[I can tell you one prominent politician who has drastically degraded the quality of political discourse in this country and has repeatedly advocated violence from the microphone — Donald Trump. Over and over again, throughout his campaign, Trump spoke of how he yearned for the day where protesters were carried out on stretchers and how he'd personally pay for the legal costs his supporters incurred for being violent with protesters. That wasn't Hillary Clinton. That wasn't Bernie Sanders. That was Donald Trump. To this very day, he has supporters in legal trouble for the violence he encouraged at his rallies. ... The United States is the only country in the world that has more guns than people. That's why nearly 100 people a day are shot and killed in this country. Frankly, with as many guns as our country has in circulation, it's surprising that we don't see more targeted shootings like the one we saw Wednesday.]
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/king-don-blame-sanders-congressional-baseball-shooting-article-1.3247576 KING: Blaming Bernie Sanders or progressives for congressional baseball shooting is preposterous Shaun King NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Wednesday, June 14, 2017, 3:15 PM Bernie Sanders from the floor of the U.S. Senate Wednesday spoke out firmly against the horrific shooting that took place at a congressional baseball practice. Sanders, in his remarks, also acknowledged early reports that the alleged shooter, James Hodgkinson, was said to be a volunteer for his presidential campaign. In today's gotcha culture, thousands of statements are now being tweeted blaming Bernie, blaming progressives, blaming the Democratic Party, blaming the Julius Caesar play, blaming everything and everybody imaginable for this shooting. Just moments ago I saw some fool online saying "Shaun King has blood on his hands." Not Released (NR) Bernie Sanders has never advocated violence against conservatives or even suggested that we should consider violence as a worthwhile tactic as we fight against problematic policies. (WIN MCNAMEE/GETTY IMAGES) All of that is absolutely preposterous. Law enforcement officers stand near a pool of blood after the June 14, 2017 early morning shooting in Alexandria, Virginia. 21 PHOTOS VIEW GALLERY Gunmen opens fire at GOP baseball practice in Virginia First off, Bernie is as close to a pacifist hippy as we have in the Senate. The man worshiped the ground Dr. King walked on and has been an advocate for non-violent protests and boycotts his entire life. He has never advocated violence against Donald Trump, against conservatives, or even suggested that we should consider violence as a worthwhile tactic as we fight against problematic policies. This notion that Bernie, of all people, had anything to do with Wednesday's violence is foolhardy, unintelligent and poorly considered. Sanders 'sickened' by Va. shooting, rejects connection to gunman Not Released (NR) Rep. Steve Scalise, the House Majority Whip, was shot in the hip and required surgery after the attack at the baseball field. (WIN MCNAMEE/GETTY IMAGES) Secondly, the progressive movement in general is a movement about organizing and empowering people for systemic political change. I am a part of this movement. I was a volunteer for Bernie's presidential campaign. To this very day I work directly with several dozen progressive grassroots organizations fighting for real change in this country. I've attended and hosted and contributed to hundreds of meetings with these organizations. Not once, publicly or privately, did a single person in a single meeting I was a part of ever suggest, explicitly or implicitly, that someone should go do what James Hodgkinson allegedly did today. Period. Shooting suspect James T. Hodgkinson Shooting suspect James T. Hodgkinson I don't know James Hodgkinson or what inspired him, but I can say with complete confidence that it damn sure wasn't Bernie Sanders or the progressive movement he helps lead. A police officer stands near Eugene Simpson Field, the site where a gunman opened fire Wednesday in Alexandria, Va. A police officer stands near Eugene Simpson Field, the site where a gunman opened fire Wednesday in Alexandria, Va. (ZACH GIBSON/GETTY IMAGES) I can tell you one prominent politician who has drastically degraded the quality of political discourse in this country and has repeatedly advocated violence from the microphone — Donald Trump. Over and over again, throughout his campaign, Trump spoke of how he yearned for the day where protesters were carried out on stretchers and how he'd personally pay for the legal costs his supporters incurred for being violent with protesters. That wasn't Hillary Clinton. That wasn't Bernie Sanders. That was Donald Trump. To this very day, he has supporters in legal trouble for the violence he encouraged at his rallies. Rep. Joe Barton (R-Tex.), manager of the Republican team, speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington Wedensday after the shooting. Rep. Joe Barton (R-Tex.), manager of the Republican team, speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington Wedensday after the shooting. (MANUEL BALCE CENETA/AP) That's not to say that Donald Trump caused James Hodgkinson to do what he did — because that man is grown and makes his own decisions — but we've clearly crossed over into an ugly place in this country where the manner in which people speak to and treat one another has devolved into something terrible. LUPICA: GOP won't budge on gun debate — even after Va. shooting The United States is the only country in the world that has more guns than people. That's why nearly 100 people a day are shot and killed in this country. Frankly, with as many guns as our country has in circulation, it's surprising that we don't see more targeted shootings like the one we saw Wednesday. Like after every mass shooting, I continued to see conservatives say, "Now is not the time to talk about gun control." I saw others say, "How dare they talk politics while blood is still fresh on the ground?" But here's the hard truth — in America, blood is always fresh on the ground. Somebody is always getting shot and killed here. This notion that we must wait for some mythical point in time between shootings to be able to talk about how to fix our problems is bogus. That time never comes. It never will come. In fact, I don't know if I can recall a time in my life where conservatives have ever been ready to have a serious conversation about gun control. Nonetheless, here we are. It seems like our nation has lost its will to tackle our most difficult national challenges. -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to greenyouth+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send an email to greenyouth@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
