Agreeing with a murderer is … uncomfortable. Even if the agreement is only in part.
Over the weekend, the news hit that one Jeremy Joseph Christian was in custody for a stabbing spree on one of Portland, Oregon’s MAX trains. According to reports, Christian had been yelling religious slurs at two hijab-wearing women when three men intervened in defense. Christian then stabbed the men … two to death.
The next day, quadrennial Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein politicized it in the now-de rigueur point-scoring manner: “Another heartbreaking tragedy in Trump’s America, as a white nationalist shouting anti-Islam slurs murders 2 on Portland, OR subway.”*
Immediately, other Twitterers (tweeters?) rushed to point the finger back at her. It turns out (investigation courtesy of BuzzFeed) the accused’s Facebook page showed the knife-wielder as supporting first Bernie Sanders and then … Dr. Stein herself.
But that is just the side story. Christian appears to have a long criminal record. It seems likely that he took to white nationalism as well as free speech — he brought a baseball bat to the recent Portland free speech rally I wrote about a few weeks ago, the police say, to “attack left-wing protestors” — and even progressive politics simply to fill his personal rage quota. The fact that he saluted Nazi-style, shouted “Hail Vinland,” and called himself a “nihilist” strongly suggest that he’s mostly unhinged.
You and I support free speech; he said he supported free speech. But free speech doesn’t include stabbing people. We can all agree that Stein is off the hook.
As is President Trump.
As are we.
We, after all, don’t support murder, heiling Hitler, or … Vinland?
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.
* Portland has no subway; MAX is an on-the-surface light rail system.
