Michigan governor a role model for facing down hate

As a society we have allowed hate and misogyny to creep into our everyday lives. It’s up to us to call it out and root it out.

By

Opinion

October 9, 2020 - 11:50 AM

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer was targeted for kidnapping by militia members, the FBI says. Here, she addresses the crowd during the unveiling of the sign for the newly-renamed Elliott-Larsen Building in Lansing, on Monday, September 21, 2020. The building, whic was previously named after Lewis Cass, was renamed after former representatives Daisy Elliott and Melvin L. Larsen, who sponsored the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act in 1976.

As I watched Gretchen Whitmer, governor of Michigan, express her gratitude Thursday afternoon to law enforcement officers for arresting six men plotting to kidnap her and do her bodily harm, I marveled at her composure.

“When I put my hand on the Bible to take the oath of office 22 months ago, I knew this job would be hard, but I’ll be honest, I never could have imagined anything like this.”

And that’s basically all she said about the panic she and her family of five must be experiencing. 

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