While U.S. President Donald Trump is not directly responsible for the mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue or the mail bombs sent to his detractors, he has helped create the fertile soil in which such seeds of hate can germinate.
A man carrying a rifle and three handguns burst into a Pittsburgh synagogue Saturday, killing 11 worshippers and wounding six other people.
Meanwhile, a Florida man has been arrested in connection with a wave of mail bombs that targeted prominent U.S. Democrats.
We in British Columbia and the rest of Canada should not sit back and smugly say it can’t happen here. In a world shrunk by social media, Pittsburgh is right next door. The disease plaguing our American neighbours does not recognize borders — remember the 2017 Quebec City mosque shooting. We must be ever vigilant against allowing political and philosophical differences to escalate into dangerous tribalism.
Extreme political polarization and an increase in hate crimes have coincided with Trump’s rise to power. Whether he is cause or symptom is irrelevant — he is in a position to spread oil over troubled waters; instead, he insists on throwing gasoline onto the flames. He has given literal meaning to the phrase “bully pulpit.”
We should always value freedom of expression and the right to dissent, but these rights should come with boundaries of reason and respect.
When politicians and others in positions of power spew “us versus them” rhetoric, they begin to erode those boundaries.
The consequences threaten all of us.
