Avoid temptation to seek partisan advantage from pipe bomb arrest, by Alan Dershowitz. After the recent arrest of alleged bomber Cesar Sayoc:
The entire episode brings back painful memories of the Weathermen and other radical left wing organizations that planted bombs in the 1970s. The Weathermen and other radical leftist groups targeted universities, army bases, police officers, banks, and other establishment places and people. The death toll was considerable, and the fear was palpable. At about the same time, the Black Panthers, the Symbionese Liberation Army, and other radical leftist groups terrorized the United States.
So far no one has tried to glorify the arrested person responsible for the recent pipe bombs. Although President Trump has condemned the alleged perpetrator, it would not be surprising if some right wing extremists took perverse pleasure and pride in the attacks on the left wing icons. This is different from how some liberals glorified the Weathermen, Black Panthers, and other hard left terrorists. Left wing lawyers, who would never defend an accused right wing terrorist, rushed to represent these radical groups, while prominent liberals contributed to defense funds and attended fundraising parties. Films, books, plays, and articles sought to understand the motives of these young murderers.
Years later, Barack Obama befriended Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn, who had been active members of the Weathermen and supporters of violent terrorism. Both Ayers and Dohrn were invited to teach at well known American universities, as was Kathy Boudin, who had served a long prison term for participating in a terrorist inspired robbery that resulted in the deaths of two police officers and one armored guard and seriously injured another guard.
It is difficult to imagine any American universities appointing a right wing terrorist, even one who had served time and claimed to be rehabilitated. It is fair to say that public attitudes held by some liberals were somewhat sympathetic to left wing terrorists.
Tragically, we have seen terrorism in the United States on both sides of the political spectrum. The Ku Klux Klan was a violent radical group with significant support from political figures and ordinary citizens. During the first decades of the 20th century, left wing anarchists planted bombs and engaged in other forms of violence that killed many innocent people. More recently, hard left violence was targeted at Republican lawmakers as they practiced for a charity baseball game, wounding several people, including Congressman Steve Scalise. A threatening letter claiming it contained ricin was sent to Senator Susan Collins because she voted to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. These and other hard left threats have been directed against prominent Republican leaders.
The media is missing in action when leftists commit political violence, except for a bare and brief factual mention.
