Rhetoric, Images Incite Violence
Citizens, pols, media have responsibility to tone it down, listen to each other
Just hours after Minnesota Democratic state house leader Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark (Raleigh native, UNC Class of 1989) were assassinated early on June 14th, Robert Reives, her political counterpart in North Carolina, stepped before a “No Kings” rally of about 1,200 in Pittsboro to speak and indirectly demonstrated his own vulnerability as a public servant. He solemnly revealed that he was friends with Hortman “who was murdered last night.”
The crowd gasped in horror.
“I have known Melissa for about three years, and I will tell you, that when I heard the news, there was a mixture of intense sadness and intense anger,” Reives said.
“Yeah!” the crowd responded.
In what happened to Melissa, he said, “I’m seeing all of the problems we’ve got in this country.”
Almost immediately after the murder, Republican Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) posted falsely on social media that the Hortmans were murdered by a “Marxist” aide to Minnesota’s Democratic governor Tim Walz.
Reives said: “I’m seeing spin doctors trying to figure out how they can spin this story so that nobody has to take responsibility” for the political culture and the rhetoric that has contributed to increased political violence in the U.S. “The spin doctors say, ‘we had nothing to do with that, we had no idea why it happened,’ ” Reives observed.
In fact, we all have to take responsibility by contributing to a political culture of listening and understanding our neighbors and political opponents rather than labeling and demonizing them. Reason and persuasion — the essential ingredients of a deliberative democracy — have fallen by the wayside. Forces are pulling us apart for their own financial advantage in an attention-based economy. Those forces divide people into tribes to elicit knee-jerk emotion that is highly destructive of civility.
For several years, I’ve been at least peripherally involved in a group called Braver Angels, where Democrats, Republicans, and independents get together face-to-face to discuss hot-button issues and find common ground. It’s what will hold our democracy together, if anything can. Recently, we met to discuss immigration. Despite all the hot-button rhetoric on social media, I came away feeling that reasonable people of different political persuasions can help each other understand their viewpoints and reach consensus. Interested in learning more?
No Help From Media
We aren’t likely to get help from cable television, some newspapers or social media due to their financial incentives to engage in “angertainment.” The disrespectful comments posted on Facebook after Reives’ speech was reported in brief snippets were particularly appalling. I’ll get to that in a moment.
Going back to 2011, when Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Giffords “had a bullseye painted on her face on a poster” and 2020, when Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer was almost kidnapped, American political culture has gotten more violent, Reives observed.
He did not mention, in his brief speech, Donald Trump’s hot divisive rhetoric since he entered the presidential race exactly ten years ago. Nor 2017, when Republican Congressman Steve Scalese and three other people were shot at a baseball practice; January 6, 2021, when Trump incited rioters at the US Capitol to falsely protest the 2020 election and “hang (VP) Mike Pence,” nor two assassination attempts against Trump in 2024, but they as well as social media algorithms and simplistic memes, also contribute to the toxic political culture.
Hostility and Hatred Internalized
It turns out that the prime suspect in the murder of the Hortmans, Vance Luther Boeller, is a Trump supporter and anti-abortion activist. But the point is that the many thousands, if not millions, of Americans with untreated mental illness internalize hostility and hatred in the political culture, particularly as expressed on social media, and an increasing number, it seems, act violently on those thoughts.
Mental illness knows no political ideology, by the way.
After days of protests and a request from Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Sen. Lee took the social media post down.
Last Saturday, a member of Reives’ own caucus, Rep. Julie von Haefen (D-Wake) came under fire for posting a video from a “No Kings” rally. One or more of the 1,500 protestors was holding a cartoon of a guillotine, with the caption: “In these difficult times, some cuts may be necessary.” The bottom of the cartoon had red paint, representing spilled blood and (maybe) a small photo of Trump’s head. It was difficult to see or understand the meaning of the cartoon in a video, scanning the crowd.
Realizing what she had done, on Sunday von Haefen deleted what she called an “inappropriate” image and posted on Facebook: “Let me be clear: I condemn political violence in all forms.”
This did not stop Republican members of the NC General Assembly from expressing more outrage and calling for her resignation.
Media Focuses on Conflict
Nor did it stop conservative media from calling her out and focusing on the most extreme posters at the “No Kings” rallies. The North State Journal, which now owns the Chatham News and Record, did not bother to send a reporter to the rally where Reives spoke, but did publish two incendiary photos on its front page.
The first photo showed a poster equating Trump with Hitler, a sure sign Democrats have lost the argument. The second photo, with the numbers “86 47” on a placard suggests to some that Trump should be assassinated. Neither photo represents the opinions of the majority of the people in attendance.
Most Republicans and members of the media probably agree with Democratic leader Reives that “this is not who we are. This is not who we should be.” But “it’s more than just a shooting, it’s more than just turmoil. It is the living in fear that has become commonplace in just five months. People are afraid to step up…(and) step out. That’s why I’m thankful to have you who are here today,” Reives said.
“What this country stands for is neighbors taking care of neighbors, people taking care of people….
“We are not a country that spends its time saying, ‘if you disagree with me, you are the enemy. No, you are still an American, and you have that right (to disagree).”
How Local Social Media Destroys Local Civility
Local coverage of the “No Kings” rally from the Chatham Journal, local digital media on Facebook, which has 8,400 followers, was mocking and disrespectful of the protestors, distorted, incomplete, and just plain bad journalism. The rally was labeled “anti-Trump” rather than “No Kings” and pro-rule of law.
Predictably, this coverage elicited divisive and incendiary comments.
A slideshow of mostly old white people at the rally was set to the tune “Forever Young.” (Actually, the crowd was diverse age-wise.)
Other snippets were also nonsensical, rather than capturing the essence and intention of Reives’ speech.
On a short clip in which Rieves revealed that he was friends with Melissa Hortman, unsympathetic and dehumanizing comments appeared, as well as ad hominem attacks.
Douglas Roberts All of you are liars, thieves, and murderers.
Marie Epps Stupid
Randy Tillman: What the hell happen to Pittsboro it use to be a wonderful southern town. Now it's invaded with liberals who don't know their ass from a hole in the ground. I noticed it back when they took down the statue in front of the courthouse circle.
Douglas Roberts. Tired of hearing communist trying to ruin America.
George Gentry Another Jack ass on the show.
Tammie Eason posted a clip from TikTok: “Democrats, guess what? We’re still deporting their illlegal asses.”
Bill Justice Glad I live in western Chatham County.
Doug Moore Bootleg Obama talking about gun control while a member of his party kills a colleague is pretty rich. What a ……
Dirk Spencer replied: Doug Moore dude, I am as far right as anyone you will find in this county. I have nothing negative to say about Reives. He engages with me whenever I ask. He is not an Obama/Biden pretend to be moderate but actually…he is just a good dude who you would have a beer with.
Richard Hood Kings aren’t elected by the people. This president was. Twice. Get over it.
Dirk Spencer He does appear to be the only African American or person not using Depends at the rally.
James Collins This is why the real citizens of the United States are mad at this kind of rhetoric. The lies that the left feed the sheep.
Richard Hood Kings aren’t elected by the people. This president was. Twice. Get over it.
Tammie Eason posted a meme: “Fun Fact: One out of three Democrats is as dumb as the other two.”
NC Democratic Party chair Anderson Clayton’s fiery speech elicited these two comments on the Chatham Journal Facebook:
Randy Tillman Take back Pittsboro NC from these retard liberals.
Douglas Roberts Democrats are liars and thieves.
I reprinted the names of these commenters not to ridicule them but because they are my neighbors in Chatham County. If we gather in a face-to-face Braver Angels meeting, I suspect we could not only find things to like about each other but common ground.
These kinds of comments are why my go-to social media is now Substack, where you can find intelligent people posting thoughtful, substantial statements rather than being isolated in tribal echo chambers and toxic logical fallacies.
I still go to Facebook about once a week because that’s where most of my friends still are, but I tire of its completely inadequate news coverage, political echo chambers, toxic discussions and lack of persuasion. It’s very troubling that most Americans now get their news from social media, and that 80 percent of Americans are not interested in paying even the penny, 10 cents, 25 cents, 50 cents or one dollar a day or even a month their seniors and their ancestors paid for thoughtful, persuasive sources of news. You get what you pay for. On “free” social media, you are the product.
I fear this could mean the end of civility, understanding, deliberative democracy, and persuasion in the U.S. Maybe we’ll just dissolve into warring tribes.
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'No Kings' Rallies Attract Millions
More than five million Americans have participated in No Kings rallies against the shift to an unconstitutional, absolute monarchy by a U.S. president who is usurping the powers of Congress and defying federal courts. It was the second major demonstration of 2025 in a burgeoning resistance movement. Attendance dwarfed the sparsely attended military para…
The extremes in both parties always get lots of press. Most of the anti-war movement in the ‘60s disapproved of the hippies spitting on the troops coming home. The last people to blame are the soldiers. It’s the rich draft-dodging war mongers like President Heal-Spurs that always start the wars. If you want to win national elections, you can’t pander to the radical left. Biden beat Trump because when asked about radical positions like “defund the police,” he said they were ridiculous. Harris lost because when she was asked the same questions, she gave wishy-washy answers that pandered to the radicals.
Well said, Jim. With regard to Trump bombing Iran's nuclear enrichment facilities, I had mixed feelings. Bombing another country is an act of war. It may well have undesirable consequences for years to come. On the other hand, Iran's facilities have been a concern for both Dems and Reps for decades. Trump did something no President had the gaul/courage to do. Elliot Cohen makes that point in his essay in The Atlantic yesterday. (I saw it via Apple News.) I was glad a more learned and intelligent person said what I was thinking.