Greg Gianforte

I have never been one to promote violence.  I believe if you have reasonable people you are working with, discussion will fix a situation.  However, the world contains unreasonable people who don't know when to stop.  They don't know how to be respectful.  Sometimes a good fight needs to take place. 

This morning I woke up to the news.  Greg Gianforte body slammed a reporter and punched him a couple of times.  I groaned.  What was I going to do when I enter the Fair Grounds exhibit building  and was handed a ballet.  Yes, I am republican.  Yes, I believe in my rights to bare arms.  Yes, I am retired military.  And yes, I don't believe in sanctuary cities. 

I read one report that was slanted to the left.  I read another report that was slanted to the right.  Neither told me what the question was that the reporter asked Greg.  I scrolled through Facebook.  My conservative friends continue to support Greg and my liberal friends are appalled.  No change there.  I really thought knowing the question the reporter asked would be my deciding factor of making up my mind about how to vote, either for Greg or for Donald Duck.  Writing that, I realize Donald Duck would have body slammed the reporter as well, but I digress. 

The reporter asked a valid question about health care and the budget.  I found this out through Fox News.  I had also read an MSN report and another one that I don't recall from what source.  However, I couldn't ignore the fact that the reporter went into the office without asking or waiting to be invited.  Greg asked him to leave and asked him to see one of his staff members.  The reporter ignored Greg's request to leave the situation.

In April, my daughter had a similar episode happen at school.  The social studies class was divided into groups of four to debate in teams of two about the dropping of the bombs in Japan during WWII.  Madelle was on the side for dropping.  The girl arguing against Madelle had verbally been mean to Madelle in the past.  During the debate, this girl went off about how Madelle is the type to want to kill thousands of people.  Then she went off about how Madelle was a Trump supporter so no wonder why Madelle was so horrible.  One, this had nothing of relevance to the debate.  Two, this girl did not attack Madelle's partner, just Madelle.  This girl singled out Madelle to bully.  Yes, I believe it was a form of verbal bullying.  Madelle told her to shut up.  The girl responded, "make me."  Being fed up, Madelle got out of her seat and tapped the girl on the face.  The girl told the teacher after class that Madelle slapped her. 

Now, in both instances, Greg and Madelle had run-ins with the same organization / person on previous dates.  Obviously, these entities jumped on their last nerve.  Should Greg and Madelle lashed out?  No, there was a better way to handle the situation.  Greg should have called security.  Madelle should have walked away from the situation.  Greg has been charged.  Madelle was given a day of in school suspension.  However, I also believe the reporter and the girl were also wrong.  If someone asks you to leave or stop talking, well, maybe they should be respectful and back off.  These people insist on running at the mouth.  I doubt anything will happen to the reporter.  In fact, he will get tons of hits on his twitter and all that crap.  The girl was talked to.  I am sure that will be effective, not.  However, they may stop and think first when they start to cross the line of politeness.  I can hope.

Both my daughter and Greg made a mistake.  Neither should have their school or political careers destroyed for their actions.  Besides, I like that there are still people out there who will stand up for themselves.  I am also happy to know that there are still people that may still stand up to ISIS and the other wrongs of our world.  Not all action is the right action, but it is action.  And besides, a good fist fight with a bully can go a long way in righting wrongs.  I have been known to get into a couple myself back in my younger days.  But that may be a story for another day.