Making threats of violence undermines our self-government

Threats, even those that are never carried out, are corrosive and divisive. They seek to make us a land ruled by fear rather than public discourse.

SHARE Making threats of violence undermines our self-government
CV_PRITZKER_111820_13.jpg

Gov. J.B. Pritzker says that his children are “off-limits,” during a press conference where he announced that he is enforcing Tier 3 mitiagtions in Illinois to curb the spread of COVID-19 at the James R. Thompson Center in the Loop, Tuesday afternoon.

Pat Nabong/Sun-Times

Making threats of violence against our governor’s family should simply not happen in Illinois.

Unfortunately, such threats are growing more common across the nation. It’s up to the rest of us to tamp down any suggestion of violence whenever we run across it.

On Tuesday, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said his family received a series of “hateful and threatening” messages after a debunked photo went viral purporting to show his daughter eating at a Chicago restaurant. Pritzker said the threats affected his family’s Thanksgiving plans.

Editorials bug

Editorials

“Hateful and threatening” messages? Over something that didn’t even happen? Such threats eat away at the cohesion that holds our city, state and nation together.

It’s not just Illinois. Across the nation, store employees are threatened when they ask customers to wear masks. Health care workers are threatened when they encourage pandemic safety measures.

On Wednesday, it was reported Arizona law enforcement officers are investigating an apparent death threat against Secretary of State Katie Hobbs. On Tuesday, it was announced Milwaukee police officers, because of a death threat, will accompany city health inspectors checking into COVID-19 safety violations. Last month, in what was deemed a credible threat, a city police officer reportedly threatened to shoot and kill Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego. The officer denied it.

As election officials and ballot counters worked to make this a secure and accurate election, Benjamin Hovland, chair of the Election Assistance Commission, reported they received an “abnormal” number of threats. On Nov. 11, the Detroit Free Press reported someone threatened to rape and commit violence against the mothers of election canvassers. Georgia’s secretary of state said he has received death threats as his office handled the recount in that state. Immunologist Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, who is just trying to save our lives from COVID-19, said he and his family have received threats.

Opinion Newsletter

In the most frightening incident, the FBI disclosed an alleged plot to kidnap and execute Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, and perhaps Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, as well. Last month, police reported an alleged threat to kidnap Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine.  

Threats of violence, even those that are never carried out, are corrosive and divisive. They seek to make us a land ruled by fear rather than public discourse. No one should shrug them off, in any circumstances.

Let’s remind ourselves — and others who need to hear it — that we are better than that.

Send letters to letters@suntimes.com.

The Latest
Despite the addition of some new characters (human and otherwise) the film comes across as a relatively uninspired and fairly forgettable chapter in the Monsterverse saga.
Unite Here Local 1, representing the workers at the Signature Room and its lounge, said in a lawsuit in October the employer failed to give 60 days notice of a closing or mass layoff, violating state law.
Uecker has been synonymous with Milwaukee baseball for over half a century.
Doctors say looking at the April 8 eclipse without approved solar glasses — which are many times darker than sunglasses — can lead to retinal burns and can result in blind spots and permanent vision loss.
Antoine Perteet, 33, targeted victims on the dating app Grindr, according to Chicago police.