AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar
On Saturday October 27th, at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania a gunman killed 11 worshipers and injuring 6 others. The gunman was 46-year-old Robert Bowers. Bowers has had a large history of posting anti-Semitic content online. He was taken into custody Saturday and is now facing the death penalty. Bowers stormed the Synagogue on Saturday armed with an AR-15 and three handguns, after being taken into custody he was quoted saying to an officer, "They're committing genocide to my people. I just want to kill Jews." As of Monday, October 10th, President Trump plans to visit Pittsburgh and meet with the mourning families, although many of these families have stated that they do not wish to meet him, the mayor has also mentioned for him not to come. Many other political leaders have declined invitations to join Trump on his visit. Many are criticizing Trump's decision to visit Pittsburgh and his comments regarding the shooting, on Saturday Trump tweeted that "This evil Anti-Semitic attack is an assault on humanity. It will take all of us working together to extract the poison of Anti-Semitism from our world. We must unite to conquer hate." This tweet and his choice to travel to Pittsburgh has been seen as very hypocritical by many as some believe he has made many anti-semitic comments in the past.
Discussion Questions:
1. Do you feel that Trump's decision to travel to Pittsburgh is for moral reasons? or do you believe that he is doing so just for positive political attention?
2. Do you feel that the decision by other political leaders to not accept Trump's invitation is understandable?
3. Is the Death penalty a fitting punishment for this man?
The death penalty is very fitting for this man. He obstructed the exercise of religious belief resulting in death, of not just one, but 11 victims. In addition, I feel that Trump's decision to travel to Pittsburgh has two sides to the story. I support the majority of the citizens of Pittsburgh who trace the mindset that the shooter had to Trump's words about migrants. However, this gets very messy, because Trump speaks against illegal immigrants, not legal immigrants. Yet, this mindset is taken to the next level by white supremacists, so many blame Trump. Additionally, Trump does support Jews, so there is a lot of contradiction surrounding him. If Trump didn't go to Pittsburgh, that would also be seen as very wrong. I think Trump needed to go, despite all the criticism. While some of his motives may have been for positive political attention, you can't really blame him for that. We can't expect his motives to be pure at this point. He did the minimum of what was needed to be done. One thing that Trump could do to alleviate some of the criticism is to publicly denounce white supremacy. In regards to the other political leaders not accepting Trump's invitation, I feel like this is understandable. They may not want to be associated with the president because of all the criticism surrounding him and the accusations of him being a hypocrite.
ReplyDeleteI believe he went to Pittsburgh for mainly moral reasons but it also may have had the benefit of positive political attention. Even though President Trump is criticized for making many poor decisions, he went to Pittsburgh for mainly moral reasons as it is morally wrong to take advantage of such a tragedy for political attention. I think that the decision for other political leaders not to join is appropriate as the mayor and the people stated that he should not come and going against what they want will worsen his public image. I believe that the death punishment is not a cruel enough punishment for what this man did. He should rot in jail and deserves to be treated poorly for going against American ideals of religious freedom and having no morality.
ReplyDeleteI feel like the death penalty is a fair punishment for this man. There is a lot of hatred in his mind and if he was able to murder 11 individuals, then he deserves to die. I do think it's a little bit messed up that people won't meet up with Trump but I understand their point of view. I feel that the best way for Trump to express his condolences is by creating change and trying to put a stop to shootings like these. I believe that Trump does care about these people, but it's a bit of a PR stunt as well. Trump should be focused on putting a stop to gun loopholes and addressing individuals like Mr. Bowers who show signs of being dangerous individuals early on so we can stop tragedies like these before they happen.
ReplyDeleteWith the upcoming midterm elections coming up, it is completely plausible for Trump to travel to Pittsburgh for political reasons. However, being that his son in law and advisor is a Jewish and the fact that such action is absolutely atrocious and tragic, I believe Trump's visit also has moral reasons. I agree with Andrew in that Trump should focus more on the solutions rather than publicizing himself and the Republican Party. Rather than advocating for gun rights and inappropriately using this as an example to have an armed guard in such a sacred place of worship, Trump should aim to control gun violence and focus on protecting and defending what's more important than his ideology: the people.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Andrew and believe that Trump does care for these people, however it is a publicity stunt. I believe that although he wants to be supportive in this time, I also understand why the people don't want meet up with him. It is so heartbreaking that these shooting tragedies continually happen. It also disappointing that the motive was anti-semitic. I've read that the doctor who treated him was Jewish and this makes me happy that they will treat him even after what he did. There have been way too many tragedies related to gun violence in these past few years, and there must be change in order to improve this. Finally I believe that no one deserves the death punishment as it is just too cruel, however he does deserve a very long time or a lifetime in jail, as his actions are just unacceptable.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure Trump has some moral pull to visit Pittsburgh, but his visit is really just part of his job. I think it's fair that local political figures don't want to meet with him, as he his rhetoric could have inspired the shooter and he has not done anything to denounce white supremacism.
ReplyDeleteI feel each political leader has their own reasons to make on whether to accept the invitation or not. By all means I believe support should be shown during a very sad time but also tragedies such as these occur frequently and you cannot count on everyone to show up to everyone. I believe Pittsburgh as whole have and should continue to come together to support the families and keep the streets safe for the future.
ReplyDeleteFor moral reasons or not, Trump's visit to Pittsburg will inevitably be problematic. His earlier comments about how if there were armed guards at the synagogue then there wouldn't have been a shooter really upset a lot of people so his visit would just seem disingenuous. Nevertheless, he is the president and his presence during the time of a national tragedy seems mandatory. I also agree with some of the Congressional leaders' choice to not go in the trip since I understand that a person might not want to be associated with such a problematic situation. But I don't think that Robert bowers should not receive the death penalty despite how heinous the crime he committed. Killing somebody else will not ease the pain and sorrow the families of these victims are feeling, and Bowers is obviously a disturbed person. I am not saying that his actions should be excused since he evidently knew what he was doing, but killing him will not fix his mistakes.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure exactly why Trump visited, but I think that he knew that if he did not visit he might have gotten hate. I completely understand why political leaders did not accept Trump's invitation because they have never had an amicable relationship and a national tragedy does not mend those fences. I think that the death penalty is certainly justified for this man but it does not fix what he did to the families of the victims.
ReplyDeleteWhile the Pittsburgh community's rejection of Trump is understandable, I think it was a bit uncalled for. Amidst such a devastating and traumatic, for many, event, Trump showed a side of solemness, holding back from making any controversial comments, which he has been known for doing at the wrong times. I think his visit was a result of genuine concern and sympathy, so the community should have reciprocated a similar respect. While it is important to fight for one's own opinion and beliefs, this was simply not the right time for it.
ReplyDeleteI believe Trump's visit was predominately motivated by political reasons and a need to make an appearance. However, the victim's families are completely correct in refusing to welcome him. One of the father's pointed out that he did not wish to meet with Trump, because Trump inspires hatred and white supremacy. The last person he remembered to have called themselves a "nationalist," was Hitler. Trump needs to understand that his harmful rhetoric has extremely detrimental effects. I feel deeply saddened that our president motivates such a hateful atmosphere, and is so immature that he can't even take responsibility for the part he played in inspiring these hate crimes.
ReplyDeleteI believe the man who committed these murders does deserve the death penalty. Taking 11 innocent lives and forever changing the lives of 6 and many others requires no less than the ultimate punishment. People who commit these crimes and are making comments like that even after the fact clearly have no remorse or sympathy for their victims and sitting in prison isn't going to change that.
ReplyDeleteI believe Trump's visit was motivated by political reasons. I feel as though he is trying to erase his previously anti-Semitic remarks by "comforting" the mourning families. I also believe that the man who committed the murdered deserves the death penalty. He killed 11 people, injured 6 and it was all an act of hatred towards the Jewish community. He is a threat to all and he should take what he has given out: death.
ReplyDeleteI think that Trump’s decision to travel to Pittsburgh is mainly motivated by the need for positive political attention. While Trump may want to travel to Pittsburgh to express his sympathy towards those affected by this tragedy, he mainly wants to make sure that he sends a message of compassion in the media to ensure that he continues to gather support for his policies. The decision by other political leaders to not accept Trump’s invitation is understandable given that Trump has previously stated racist remarks before so it is hypocritical for him to be saying that everyone needs to be combating anti-Semitism and hate when he has promoted hate and racism in the country throughout numerous occasions.
ReplyDeleteI am torn on whether or not this individual deserves the death penalty, although not for reasons such as life is sacred. This man obviously deserves harsh punishment for his inexcusable hate crimes, however at this point, allowing him to die seems almost too lenient. He needs to live with the consequences of his actions, with the death of so many innocents on his hands. At the same time, however, giving him the death penalty could be a relief for the families of the victims. Knowing that the person who directly hurt so many individuals is dead can put them at peace knowing that no one else will be hurt the same way. This could also deter potential copy cats who become inspired by his actions. In the end, I believe that the families and friends affected by this murderer should have a say in what his fate should be.
ReplyDeleteTrump's visit to Pittsburgh is probably motivated by gaining positive political attention. I agree that there could have been some morals involved as he wanted to pay respects but I think the need for positive attention outweighed it. I am not sure whether I support the death penalty because of the controversy it holds. On one hand I feel he should be given the penalty because of his actions but at the same time I feel it is much more impactful for one to sit with the guilt and not be given the easy way out through death.
ReplyDeleteI think that Trump's decision to travel to Pittsburgh is for positive political attention. I think the political leader's decision not to accept Trump's invitation is understandable because if he really wanted to make an impact so that events such as this one will stop occurring, then he could take action into his own hands and find a way to eliminate violent acts such as this one in the future. I think the death penalty is somewhat of a fitting punishment, yet there have been acts like this in the past and it seems like people aren't afraid of punishment and they still carry out the act.
ReplyDeleteThe gunman is definitely deserving of the death penalty. Not only has he murdered more than 10 innocent people, but he has also performed a hate crime. Under the US law, people who commit hate crimes can be subjected to increased punishment (which, in this case, I definitely agree). Although this is retributive justice, Bowers has a history of Antisemitism, as described by the article, and may continue to perform hate crimes of this magnitude in the future. It is hard to forgive and amend his mindset when his hatred is so deep.
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