Thomas F. Schaller, Political Science, in Baltimore Sun

Professor of Political Science Thomas Schaller’s latest Baltimore Sun opinion column, “Conservative vs. liberal violent rhetoric and action, revisited,” responds to an online conversation that developed following his earlier writing on violence in contemporary American political rhetoric. Schaller tackled the issue after the shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords; he critiqued “the convenient narrative in the mainstream media… that violent talk emanated equally from both sides of the political spectrum.” In the current column, Schaller reflects on the reader comments he received, which included additional examples of violent speech and actions. He writes, “violent language from a small set of unhinged persons is one thing. When the language comes from elites, like political leaders and party officials, or when citizen sentiments morph from mere words into violent deeds, a line has been crossed.”