Now that some of the dust has settled regarding the incident at the capitol March 1st, I think it’s time to kick some of that dust back up. The media coverage of the incident has been one-sided and in some key respects it has been inaccurate. That’s par for the course in an era where reporting of fake news has become commonplace. The hyperbolic and vitriolic attacks on the woman at the center of this happening, Brenda Arthur, has got me thinking that we as a society have stopped thinking. We are now running on pure emotion and adrenaline.

Rather than put words in Ms. Arthur’s mouth, you can read her side of the story in her press release on the matter. It was printed in the Charleston Daily Mail, a newspaper that leans more than a little to the left. That they printed the press release shows that they recognize the responsibility of the press to publish views with which they might not agree. Good for them.

Contrast that with the stance taken by the Shepherdstown Observer. Apparently Ms. Arthur submitted that same press release to the Observer. She posted the response she received by email from editor Mike Chalmers on Facebook:

“Brenda: To put it mildly, we all know your name (though it will be forgotten next week, thankfully) because you’re an unaccountable bigot. YOU CHOSE to do it - and now you’re whining like a little brat (inspired by your president, I’m sure) because the state and the world condemns YOUR behavior. As they should … well, save for a small and soon-to-be-extinct group of similar bigots that slither through this country. They indeed probably love you. Anyway, as the curtain sets on your worldview, we bid you, and your ilk, a not-so-fond farewell. You won’t be missed. And your silly little press release won’t be published. Go back to your hole. Crawl into it. And shut up.”

Mr. Chalmer’s email oozes hatred and it’s directed at a 67 year old Jewish woman. So when he tells her to “go back to your hole. Crawl into it. And shut up”, there is a whiff of misogyny to it. I’ll give him a pass regarding anti-Semitism. For now. But when he says that the curtain is setting on her world view, the Jewish calendar goes back 5779 years. As Ms. Arthur’s press release states, she went to the West Virginia capitol that day to protest anti-Semitism. Does Mike Chalmers have a problem with that? Did he even bother to read it?

Consider further that the anti-Semitism that Ms. Arthur was protesting revolved around Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) who was the subject of the photo that launched a thousand articles. Omar’s alleged anti-Semitic comments have been the subject of many an article as well. Rep. Omar comes from a culture where women are required to shut up. Now that she is a US citizen, she has the same God given rights as enshrined in our constitution. And though I vehemently disagree with much of what Rep. Omar says, I fervently defend her right to say it. Is it not the height of hubris and hypocrisy that Mike Chalmers, the editor of a local newspaper, that relies on our cherished First Amendment guaranteeing the freedom of the press, would tell someone else to shut up?

So then the question for Mr. Chalmers would be - is the sun really setting on a world view that believes that anti-Semitism is real and that we need to be vigilant to ensure that it is challenged at every turn? Does he share Rep. Omar’s world view?

When Chalmers ups the ante on his condescension toward Brenda Arthur with the shrill assertion that she is “whining like a little brat”, he says something else that is quite telling: “inspired by YOUR (emphasis mine) president, I’m sure”. So, we now have on record that the editor of the Shepherdstown Observer does not consider Donald Trump to be his president. He could have said “our president”, but he didn’t. Shepherdstown is not part of the USA?

Passover is coming up next month. In the Haggadah, the book that is used to conduct the Passover Seder, there is the parable of the four sons: the wise son, the wicked son, the simple son and the son who does not even know how to ask. In the parable, what distinguishes them is the way in which each individual son asks about the meaning of the Passover, the holiday that celebrates the deliverance of the Jewish people from slavery. You can read the description of each here. Regarding the wicked son, “what does he say? ‘What is this service to you?!’ He says ‘to you,’ but not to him! By thus excluding himself from the community he has denied the foundations of our faith…”

Similarly, by saying that the president is “your president” Mr. Chalmers is excluding himself from the community of Americans. There have been past presidents that I did not vote for. Every one of them was still my president. Every. One.

The First Amendment of the Constitution asserts the God given right of the Freedom of the Press. It also includes Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Expression and Freedom of Religion. We all have the right to express ourselves and to pray in the manner that we choose. That includes Mike Chalmers. That includes Brenda Arthur. That includes Rep. Ilhan Omar. That includes you. And me. When Mr. Chalmers tells Brenda Arthur, a 67 year old Jewish female West Virginia native to crawl back in her hole and shut up — how is this not hate speech?

We live in a world where identity politics trumps the underlying issues. We are assigned to groups that make it easy to attach labels. I don’t know whether Ms. Arthur is a Trump supporter or not, but Mike Chalmers clearly seems to think that she is a deplorable.

We are coming to an inflection point in society where there are folks that have disconnected from the basic rules of engagement, decency and civility. Since the Shepherdstown Observer won’t let you hear all sides of this issue, go read Ms. Arthur’s press release. I think you’ll figure out who the whining brat really is.