@snood,
I have seen way too many political murders of activists, office holders and candidates for office. It's ancient history for many younger people, but its still vivid for me when Kennedy was shot in Dallas and Martin Luther King murdered in 1968. Baltimore and DC were under martial law, people at work were allowed to leave early in order to get to Washington or Baltimore before curfew. It was incredibly distressful. Distressful is a weak work for what we experienced.
In this country, we can vote people out of office or work against those we disagree with. If we are too lazy to vote, murder is not the alternative. I hate the idea that we are no better than a banana republic. And I'm so disappointed that our educational system has turned out so many people who can't think for themselves. So many people are ignorant of their own ignorance so they believe everything they hear from folks they hope know what they are talking about. It's a sad state of affairs, our fellow citizens are being led around by their irrational fears.