KING: Blaming Bernie Sanders or progressives for congressional baseball shooting is preposterous

[kentuck]

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/king-don-blame-sanders-congressional-baseball-shooting-article-1.3247576

<snip>
Bernie Sanders from the floor of the U.S. Senate Wednesday spoke out firmly against the horrific shooting that took place at a congressional baseball practice. Sanders, in his remarks, also acknowledged early reports that the alleged shooter, James Hodgkinson, was said to be a volunteer for his presidential campaign.

<snip>
First off, Bernie is as close to a pacifist hippy as we have in the Senate. The man worshiped the ground Dr. King walked on and has been an advocate for non-violent protests and boycotts his entire life. He has never advocated violence against Donald Trump, against conservatives, or even suggested that we should consider violence as a worthwhile tactic as we fight against problematic policies. This notion that Bernie, of all people, had anything to do with Wednesday's violence is foolhardy, unintelligent and poorly considered.

Secondly, the progressive movement in general is a movement about organizing and empowering people for systemic political change. I am a part of this movement. I was a volunteer for Bernie's presidential campaign. To this very day I work directly with several dozen progressive grassroots organizations fighting for real change in this country. I've attended and hosted and contributed to hundreds of meetings with these organizations. Not once, publicly or privately, did a single person in a single meeting I was a part of ever suggest, explicitly or implicitly, that someone should go do what James Hodgkinson allegedly did today. Period.

I don't know James Hodgkinson or what inspired him, but I can say with complete confidence that it damn sure wasn't Bernie Sanders or the progressive movement he helps lead.

[hrmjustin]

1. Blaming Bernie for this incident is stupid imho.

[panader0]

2. Pacifist hippy here too.

[mythology]

5. What violent rhetoric did Sanders use?

Sanders wasn't calling for a violent revolution. Even as somebody who isn't a fan of how Sanders talks about the Democratic party and thinks he can be a blowhard, Sanders never talked about anything other than voting and people getting involved in activism. He never called for people to get guns.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

10. Precisely... Bernie leads by example when it comes to a peaceful progressive revolution.

[airmid]

14. I recall only one candidate calling for violence and 2nd amendment solution...

and it sure as hell wasn't Bernie Sanders.

[elleng]

6. Blaming Bernie Sanders or progressives for congressional baseball shooting is preposterous.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

11. Beyond preposterous!

[Chasstev365]

7. Oh, BS: Nothing Bernie said or did had any consequences

You hate Sanders and are blaming him for contributing to something that is in no way his fault!

[pennylane100]

9. and your rhetoric is unbelievable.

A really bad thing happened when a delusional gunman shot a group of innocent people and you choose this event to make political hay.
Do you really want a conversation where we compare the political leanings of all those who have used violence to quell the hatred that they harbor. Shame on you.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

12. Shame is right.

[mythology]

4. Finally something I can agree with Shaun King on

You can make an argument that Trump and others who use violent language are riling up their supporters to commit violence, but that's really hard to do with Sanders, or really any Democrats. Part of that is of course that Democrats generally favor some degree of gun restriction and so rhetoric like "second amendment solutions" wouldn't make sense, but even more than that, there is a sort of hyper masculinity in the Republican party. As buffoons like Joni Ernst and Sarah Palin show, it's not just limited to the guys in the Republican party.

[zz-la]

8. Sanders called out the NRA and others that had prevented sensible gun reform

The kind of gun reform that would have prevented this shooting.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

13. Bravo!

[judesedit]

15. Thank you kentuck and O King. Who's blaming Bernie???? That's absoeffinglutely ridiculous

Although Drumpf spews hatred at every opportunity, he's to blame for none of it? Yet the people who preach togetherness, equality, sharing, gun-control, universal healthcare, peace and love are responsible? Spare us all.