‘COWBOY’ STEPS IN IT
State should start its prosecution
IT IS TIME for the state of New Mexico to take action against Commissioner Couy Griffin of Otero County. His statements are incendiary, premeditated and designed to incite violence against our citizens, our State Police, our governor and anyone who disagrees with his political views. It is time for the attorney general of the state of New Mexico to take prosecutorial action.
I call on our governor, Michelle Lujan Grisham, and the state of New Mexico to order the appropriate authority to take prosecutorial action against Commissioner Griffin for criminal threatening against the governor, against Democratic elected officials, against members of the Democratic Party of New Mexico, and for inciting insurrection and violence against the citizens of the state of New Mexico.
MICHAEL LOWERY Silver City
Nothing funny about violent statements
I WAS disappointed to read that one of my Otero County commissioners, Couy Griffin, is quoted as saying “the only good Democrat is a dead Democrat.” Maybe he thinks that is funny; a lot of sick folks use “I was only joking,” as an excuse for their toxicity. I think it is disgusting . ...
We have a red flag law in New Mexico now, and this guy needs to be looked at, long and hard. I think his guns should be taken away, at least until he learns to keep a civil tongue in his head. Personally, I wouldn’t want this guy having access to butter knives without supervision.
JOHN DAVIS, RN (RETIRED) Alamogordo
Demand better at the ballot box
ON (THE May 20) news, I heard an alarming story about Couy Griffin, Otero County Commissioner. At a T or C event, he stated “the only good Democrat is a dead Democrat.” Then, he laughingly explained he only meant it in the “political sense.”
This statement is one of the most ignorant and reprehensible statements I have ever heard. He should be removed from office, not simply for the underlying threat in the statement but for its historical and cultural insensitivity. Does he really not understand such statements were the rallying cries in the murder of thousands of First Americans during Western expansion? Does he actually think such a statement is a joke?
When and why did it ever become appropriate or acceptable to joke about supporting violence against anyone simply because you have a political disagreement with them? And furthermore, when should it ever be the norm that people chuckle about harming their neighbors?
If this has become an acceptable, normalized trend, I am making a heartfelt plea for all American citizens to stop it! We all have the responsibility to stand up against this kind of behavior and demand better from each other, especially of those in public office. We are better than this . ...
In order to address Griffin‘s hateful behavior, we must call it out for its ignorance and bigotry. We do this by holding public officials to a higher leadership standard. We do this by exercising our vote for good governance and civility.
MARY S. MCCORVY Albuquerque
If this is what he says in public ...
AS A PUBLIC servant to the residents of your county, whether registered to a political party or not, (Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin) should hang (his) head in shame and repent for this unforgivable wish of violence and death. Hateful words, thoughts and deeds are tragically contagious. As if there is not enough of that going on in N.M., the U.S. and the world communities right now.
(He) may try to put (his) hateful words and purpose in a context of metaphor, but that effort is completely transparent. I can only imagine what (he says) in the privacy of (his) home or meetings with fellow club members of “Cowboys for Trump.”
Do(es he) intend to share this “faux pas” with President Trump when (he sees) him in Washington, D.C . ... ? He should be very pleased (Griffin has) created such a controversy in our great state of New Mexico going into this campaign season. I certainly will now work extra hard to see that (he) and (his) cohorts with similar hateful views do not get elected.
BARBARA GUSS Santa Fe County
Speaker and his fans share blame
AM I THE only reader who found Couy Griffin’s statement “the only good Democrat is a dead Democrat” all the more distasteful, not to mention inflammatory, based on this being New Mexico? Despite his protestations that he didn’t mean it literally, we all know the roots of this phraseology are based in violence. I’m a little surprised it hasn’t been mentioned.
Allegedly, it was the famous Indian fighter General Phillip Sheridan who said, “The only good Indian is a dead Indian.” And it was none other than Theodore Roosevelt who embellished the thought when he stated, “I don’t go so far as to think that the only good Indians are the dead Indians, but I believe nine out of every 10 are. And I shouldn’t like to inquire too closely into the case of the tenth.”
Shame on Commissioner Griffin for his allusion to violence, no matter the qualifier. But his shame as speaker must be shared with the writers, protesters and defenders, all of whom failed to recognize the truly shameful origin of his sound bite.
As a former New Mexico resident, I expected roadrunners, not ostriches.
JIM TANG Puunene, Hawaii