Scream 'God, help us!'

"God, help us!" I want to scream this at the top of my lungs off of every rooftop. The unhinged reactions -- nay, the hatred -- people are displaying over political disagreements is, at the very least, concerning, but, more than that, it's downright frightening.

Did anyone think the friction was going to end after the midterm election last week? Did people think the polls would solve the problems, "the people have spoken" mantra would reign and those who have sucked in politics like a vacuum during the run-up to the election would just settle in and move on? Personally, I was just looking forward to getting my mailbox back -- because if I received one more pamphlet, leaflet, envelope... from another politician telling me how wonderful he is, telling me how horrible his opponent is and, really, just filling up my garbage can with his literature, I may have lost it. I was ready to send each candidate a bill to reimburse me the cost of trash bags!

This is not the first time I've written about the ridiculousness of fighting about politics. It won't be the last, either, I imagine. But it does seem we have sunk deeper and deeper into depravity. We were already in deep: needing safe spaces to recuperate from elections, arguing with folks at family events, cussin' people out online, blocking half-strangers from social media communities. We "graduated" to nonstop protests, calling on people to get in dissenters' faces, throwing patrons out of restaurants. What is wrong with these people?

Last week, Fox News's Tucker Carlson was the object of the hate. His home was reportedly targeted when protesters appeared, chanting and carrying signs. One demonstrator allegedly threw "himself against the front door and actually cracked the front door." Carlson was not home, but his wife was inside. Authorities confirmed that someone spray-painted his driveway with an anarchy symbol.

That's bad enough, but it gets worse. His children were apparently caught in the middle of hatred last month. On Oct. 13, Carlson was at the Farmington Country Club in Charlottesville, Va., having dinner with two of his children. Politico reports:

"Toward the end of the meal, my 19-year-old daughter went to the bathroom with a friend," Carlson said in the statement. "On their way back through the bar, a middle aged man stopped my daughter and asked if she was sitting with Tucker Carlson. My daughter had never seen the man before. She answered: 'That's my dad,' and pointed to me. The man responded, 'Are you Tucker's whore?' He then called her a 'f---ing c -- .'"

Carlson continued: "My daughter returned to the table in tears. She soon left the table and the club. My son, who is also a student, went into the bar to confront the man. I followed. My son asked the man if he'd called his sister a 'whore' and a 'c---.' The man admitted he had, and again become profane. My son threw a glass of red wine in the man's face and told him to leave the bar, which he soon did."

I don't care what side of the political aisle you sit on, this should turn your stomach. It should make you angry. It should make you want to scream at the top of your lungs, too. But if it doesn't, it should make you examine yourself. Have you, too, gotten so far into the political spirit of this age that this doesn't move you? I say this is frightening because when a person -- a coward -- gets to the point where he is willing to go after people's children like this, he is likely to do anything. He is not rational. He thinks he's justified, and, therefore, he is a danger. Unfortunately, when politics is your god, you are subject to this kind of terrorist behavior. Yes, I said "terrorist."

Unless something transpires to save us, somebody is going to get hurt. Actually, many have already gotten hurt, but this thing is going to get worse. Even Carlson admitted he wanted to retaliate, as any father would want to do.

"I love my children. It took enormous self-control not to beat the man with a chair, which is what I wanted to do," Carlson revealed in a statement.

He went on to say that he "restrained" himself and "did not assault this man," as he has been accused. He also denied the allegation that he attacked the man because of his sexual orientation and race, saying, "Nor did I know the man was gay or Latino, not that it would have mattered. What happened on October 13 has nothing to do with identity politics. It was a grotesque violation of decency. I've never seen anything like it in my life."

Just makes you want to scream "God, help us," doesn't it? I sure hope so.

Adrienne Ross is owner of Adrienne Ross Communications and a former Southeast Missourian editorial board member. Contact her at aross@semissourian.com.