Calling attack suspect an ‘activist’ is an insult

The headline “Activist accused of attacking Paul Pelosi held without bail” is an insult to your readers, to activism, human decency and the English language. David DePape by all accounts is a deranged conspiracist, a would-be assassin, not an activist! An activist is “active” in a political cause. An activist is doing politics, not violence. Violence is not politics; political violence is warfare; or, as in this case, terrorism pure and simple, Calling DePape an activist is like calling John Wilkes Booth a “Confederate activist”! Are members of a lynch mob “activists”? Using your own terms and logic, shouldn’t you at least call DePape a “Republican activist”? Politics is civil discourse or it is nothing, although too many self-styled “politicians” on the right forget that. DePape is a terrorist facing criminal charges and should be treated as such — especially by a responsible newspaper.

Alec Marsh Lower Macungie Township