Clear and Present Danger: Part II

At the exact time I was at a Bernie 2020 kick-off event, listening to Bernie on the big screen talking to us about how our campaign (it is belongs to all of us, not just those who work in it officially as paid staff, but all of us volunteers, the grassroots--cue Jefferson Airplane: we're the volunteers of America!), and his presidency, is going to be the exact opposite of 45's: he, and we, are going to bring people together, not divide into "us and them": at that exact moment, a shooter committed a hate crime in a synagogue in Poway, CA. What we know so far is that 1 person is dead, and 3 are injured.

It would not be fair of me to write "This is Trump's fault." Perhaps this shooter would have done this anyway, in a world in which Trump was never POTUS. But Trump is president. And all he does is whip up hate and division, try to fuel his support with "us and them", and overtly, directly and blatantly incite violence. That's the world we, and this shooter, live in.

Hate crimes, like this--this was a hate crime, law enforcement is already calling it that due to the evidence they already have--have sharply risen during 45's reign of terror.

So would it be fair of me to write, this is Trump's fault? No, as we don't know that. But would it be accurate of me to write, I think this is probably Trump's fault, in addition to the shooter's fault? Yes. Do I think this is the direct result of Trump's hatemongering for 3 years non-stop? Yes.

The shooter killed the person who has died (and that death toll may go up). In my opinion, it is likely that 45 also shares the blame. Yes, I said it.

ALSO: we need to ban assault weapons.

I was at an event talking about love and bringing people together. I stepped back out into a world where another one of my people has been murdered due to hate, and 3 others injured. And I see Trump all over this.