror in our own direction and acknowledge the blemishes that clearly exist. Only then will the poison that pervades the atmosphere begin to dissipate.
Jamaica, Queens
