A terrible tragedy, ridiculous hypocrisy, Tay Anderson, and Spring.
When will the Mars rocket be ready? I'm packing.
This has been a heckuva week - especially for Colorado.
I’ve been tired recently.
Enough about me, here’s some interesting (maybe?) commentary…
A terrible tragedy,
a tragic response
On Monday, our nation experienced the all-too familiar event of a mass shooting. An event that most unfortunately perfectly summarizes how devalued human life has become for many in our society.
For those that do value the life of every human, we find it difficult to understand. While we all await a motive, it doesn’t actually matter to us. It’s more or less a morbid curiosity - almost like watching a historical documentary on Jack the Ripper. We just need to complete the puzzle, even if the final picture is to be disposed of. Perhaps the answer will help us understand if mental health treatment could have helped - or law enforcement intervention - perhaps not.
To normal humans, there is no justification for firing upon innocent humans while they shop for groceries, bag up your goods, or wait in line for a COVID-19 vaccination. I can only imagine the fear they felt as a gunman - supposedly clad in body armor - came towards them. I can only imagine their final thoughts. It’s disturbing. It’s angering. It’s frustrating.
That day, I was walking back to the office from a convenience store run with my coworker when I heard word of a swat team being called to a King Soopers in Boulder.
Within a half an hour, I was watching a livestream of the event unfold on YouTube.
The Minority Leader had just returned to the office from committee where his bipartisan bill passed with unanimous support. We mentioned to him that there was an event unfolding in Boulder that involved shots fired, people down, and what seemed like hundreds of law enforcement officers surrounding a grocery store. He told us to keep him up-to-date.
I eventually put out a tweet from the official Senate Republicans account.
You see, we didn’t only experience a mass shooting on Monday.
We also experienced the same thing we usually do with these emotional events. Jumping to conclusions. Passing judgement. Division.
Here were a few of my favorite responses to the tweet above:
I think you get the point.
Without wading into a debate about gun control and the Second Amendment, the fact that the gunman has so many individuals willing to divert responsibility from him is rather astounding. Who knew he’d have such a massive defense counsel?
The responses got me down quite a bit - I have relatively thin skin for politics. These events are never easy, and you can never quite say the right thing if you’re in a communications role. Regardless, the willingness to blame somebody other than the shooter is alarming. Consider it the death of personal responsibility.
Then there’s this:
Joe Salazar, a former Democratic Colorado Representative said that “we should racially profile white men,” on Twitter including a wonderful #WhiteDomesticTerrorists hashtag. Salazar was awarded “Democrat of the Year” by the Colorado Democratic Party in 2020. As far as I’m aware, not a single Democratic elected official has denounced this statement, nor has any reporter asked them to.
I’m not actually scared because of what Salazar tweeted - but I am alarmed at people’s willingness to just let it go.
At the end of the day, I realized that even mass shootings were now opportunities for partisan gamesmanship and political theater. Both sides of the aisle are responsible, I just happen to get feedback from one of them.
We must do better.
Ridiculous
hypocrisy
On Thursday, the Colorado politics world became aware of comments from Weld County Sheriff Steve Reams where he labeled Representative Leslie Herod a “terrorist" due to her political beliefs.
Let’s be clear: Leslie Herod isn’t a terrorist.
I don’t agree with Representative Herod on much, but she’s a democratically elected member of a legislative chamber. She has never advocated for anything I’d argue could be defined as “terroristic,” nor do I believe she wishes violence upon those she disagrees with.
However, the Democratic response to this comment from Sheriff Reams has been over-the-top faux outrage and ridiculousness.
Let’s backup a few months to November of 2010. As the legislature was gearing up to go into session, Senate President Leroy Garcia was asked about Republican lawmakers not wearing a mask while on the floor of the Senate. (See the end of this Denver Post article)
His response: “You don’t negotiate with terrorists.”
Let’s backup a bit more - to August of 2019 - when Representative Herod Tweeted about President’s Trump’s border policies.
Her words: “We have a terrorist in the White House.”
Hypocrisy seems normal from politicos, but in this case, it reached ridiculous levels. Here are just a few of the responses from Democrats to the comments of Sheriff Reams:
Alex Garnett, Colorado Speaker of the House: “Shocking and *incredibly* dangerous rhetoric from an elected law enforcement official.”
Daneya Esgar, Colorado House Majority Leader: “I’m appalled by Sheriff Reams, words matter.”
Janet Buckner, Colorado State Senator: “There is not a law enforcement officer in the state or the country who should be using this kind of rhetoric.”
Lisa Cutter, Colorado State Representative: “Dangerous rhetoric incites violence. We should all be better than this.”
Tommy Butler, Greeley City Council Candidate: “Calling someone you disagree with names is beneath those elected to public office.”
Mary Young, Colorado State Representative: “Inflammatory name calling should never come from an elected official in a democracy!”
Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez, Colorado State Representative: “These are irresponsible and inciting remarks against my colleague and friend…”
Susan Lontine, Colorado State Representative: “It’s this kind of rhetoric that gets people hurt…”
Kyle Mullica, Colorado State Representative: “This rhetoric is unacceptable and it is dangerous, especially coming from an elected law enforcement officer.”
LGBTQ Victory Institute: “These racist comments are meant to demean and silence Rep. @leslieherod and anyone else who’s fighting to make the world a better place.”
Jarret Freedman, Colorado House Democrats Communications Director: “What an incredibly dangerous thing to say especially given the audience, the events of Jan 6, and Colorado's gun violence epidemic.”
If you’re wondering, not a single one of these individuals gave a hoot when using the term “terrorist” fit their political motivations.
Again, we must do better than this. This is why independent voters are becoming more and more disgusted with partisan politics. This is why both parties are viewed as failures.
Addendum: Colorado Politics reported on this - including my tweets on the topic. Representative Herod’s response was, at best, lame. It really doesn’t make a difference if you’re criticizing a President or a lawmaker or whatever. A terrorist is a terrorist, so unless they are, don’t call them that.
Tay
Anderson
This just happened moments before I hit the send button:
I have no information on the circumstances, but this will certainly be a test of rhetoric versus reality for Democrats in Colorado. Tay Anderson, a rising star for the party and certainly the most outspoken and notable school board member in the state, is now facing a sexual assault allegation.
He hasn’t responded yet, but the fact that Black Lives Matter 5280 has put this out, it’s not something that can be ignored.
Will #BelieveAllWomen still be true?
Will a resignation be called for before the facts come out?
Will be interesting to watch. As they say, you live and die by the sword.
Spring is Here
I’ll get to wear more clothes like this: