Dear Editor,
The most recent attack at the United States Capitol will most likely insure a permanent fence and additional security. The attack which resulted in the loss of life for a long serving Capitol police officer and the attacker is another senseless violent act.
Recently we have heard about a brutal attack on a Filipino woman in New York City. A 75-year-old Asian woman was brutally attacked in San Francisco and ten people were killed by a lone gunman at a grocery store in Boulder Colorado. A business park shooting in Orange, California left four people dead including a nine-year-old boy who died in the arms of his mother who was trying to protect him. A lone gunman walked into various spas in Atlanta recently and took the lives of eight people. None of these violent attacks made sense.
According to the FBI there is a violent crime every 24.6 seconds in the United States. One murder occurs every 30.5 minutes. One rape every 3.9 minutes. One robbery every 1.7 minutes. One aggravated assault every 30 seconds. One burglary every 22.6 seconds and one motor vehicle theft every 40.9 seconds. You can read more at FBI.gov.
Chicago statistics show shootings and murders were up 50% in 2020 with 875 people who died from gun violence. Seventy-eight percent of the victims were black according to ABC Eye Witness News of Chicago.
Capitol Hill was tragically and fatally surprised last Friday. They were surprised on January 6th as Capitol police never imagined they would face such a menacing mob. The woman walking down the street or someone in a grocery store seldom suspects a lunatic is on the prowl. We let our guards down. We want to believe we are safe but we aren’t.
Because of so much violence in our society people are unnerved by a stranger knocking on the door. Someone walking too close to us in the store or riding our rear bumper on the highway causes concern. Unfortunately, violence typically happens when we are least suspecting.
While our leaders will be strengthening the fence around the nation’s Capitol, I hope they will strengthen our security on the southern border. About 5,000 people a day are entering our nation. Many are paying Mexican gangsters up to $8,000 each for help in reaching our border. Are they going to come here and be law abiding people? Since President Biden doesn’t want to return to the detention policies of Donald Trump, thousands of asylum applicants are being released into the country. These people are not going to remain on the border. They are coming to your town in Iowa, Utah, Ohio and Vermont and all the rest of the country.
The fence around the Capitol will become a monument to the future of our nation. Many third world houses in Brazil, South Africa and many places in Mexico are surrounded by walls or fences. If we don’t do better with our security on the Border look for most houses and subdivisions in America to follow this same course. And, don’t be surprised.
Dr. Glenn Mollette
