Facts are crucial to make political decisions
A man provides information about impeaching the president.
I saw a booth in front of the Moses Lake Post Office with posters calling for the impeachment of President Barack Obama. It’s their right to free speech to declare their desire. It’s also their right to put a mustache on our president’s face.
I saw a booth in front of the Moses Lake Post Office with posters calling for the impeachment of President Barack Obama. It's their right to free speech to declare their desire. It's also their right to put a mustache on our president's face.
The image gave me a stomach ache because of the implications of comparing anyone to Hitler.
Wearing my press pass, I spoke with the man at the booth. He proceeded to tell me the mustache was to indicate Obama was like Hitler and that he was responsible for the killing of people in Africa like Hitler is held accountable for the murder of Jewish people during the Holocaust.
I didn't understand how Obama was responsible for any murders and the man declined to explain it to me.
The image of the mustache on the president's face bothered me because to compare Obama, or just about anyone else, to Hitler, truly minimizes what Hitler did and sort of pokes fun at a tragic time in history.
I asked the man if he thought the image of the mustache was offensive to the Jewish community and he said, "no." He continued to tell me how numerous Jewish people, in addition to numerous Holocaust survivors thought the mustache was funny.
I disagree. Can anyone who survived the Holocaust really think that is funny? I think it would evoke horrific memories that no one can relate to, except for those who experienced it.
As I tried to take free educational materials about the group calling for the impeachment of Obama, the man yanked it out of my hand twice, saying he did not want me to have any information about them because I was with the press. He also declined to tell me his name. That's fine.
His refusal to be publicly associated with the impeachment group led me to form the opinion that maybe there is a sort of shame or embarrassment or even lack of caring for the issue.
It seems to me when a group chooses to run an offensive or sensationalized campaign, it is because they are hoping to evoke strong emotions so those emotions can be manipulated into gaining support for their cause. By doing so, the group doesn't really have to explain what their issues, facts or point of view could be because no one seems to care.
In the end, I have no idea why this group is calling for the impeachment of Obama except for the part accusing the president of killing people in Africa, which is not true. On the impeachment posters it stated, "Save NASA" but the gentleman at the booth didn't have anything to say about that. He didn't have anything to say about any real issues, maybe to confuse me.
I guess it worked.
I am confused, but I won't be signing any petition for anything based upon a mustache drawn on our president's face. It will take more than a squiggly line to convince an educated person to take a stance on an issue.
Candice Boutilier is the assistant editor of the Columbia Basin Herald. And regardless of which side of the spectrum you might lean, right or left, she has a point.
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