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An attack on democracy, on all of us

There is much we dont know about the shooting Wednesday at a GOP congressional baseball practice in Alexandria, Virginia. But we know enough to suspect that the tone and tenor of our current political disagreements are acting as an unhealthy accelerant for what were already-over-the-top passions.

We know the lone gunman, who shot and wounded five before he was killed in a shootout, made his anti-Trump sentiments known on social media. And we know his victims were Republican members of a congressional baseball team. In other words, members of the same party as President Donald Trump.

We know that the shooter identified as James T. Hodgkinson, 66, from Belleville, Illinois reportedly posted this: Trump is a traitor. Trump Has Destroyed Our Democracy. Its Time to Destroy Trump & Co. Hodgkinsons brother said he was very distraught over Trumps election. He was apparently a volunteer in the presidential campaign of Sen. Bernie Sanders, who condemned the shooting.

And we know that Rep. Jeff Duncan, R-South Carolina, was asked by a man he believes was the gunman about the party affiliation of the practicing team. He replied Republican.

Among those shot was House Majority Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana, two law enforcement officials, an aide for Texas GOP Rep. Roger Williams and a lobbyist for Tyson Foods.

In a statement, the president said, We may have our differences, but we do well in times like these to remember that everyone who serves in our nations capital is here because, above all, they love our country.

Wed broaden that definition of people who love their country to include most Americans why the need to calm our disagreements are necessary.

But this shooting is different in a noteworthy way.

The shooting is reminiscent of the one that claimed U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Tucson, as a victim in 2011. She survived with brain injury, but six were killed in that shooting. The gunman, Jared Lee Loughner, was ultimately judged incompetent, didnt stand trial and was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. He was reportedly fixated on Giffords, though his specific motives remain unclear.

But a theme was present in Wednesdays shooting, as it was in the one that claimed Giffords as a victim. Among those shot was a U.S. representative.

Any shooting of any innocent person is a tragedy. When the victims are those elected to serve us, this is an attack not just on individuals but on our democracy. While its clear that the 2011 Tucson shooting was an assassination attempt, its less clear if Scalise was the intended target or just a random victim at a GOP gathering.

Nonetheless, the fact that he was shot is noteworthy. Intended or not, this was an attack on our system of government.

We live in a time of conflict, of deep divisions about the president and about political ideology generally. The proper channels for such disagreements are the ballot box, free speech that entitles us to voice our disagreements, our institutions of checks and balances, and values that say we can have such disagreements and all be equally American.

There is, however, a lot of us and them plaguing the country. Among the more recent examples: deadly attacks on two brave men in Portland defending a young girl wearing a hijab; and the shooting of two Indian men in a bar in Kansas, killing one.

The culprit here is not the left, nor in previous shootings the right. It is that deranged extremist who believes that grievance channeled through the barrel of a gun is acceptable. It is not. Not in America. Not anywhere.

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An attack on democracy, on all of us - mySanAntonio.com