Political violence: Is it time to tone down the rhetoric?

The Ashland County Fair removed the Ashland County Democratic Party from its booth at the fair over offensive buttons.

According to reports, the buttons featured a red hat and words such as, “One day, we will wake up to his obituary.” The fair apologized, stating that it does not condone such behavior from vendors and apologized to anyone who saw the display.

Heather Sample, the 47-year-old chair of the Ashland County Democratic Party, alleges that she was “ejected” from the county fair for “political reasons,” according to Ashland Source. The Secret Service was asked to investigate, according to WJW-TV, and the Ashland County Sheriff’s Office has launched a criminal investigation, as reported by WOIO-TV.

“We hear those in our own party and those in opposition who feel those buttons were in poor taste,” the party said in a statement, WJW-TV reported. “In retrospect, given the emotions running high in the wake of the Charlie Kirk assassination and subsequent scrutiny of criticism by the government, we should have thought about this more.

“We strongly oppose many of the policies of the Trump administration,” it added. “We feel they are damaging the country. We express our ideas using our words and peaceful demonstrations. We do not and will never endorse political violence.”

It begs a question: Is it time to dial back the rhetoric?

Lowering the Temperature

Several experts who spoke with Ohio.News said it is time to rein in the rhetoric.

“This local example from Ashland is similar to issues nationwide and even internationally that occur, especially online,” Kevin Angelo Brown, a professor at Arkansas State University, told Ohio.News. “This erosion of civility is prevalent but rarely escalates into actual violence.”

However, when it does, Brown said, it “often makes national headlines.”

Brown noted that “the vast majority of people … do not use this type of discourse and often most people generally do not condone it.” However, he noted that even 1% of the population engaging in this type of behavior still totals millions of people.

“Social media often creates communities where extreme political statements like this are supported, and algorithms continue to feed users material that rationalizes this behavior,” Brown said. “The other political ideology and group can then be seen as enemies, especially since many believe the opposing side is trying to take away their freedoms and rights. This can escalate into extremist ideologies.”

Democrats and Violence

Peter Lumaj, who was born in Communist Albania, has witnessed the devastation of political violence.

“I think that the left, right now, or the Democratic Party, is permeated by the culture of violence,” said Lumaj, who is seeking office in Connecticut. “And it’s absolutely wrong.”

“I grew up in a communist country, namely Albania, where political differences were settled this way, where people would be assassinated for political reasons, or killed for political reasons, or arrested, beaten and tortured, and one of them was my father, who was tortured to death,” Lumaj said. “And these are things that should never be allowed to transpire in the United States.

“And whether it’s the left or the right, we just have to tone it down, because Americanism should not be defined by the Democrats or the Republicans,” Lumaj said. “That should be at a higher level than the political affiliations that we have in the United States.”

Social Media and Sympathy

Reed Howard, chief strategy and public affairs officer at Future Caucus, told Ohio.News that the widespread adoption of social media has coarsened public dialogue. He called for greater personal responsibility in the information people consume and how they interact with others.

“There should be some things that are off limits and that should be calling or joking about the death of others,” Howard said. “And then the second thing is much more practical. Ask yourself, would you say this to your grandmother, and would you say this to the person if you were face to face? You really should ask yourself that, and if it doesn’t pass that test, don’t say it.

“I think that gets us back on the path of respect and civility,” Howard added.