Letter to the editor: Reader commends restraint, deplores overreaction

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To the editor:

I am writing in reply to the recent letter from Gary Mullen.

Before I say anything else, let me point out the obvious: No matter what anyone thinks of ThePerryNews.com, it did publish your letter. The editorial staff of any outlet has the option of rejecting letters to the editor without any reason or explanation whatsoever. The editor could have merely deleted your missive without so much as reading one word of it, let alone publishing it, but here it is. You were published.

Your insistence that there was no backstory provided for the article is absurd. You are operating on the faulty premise that most readers have not been following the ongoing exploits of Sen. Jake Chapman. Indeed, the editor did provide his sources concerning Chapman’s recent statements, so he did his job. The editor provided proof.

The editor also set the article in the context of Chapman’s previous history. Any criticism of yours here is particularly absurd. Whether one is upset about Chapman or intent on defending him, no backstory is necessary. Either way, it’s already known what Chapman has said and done in the past.

For someone who insists upon accuracy, I would ask you to please point out in the article where it was stated that the National Guard is a group of vigilantes. I think you’re putting words into the editor’s mouth. The vigilantes in question are the gun-rights advocates who form the core of Chapman’s political base.

The article in no way said there was any justification for violence, nor did it deny the wrongdoings of some of the protesters. It bore out that the protesters had the entrances to the store parking lot blocked for only a short period of time and that they backed off after only just a few words with the police.

The worst violence that occurred was actually perpetrated by the driver who forced his vehicle through the protesters, putting their lives at risk for his temporary inconvenience. Yes, they were wrong to block the entrance but if anyone can be referred to as a vigilante, it was the driver who took it upon himself to shove them aside.

Yes, it was wrong for them to spray paint the police car, but the police had the commendable tolerance not to press the issue. Emotions were running high, so the cost of repainting the car was considered affordable.

The police did not overreact. The city of Des Moines took one on the chin in order to defuse the situation, public safety being much more important than a layer or two of paint. Again I make the point that the police did not overreact.

Indeed, Chapman’s overreaction is the core subject of the article. That’s the main difference between the Des Moines Police Department and ThePerryNews.com, on the one hand, and Sen. Chapman, Mr. Mullen and President Trump’s similar attitude, on the other hand.

Let’s get back to speaking of ThePerryNews.com itself. Not only does the editor have the right to decide which letters get published, but ThePerryNews.com also has the right to be slanted. It can’t legally commit libel, but it has the prerogative of being slanted.

So let’s try to remember who else is or was slanted or what publications and documents have been slanted. FOX News is slanted. Limbaugh and all the other talk jocks are slanted. Everything transmitted from the radio tower of WHO is slanted. The Iowa Standard is definitely slanted.

I will concede CNN and the Guardian UK are both slanted one way, but the Telegraph UK and the Jerusalem Post are slanted the other way. “Common Sense” by Thomas Paine was slanted. The U.S. Declaration of Independence is slanted as is the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution.

Lastly, anyone and everyone who fails to see or attempts to deny that the perspectives and statements of Jake Chapman are slanted is either totally bereft of intelligence or sorely lacking in honesty.

With that in mind, Mr. Mullen, you can either admit that your perspectives and comments are slanted, or you can leave it for others to decide whether you lack wisdom or integrity. As for myself, I am unapologetically slanted and that with a capital S.

I have my own musings about Black Lives Matter, ANTIFA, Trump and American gun culture on deck. They merit an entire new letter to the editor. I hope to have it ready for publication by next week at the latest.

Nick Eakins
Perry

6 COMMENTS

  1. Nice job, Mr. Eakins. The extreme right has controlled the story long enough. Time for sensible Iowans to speak up. Thank you.

  2. So asking that The Perry News interview him instead of constructing a story based upon Tweets makes me the “extreme right”? I guess for some, name-calling takes the place of a cogent argument. So what if someone disagrees with the editorial stance here? Writing posts detailing that disagreement is not “controlling” anything, and most “sensible Iowans” understand how replies to editorials work and do not view replies as “controlling” the debate or anything else. It’s amazing how different political views upset some to the point of calling others “Extreme” for having different views than they.

    • Excuse me, but the current occupant of the White House labels everyone! Name calling is his specialty, so don’t get all uppity abut being called the extreme right. I’m the radical left, according to Trump, and I wear that title as a badge of honor.

      • So now the left wants to be able to call people names? Isn’t that nice? They constantly bemoan the coarsening of political debate, but it’s okay for them to call another “extreme.” So what other names do you label people with? You feel free to do it over political beliefs, so how about sexual orientation? Is that okay? How about physical appearance? Got any good ones about fat people? I remember when the left used to claim they were above name-calling, but then they also claim they are the non-violent ones. lol

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