We have, for whatever the reason, disturbed people... who sometimes do terrible, violent things, and sometimes those of us who serve in elected positions are the target.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
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.
I'm very disturbed about the uptick in shootings and violence at our military installations across the nation.
I'm still very aware of the violence in our culture, more so than other people. I know where it comes from when someone is trying to suppress someone else, sometimes they fight back.
My people have been sucked into the violence because some feel they have to retaliate, and some feel they have to protect themselves.
The political environment we create matters because a disturbed person cannot always tell the difference between explosive rhetoric and explosive actions.
I was born in 1960 into a more violent America than we had in 2014. We haven't been in such a good place for more than 50 years.
We have been shaken by the deaths of Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, and Tamir Rice - shaken, but not sufficiently unsettled. We must contextualize those losses, force our neighbors to become so deeply disturbed by what has occurred that they, too, are inspired to act to change the system.
I have lived a life that has been beautiful and painful at some moments. But I am convinced others can learn how to control a certain kind of rage that bubbles up in many Americans, particularly, but not limited to, women, blacks, and other minorities.
If I am no longer disturbed myself, I will deal less with disturbed people, but I don't regret having concerned myself with them because I think most of us are disturbed.
In many ways, I think that, while we've been remarkably violent in our media, there's been a real schizophrenia. In private, on the Internet, and on public-affairs shows or talk radio, we're way more explicit than we've ever been.