To the editor:

A recent (March 11) Guest Commentary amplifies another author’s suggestion that fiery rhetoric from pro-life Catholics was in part to blame for the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. From across the cyberverse the authors cherry-pick quotes that, taken out of context, seem extreme.

But the accusation is trumped-up (sorry) and just untrue. Yes, Americans of all stripes have been influenced by the contemporary trend towards intemperate rhetoric. But pro-life crusaders, overall, are among the least violent people you will ever find passionately advocating a cause. It is telling that the authors apparently could not find a single quote employing both pro-life and “stolen election” rhetoric.

Those to blame for violence are those who commit it. The one exception may be the orator who, there on the spot, deliberately eggs the violent on. (Here’s looking at you, Mr. ex-President — if that is indeed what you intended to do.) But an impassioned Black Lives Matter protester in Milwaukee is not to blame for broken windows in Portland. A fiery New England abolitionist preacher is not to blame for murders by John Brown and his followers. And those who denounce legalized abortion for the horror it is, are not to blame for the outrage of Jan. 6.

In an effort to get us past all this hostility, I offer a new slogan:

“Black Lives Matter — born and unborn”

In addition to being true, it may manage to offend all sides, equally.

Joseph Kimpflen

Tupper Lake