Words Matter

By Baxter

We cats are of two minds about this post, because it's a scary subject. And while we don't want to give any more screen space to whackjobs than is necessary, we feel an obligation to point out dangerous rhetoric.

Today in Britain, a Labour MP was shot to death in broad daylight. She was a vocal supporter of allowing more Middle Eastern refugees into the UK. Coincidentally, the anti-European Union campaign in Britain had just unveiled this poster, which implies that a UK that elects to remain in the EU will soon be overwhelmed by hordes of the great unwashed. Even before the MP's murder, the poster was generating a ton of pushback.

Now, everyone's in shock to hear not just that the MP was slaughtered but that the killer shouted "Put Britain first" as he did it.

Perhaps the most eloquent statement on these events has come from Alex Massie of The Spectator, who wrote:

"When you encourage rage you cannot then feign surprise when people become enraged. You cannot turn around and say, ‘Mate, you weren’t supposed to take it so seriously. It’s just a game, just a ploy, a strategy for winning votes.’

"When you shout BREAKING POINT over and over again, you don’t get to be surprised when someone breaks. When you present politics as a matter of life and death, as a question of national survival, don’t be surprised if someone takes you at your word."

This is resonating with us in an unsettling way. Why? Because Donald Drumpf has spent the last few days saying that President Obama sympathizes with terrorists, and John McCain has had to walk back a statement that Obama is "directly responsible" for the mass shooting in Orlando.

Goodness gracious. We hope the Secret Service is on alert. In the meantime, we cats HISS and SNARL.