One Year Since Butler, Hatred Still Rages

Come this Sunday, it’ll be a year since Corey Comperatore was murdered while sitting in metal bleachers in a rural Pennsylvania field.

Killed because he decided to go with his family to a rally in support of the 45th president who was campaigning to become the 47th.

Shot because of hatred for President Donald Trump, a casualty of a deranged and demented ideology that holds violence can somehow advance a particular cause.

On that summer afternoon, President Trump was shot in the ear by his would-be assassin. Jim Copenhaver and David Dutch, who were attending the rally and sitting near Corey Comperatore, were also shot and seriously wounded but survived.

Copenhaver, who is 75, lost 30 pounds during his extended recovery and now walks with a cane. Dutch, age 58, lost 25 pounds. He can no longer drive or lift anything heavier than 10 pounds.

American presidents have long been targeted by the unhinged and the haters. Back in 1835, President Andrew Jackson tried to beat back an assassin with his cane after the shooter’s first and second guns misfired. Presidents Lincoln, McKinley and Kennedy were all assassinated.

President Theodore Roosevelt was shot in the chest in 1912 but continued speaking. Plots to kill numerous other chief executives including FDR, Hoover, Truman and Nixon were all foiled. Someone fired at President Ford and missed; President Reagan was an inch from dying when an assassin’s bullet lodged in his lung.

We can draw distinctions from Scripture between righteous and unrighteous violence. Known as “Jus Ad Bellum” or “Just War Theory,” Augustine is credited with studying and coming up with criteria that applies to conflicts between nations. These principles include: “having just cause, being a last resort, being declared by a proper authority, possessing right intention, having a reasonable chance of success, and the end being proportional to the means being used.”

Obviously, the violence in Butler, Pennsylvania last year met no such bar and was instead raw vitriol that led to horrific violence.

Sadly, the same hate that has empowered multiple assassination attempts on President Trump’s life still rages red hot. It may not all be expressed with a gun, but it is nevertheless communicated in various awful ways.

After Texas’ flash floods devastated areas of South-Central Texas and killed over 100 people, including dozens of children, a Houston pediatrician tweeted:

“May all visitors, children, non-Maga voters and pets be safe and dry. Kerr county Maga voted to gut Fema. They deny climate change. May they get what they voted for.”

A former Houston mayoral appointee raged about Camp Mystic being for “whites only.”

The hate often manifests in the form of rude and crass language. On a recent episode of his podcast that’s supposed to focus on writing and writers, sportswriter Jeff Pearlman unleashed a string of expletives directed at President Trump, blaming him for the recent Los Angeles riots.

“My only joy is the knowledge that nothing in life brings you any sort of happiness, that you are soulless and that you will die soulless.”

Corey Comperatore’s obituary released by his family included the following tribute:

But above all, Corey was the quintessential family man and the best girl dad. His love for his wife Helen (Scott) Comperatore was a testament to the power of partnership and devotion. Together, they raised two daughters, Allyson and Kaylee Comperatore, who will carry forward his spirit of compassion. Also surviving are his mother, Karen (Denny)  Bird, his sisters, Kelly (Doug) Meeder and Dawn Comperatore Shaffer, his stepbrother, Steven (Megan) Warheit, his two beloved Dobermans, Ivan and Negan, and many nieces, nephews and great nieces.

Corey’s life was a reflection of his faith. He was a man of God who loved Jesus with every fiber of his being. His actions were guided by his unwavering belief, and he inspired those around him to live with purpose and grace. His ability to lift the spirits of everyone he encountered was unparalleled.

We continue to pray for the Comperatore family, for Jim Copenhaver and David Dutch who still suffer – and for all those so heavily burdened with such hate for their fellow man.

Image from Getty.