Message from White House reeks of violence
On Saturday, Oct. 27, during a Shabbat service in a Pittsburgh synagogue, Jews were murdered for being Jews. A known anti-Semite brought his gun and his hatred. He slaughtered 11 and injured six more.
The current message from the man who occupies the oval office reeks of violence. His response to news of the mass shooting was that there should have been an armed guard at the synagogue. Such an appalling blame-the-victims comment demonstrates how thoroughly incapable he is of being the national unifier that we desperately need in these frightening times.
In an effort to do something life-affirming this morning, just a day after the shootings, my husband and I went to Liliuokalani gardens to see the beautiful exhibit of large flower arrangements to mark the celebration of Japanese emigration to Hawaii. As we wandered around the paths of the park to gaze at each of the floral creations, we were informed that there were 11 lovely arrangements. The same number as the murdered.
I knew the number of displays was unintentional, but at each stop, I said a prayer for one of the victims. And then, I offered a prayer of thanks that at least here in our town of Hilo, there was proof of peaceful coexistence blooming, for all to enjoy.
With broken hearts and unbroken resolve, we must find a way to speak out against the madness and violence that continues to rise.
Jeri Gertz
Hilo
President’s calls elicit hate
Trump bellows that Democrats and the press are the enemies of the nation. Within days one of his loyal followers sends 14 pipe bombs to his enemies. Trump stirs his rally mob into mind-numbing fear of 4,000 Hondurans, mostly women and children, slowly marching through the Mexican desert heat to seek asylum in the U.S.; by contrast more than this number will die in the United States because of the prescription drug epidemic just during the period the caravan marchers are on the road, but Trump doesn’t mobilize the power of the government to deal with that threat.
Instead he claims he (and only he) knows there must be some unidentified Middle Eastern terrorists hidden in the midst of the refugees, and within days 11 worshipers are gunned down by automatic weapon fire in a synagogue by a white domestic terrorist claiming that the Jews are responsible for that illegal immigration. Trump says the solution is more guns in our churches and temples.
But four police officers responding to the shooter were wounded, two nearly killed, without the additional peril of civilian shooters aiming into or around a crowd of people running in terror from a crazed gunman. But perhaps we have to understand why Trump cannot accept at least partial responsibility, propose realistic solutions, and try to unite the nation rather than divide. His mind was fully occupied by a more pressing matter: he was having a bad hair day.
Arne Werchick
Kailua-Kona