Knee jerk reactions after Trump assassination attempt

It was one of those shocking moments when you’ll always remember where you were when it happened. I heard the first trickle of the news of the attempted assassination of Donald Trump in the car on the way back from a concert last Saturday night. Then it was straight on to Sky News and CNN when I got home.

It was riveting viewing and listening for the weekend. All through it, I felt most sorry for Corey Comperatore, the innocent bystander who was killed protecting his family. Predictably there were knee jerk reactions, conspiracy theories and predictable political reactions. By last Monday morning, the dust was settling somewhat. There were conciliatory vibes coming from some Democrats and Republicans, but I still found it easier to be cynical and fearful rather than hopeful. On Morning Ireland (RTÉ Radio 1) Prof. Bob Schmuhl of Notre Dame University said he heard that Trump was tearing up his prepared speech for the Republican convention and going for a call for unity instead. That would be good, and as Prof. Schmuhl pointed out, it would go down well with floating moderate voters. In his address to the nation that I caught up with on Sky News, Biden called for the temperature of political discourse to be cooled, and for unity. Maybe there is, after all, a glimmer of hope.

Contributors to Irish current affairs shows on US politics are predominantly Democrat supporters. Larry Donnelly is one of the more moderate of these and is always worth a listen. He reflected on the fallout from Saturday’s violence on The Pat Kenny Show (Newstalk, Monday).  He could see that there were excesses of language on both sides, but that it was more extreme on Trump’s side. It took a texter to tell of Biden’s comment on there being a ‘bull’s eye’ on Trump, and there are plenty more provocative examples from the Democrat side that rarely get referenced on Irish media. Donnelly regretted the ‘disproportionate impact’ of social media in stirring divisions and thought the attempted assassination would not affect gun culture. He found Trump’s campaign removing abortion related material and Trump softening his language on culture issues.

One of the culture war issues is ‘conversion therapy’. Those who favour the ‘consent’ or ‘my body my choice’ approach can show double standards on this one. I wouldn’t want children to be subjected to anything that smacks of ideologically driven medicine, no matter what side it comes from, but what about consenting adults? In countries like the UK, where there’s a favourable attitude to banning such therapy, they were inclined to make an exception in the case of transgender people because they wanted to ensure that medical practitioners could have open discussions with patients. That distinction wasn’t made when the topic was discussed on Drivetime (RTÉ Radio 1, Friday). In fact, the definition given was extremely broad, including ‘a range of practices that aim to change or suppress an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity expression’. Cormac Ó hEadhra was interviewing Prof. Paul D’Alton of UCD about three professional healthcare bodies declaring their ‘renunciation’ of conversion therapy in the absence of legislation – the move seemed to form part of a push for such legislation. I wonder if there was thorough consultation with constituent members of these bodies, or was it ideologically driven by activist executives? Unfortunately, this question wasn’t asked in this soft interview. Dr D’Alton said that one of the ill effects from conversion therapy was shame, which he saw as a very negative thing. That begged some questions that weren’t asked – e.g. if I do something terrible that hurts another and then feel ashamed of it, surely, I’m less likely to do it again, thus saving a lot more hurt?

Finally, on that Pat Kenny Show (Newstalk) last Monday morning another former president, Mary McAleese, fired off several salvos against the Catholic Church in her usual scattergun and bridge-wrecking approach. She took swipes in relation to the Synod, original sin, limbo, women’s ordination, ‘reproductive rights’ and the conservative Church in the global south. Uncle Tom Cobley had a narrow escape. Some valid points about the Church and issues relating to women were unfortunately obscured in the melee. Ms McAleese referred to ‘many of us’ (who?) but presenter Pat Kenny didn’t question this, acting, it seemed to me, more as a cheerleader – at one stage outrageously suggesting a comparison between the Church and the Taliban!

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PICK OF THE WEEK

NATIONAL EUCHARISTIC CONGRESS
EWTN Sunday July 21, 1 pm
In final keynotes, Mother Adela Galindo and Chris Stefanick inspire hope for God’s plan in this historic Year of Mission and explain how to be a part of this exciting new chapter.

Bishop Casey’s Buried Secrets
RTE One Monday July 22, 9.35 pm
Reporter Anne Sheridan examines the Catholic Church’s handling of allegations against the former Bishop of Galway, Eamonn Casey. For information not recommendation.

WOMEN ON DEATH ROW: Shawna Forde
Channel 4 Tuesday July 23, 11.05 pm
This documentary series examines the stories of women on Death Row, through their harrowing crimes and their trials and convictions, to their lives behind bars, where they await their final day.