I’ve always believed that normal behaviors in everyday life, whether by politicians or ordinary citizens, were what one could expect in their daily existence in this country. Boy, have I been mistaken, as events locally and nationally have shown.
When the news reports on our local politicians, I don’t hear them calling others degrading names, or lying about their accomplishments, or making belligerent comments aimed at belittling them. You don’t hear Salt Lake City Mayor Mendenhall, Gov. Cox, or any other local politician saying things like that.
It’s what I call normal behavior versus what you hear our president saying on a regular basis. Yet a majority of our Utah residents support our president despite his verbal assaults on others. I just don’t understand it.
Recently, Arturo Gamboa explained his behavior of carrying and openly displaying an unloaded assault weapon during the protest in downtown Salt Lake City as exercising his First and Second Amendment rights. I agree, but have to ask, “Is this normally accepted behavior?” Does Gamboa not realize that the vast majority of people in this country feel threatened when an unknown person appears in a crowd openly carrying a gun, let alone an assault weapon?
How are they to know the weapon is not loaded, or that the person carrying it is not crazy, or is not going to commit a mass shooting? I mean, really, this action by Gamboa was not only not thought out, but was absolutely reckless.
It is not what one would consider normal behavior in everyday life. And we’ve seen the unfortunate outcomes as a result.
Tom Day, Cottonwood Heights
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