SEATTLE NEWS ARCHIVES & FEATURES
Bill Bryant critical of political rhetoric after deadly shooting
Jun 15, 2017, 11:03 AM | Updated: 11:04 am
James Hodgkinson protests outside of the United States Post Office in Downtown Belleville, Ill. in 2012. (Derik Holtmann/Belleville News-Democrat, via AP)
(Derik Holtmann/Belleville News-Democrat, via AP)
The man suspected of shooting at members of a Republican congressional baseball team in Virginia was, according to his brother, critical of President Trump and upset over the election.
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However, as The New York Times pointed out Wednesday evening, a “more immediate motive” for the shooting was unknown.
One theory behind what motivated — or at least further pushed — suspect James Hodgkinson to begin firing is political rhetoric, particularly from the left. Some of the comments Hodgkinson left on social media is, as KIRO Radio’s Dave Ross put it, “straight out of the Democratic platform.”
But would that be enough to push someone over the edge and shoot at members of Congress?
Bill Bryant, former Seattle Port Commissioner and recent Washington gubernatorial challenger to Jay Inslee, told Todd Herman there is a lot of hateful rhetoric coming from both sides of the aisle.
“We’re getting tired of this,” he said. “We have to, I think, understand that words have consequences. There’s a lot of ugly vocabulary and rhetoric flying around. It’s not harmless. People hear it and will act on it.
“Those in positions of power on both sides of the aisle have got to understand that the inflammatory, debasing language that we now find acceptable, isn’t. I think today we’re beginning to see the ramifications of that hate and we’ve got to dial this back and become civil again.”
The verbal bullying that has gone on hasn’t gone unnoticed. Students in Seattle have even been recognized for their efforts to stop the negative tones.
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Bryant says the rhetoric in politics recently can have an impact.
“Rhetoric stirs people up and that’s not helpful in a democracy,” he said.
But specifically blaming left-wing rhetoric for the shooting may be just stirring up more problems. As the Los Angeles Times points out, it is Trump supporters that tied Bernie Sanders to the shooting in Virginia by using a fake quote.
