The Nov. 2 issue of the Garfield County Insider had a good article about a public meeting the Garfield County commissioners hosted to discuss the draft Grand Staircase National Monument management plan. Among the attendees was Sean Reyes, Utah’s attorney general, Utah’s top law enforcement official. At this meeting Leland Pollock, one of Garfield County’s commissioners, called people who oppose his views on managing lands in the monument terrorists, Al-Qaeda.
Terrorist groups dehumanize and kill citizens of governments whose ideas they oppose. Not nice people. In today’s world labeling a group or individual a terrorist justifies killing that person. We do it to the Muslims, they do it to us, the Palestinians do it to the Israelis and they do it to the Palestinians.
If your views differ from Pollock, does he think you deserve death? If you think regulating grazing on public land is a good idea, you are “the scum of the planet”, says Pollock; vermin, not real Americans, in his view.
According to people that were there, no one, not even Reyes objected to this inflammatory language.
Pollock’s apologists will claim he was just talking, just like former president Trump is just talking as he draws up plans for mass arrests, mass deportations and internment camps if he gets elected.
Language is dangerous; using labels that justify violence against people is dangerous. If someone gets hurt or killed, well, I’m sure the governor and Reyes will send thoughts and prayers. That’s probably more than we will get from Pollock.
Until we demand an end to this madness of violent rhetoric, it will continue. It will get worse and people will die. Gaza is providing us with a tragic real time lesson in how that works.
David Hensel, Garfield County
