"You are responsible for your wake." [View all]

"You are responsible for your wake."

Who is responsible for the shootings in Colorado Springs?

When I was a kid, I saw a sign on a lake that made an incredible impression on me. To this day, I think about that sign: "You are responsible for your wake."

In boating, "wake" refers to the waves created as a boat travels across water. Smaller craft my be capsized and inexperienced swimmers may drown in the wake of larger boats. Boat operators are legally responsible for that damage.

The same rule should apply to politics and news organizations. If you use misleading propaganda to vilify a specific group or to raise funds for your campaign, then you are responsible for your wake. When your words encourage or support the ideology of groups or individuals associated with domestic terrorism, then you are responsible. When you imply or state outright that Second Amendment Solutions are appropriate, then you are responsible for the violence that occurs when people take your words to heart. When you intentionally empower people who hate, you are responsible for the actions that follow.

If you don't condemn it, then you condone it.

Yesterday was an act of terrorism. If you doubt that, then imagine how Fox News would have covered the event if the shooter had been a Muslim. Or an immigrant. Or, for that matter, if he had been Black.

The Right says that we shouldn't talk about guns in the aftermath of something like yesterday's terrorist attack. Fine, if you don't want to talk about guns, then let's talk about domestic terrorism and who is behind it. Let's talk about who incites these attacks.

Let's talk about being responsible for your wake.

https://www.facebook.com/bobseay