Lori Falce: Lee's words about Minnesota victims must be remembered
On Saturday, when Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband were murdered, and state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife were gunned down, they were not the only casualties.
And no, I don’t just mean that there were other people killed in gun violence that day. I’m not even talking about violence at other protests, like the death of Arthur Folasa Ah Loo. The Project Runway contestant and recently naturalized American citizen was shot when two men with guns intervened to stop another man brandishing a weapon at the No Kings protest in Salt Lake City.
That was also a tragedy. But there is more.
There is a numbness overtaking us that must be fought at every turn.
There was a time when good taste or simple humanity would push us toward bowed heads and a quiet understanding that some responses are not appropriate at this time or in this place. What would be unpleasant but shrugworthy later is not OK when victims are still in the hospital and funeral arrangements have not yet been made.
U.S. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, clearly needs to learn that lesson. In two posts on social media, Lee displayed poor judgment and gross callousness. “This is what happens When Marxists don’t get their way,” said the first, while the second “Nightmare on Waltz street” seemed to ascribe some responsibility to Minnesota’s governor (and former vice presidential candidate) Tim Walz.
That was Sunday. It was Tuesday before Lee finally caved to backlash and took down his posts.
This wasn’t about politics, or it shouldn’t have been. The right-leaning Deseret News called the posts “unacceptable for anyone, let alone from a member of the Senate.” The paper is owned by an arm of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, of which Lee is a member.
This has become disgustingly common, perhaps thanks to the ability of social media to make our most immediate, knee-jerk, mean-spirited thoughts become public with a few taps of the thumbs.
There were certainly similar responses after other events targeting other political figures, including the assassination attempt on then-candidate Donald Trump at a rally in Butler in 2024. But even Trump, a notorious social media poster, did not use his platform to attack Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro after an April firebombing.
The dehumanization of our political opponents is leading to a desensitization to the violence of our actions and the indecency of what follows.
Perhaps we see this as different from the terrorism that happens in other countries. That is wrong. The point of terrorism is to win through not only violence but intimidation.
On Saturday, violence killed two and injured two more in the Minneapolis suburbs, but it hurt more. As a Minnesota native myself, I have friends and family who were touched by it, including two friends who were with Hortman the night before she was killed.
Others were not able to participate in protests canceled amid the manhunt for the shooter. That is the intimidation winning.
But Lee’s words were a different kind of attack. They slashed and burned with ridicule, hoping to score political points by splashing in the blood spilled.
Lee took those words down, but he should not be allowed to forget he posted them. And we cannot allow any politicians — especially those with whom we agree — to get away with similar egregious behavior.
Lori Falce is the Tribune-Review community engagement editor and an opinion columnist. For more than 30 years, she has covered Pennsylvania politics, Penn State, crime and communities. She joined the Trib in 2018. She can be reached at lfalce@triblive.com.
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