Violent Partisanship

**DISCLAIMER** I’m coming at this issue from my point of view – things that I have seen and heard and experienced recently. I don’t condone threats of or wishes for violence from ANYONE – whether I agree with their politics or not. The first part of the post is directed at the Democrats I have personally heard wishing for the deaths of Republicans at the RNC. The last part is for everyone – even my own party. This post is not meant to convince everyone to hold hands and sing “We Are The World”. I know some people will keep thinking I’m an Evil Republican out to oppress and hate and stuff my pockets with money, no matter what I say. Get mad at me all you want, but read the whole post before you do. Think about it – is wishing death upon your political opposition really what you want to be known for?

It always makes me spitting mad when I see people joking about their political opposition getting hurt or killed. I’ve seen so many posts about how the GOP delegates/candidates should be wiped off the map by Hurricane Isaac that I can’t count them all, which begs the question: aren’t you supposedly the party of tolerance? Aren’t you supposed to promote democratic processes and a fair and inclusive dialogue?

Instead, you laugh about the possibility of conservatives being killed. You can’t see past the political beliefs to the actual person who holds them. You can’t make yourself see that their beliefs are every bit as legitimate as yours, informed by life experiences, research, and values. Just because they came to a different conclusion does not give you the right to wish death on them.

Shame on you for betraying the basic tenets of your party – tolerance and equality for ALL PEOPLE. Regardless of how they believe. Diversity does not end at skin color or religion, it extends to political belief – and thank God it does. No one mindset should hold power exclusively forever. The existence of opposing viewpoints is what this country was founded on, what it thrives on. So all of you who are out there rooting for the deaths of your political adversaries, shame on you. We are Americans, and that is not acceptable to us.