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“As long as anger, paranoia and misinformation drive our political debate, there are unhinged souls among us who will feel justified in turning to violent remedies for imagined threats.”
— Seattle Times editorial cartoonist David Horsey
The collision of free speech and violent, threatening imagery has never been more frequent, or more alarming, than it is right now.
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Given the rampant commercialization of violence and gore that pervades the entertainment industry, the sight of five homemade, stuffed dummies hanging from a front-yard gallows seems a fitting sign of the times.
However, this was not an expression of Halloween spirit. The display was intended by the property owner as an unambiguous threat against the Rural Municipality of Taché council.
The display, prominently displayed in the front yard of a Ste-Geneviève property, featured the message “Politics all tricks no treats.” Although the names of Taché councillors were not used, four of the five dummies were labelled with ward designations, a clear threat against individual politicians. A sixth mannequin dressed as a firefighter carried a sign that said “Taché Municipal Masters for Sale” and referenced the mayor, council and fire chief.
Five life-size dolls hanging from nooses on a Ste-Genevieve property have since been removed. (Matthew Frank / The Carillon files)
The display was apparently a protest against a $4,000 bill the property owner had received from the RM for dispatching the local volunteer fire brigade to attend to a fire in his yard. He appealed the bill but lost.
The display erected by the Ste-Geneviève man, who has not spoken to the media, was investigated by the RCMP but no charges were laid. He should be glad he didn’t try this stunt in Kentucky, where a 58-year-old man was charged by local police for a similarly ghoulish display in his yard. As was the case in Ste-Geneviève, the mannequins in this display were labelled with the names of local justice officials and politicians. He was charged with intimidating a witness in a legal proceeding and making “terroristic threats.”
I shouldn’t have to list the growing number of incidents of threats and violence against public officials in Canada, the United States and around the world. Along with the rise of political extremism, there has been a corresponding increase in actual violence directed towards lawmakers and senior public officials from a broad spectrum of government institutions.
Personally, I think one of the foundational elements in the exponential growth of violence against public officials is social media, which has allowed the hateful and maladjusted a limitless forum to indulge their most violent fantasies.
Most reasonable people, I believe, understand there should be guardrails on free expression and debate that exclude hateful attacks or expressions of violent intent.
Unfortunately, reasonable people do not control social media. In fact, nobody controls it.
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I have never begrudged a citizen having strong opinions about a politician, political party or government. However, I do take issue with those who allow those strong opinions to inspire them to threaten or coarsely disparage politicians.
Is any reasonable person proud there is a small but vocal constituency in Canada who thinks it’s OK to post signs and bumper stickers with the message “F*** Trudeau”?
I get it, you hate Trudeau. But expressing your hatred in this way puts democracy on a dangerously slippery slope.
Protesters who hurl profanity and threats, or who follow politicians and record their movements with cellphones, or who vandalize or set fire to their constituency offices, represent a clear and present danger to democracy.
Left uncurbed, the increasing volume of violent dialogue ultimately begins to bend and pervert democracy in really ugly ways. Particularly when it’s the public officials making the threats against citizens, and not citizens threatening public officials.
Consider U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision last month to post an animated video that showed a crowned Trump flying a fighter jet and dumping excrement on protesters who gathered in cities across America for the massive and peaceful “No Kings” protests.
To me, the tone and intent of this video is very similar to the front-yard hangman displays: violent, threatening and excessively hyperbolic; the kind of protest that sparks an escalation of hostilities between people of differing political opinions.
Of course, Trump is trying to provoke the protesters into violence that would justify further militarization of American cities and which — my theory, expressed before — might justify a suspension of midterm elections.
The point is the way we express our concern or criticism is still important.
Sticks and stones may still break bones, but words are often the precursor of actual violence.
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