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David Mitchell
With the recent news regarding the plot to kidnap the governor of Michigan, I grow more and more worried about the potetntial for violence during our upcomming election. I have been thinking about this for quite awile, as a hinted before in my post about a "boiling pot".
For seveal years I have been reading about militias and the presence of guns - and not just any guns - among many militiant groups. Though some of you will be quick to point out that "both sides" are guilty in this issue, it would take a blind man to say tha it is not disporportionally prevelant among the Right Wing "anti-government" groups. And not just semi-automatic rifles, but armored vests, and helmets - in great numbers - showing up at the same time and same location,,, "spontaneously". What a coincidence?
For several years, I have seen hundres of photos of the "open carry" rallies - many in Texas, Oklahoma, and/or other Southern states - with groups of people posing for the camera as they gather in a Chipoltle, a McDonlds, or even a grocery store, pressumabley to claim their "rights under the 2nd amendment". Imagine a group of young men, entering a restaurant - maybe 20 or them - all brandishing their M-16's, C.A.R. 15's, or MAC -10's. And me sitting there with my 12 year-old granddaughter. I'd be out of there in a blink of an eye. Some stores have had to post notices asking theri customers not to carry weapons inside the store. I saw one photo of a guy looking through the frozen food department at a Target, in his shorts, with an AK-47 slung over his shoulder, and one with two ladies in line with their shopping carts at a Wall-Mart grocery, both with M-16's slung over ther shoulders. Ridiculous!
But the problem has gotten more serious, as millions of people have fallen under the spell of people like Akex Jones, the nut-case Right-wing talk show host who said the Sandy Hook massacre was staged".
As we approach this election, I think back to an article I read about a case in New Jersey a while back where a group calling themselves "The National Ballot Security Task Force", placed official-looking signs, and sent their own armed patrols out to "guard" voting locations. They were accused of intimidating black and hispanic voters and scaring them into leaving before voting.
And now all this talk of "poll guards" is becomming a drum beat among certain groups - both Left and Right. All while our "tweeeter-in-chief" seems to be fanning the flames of anger, dissent, and distrust.
I personally voted last Monday, in a place where the line was about 100 people, but where no such "Poll Guards" existed, and where we all stood peacefuly and patiently, chatting back and forth like neighbors you'd meet on the street corner.
I think we all need to pray for peace and safety for this upcomming election and for this country.
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