I would like to make it perfectly clear that I, and all the people I know, do not want to do physical harm to anyone, ever.

Yes, I am a Maine Democrat, but I don’t own a gun and even my steak knives are dull. I’m getting really tired of reading social media comments, seeing news reports and hearing Republican elected officials and candidates from multiple states talk about the violence that Democrats want to do to Republicans.

Since the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago, the calls for “civil war” by far-right commentators have astounded me. Perhaps making anyone with different priorities into an enemy plays into defending the right to bear semi-automatic arms. Or maybe it is about getting people ready to throw a tantrum at the ballot box instead of simply voting, going home and trusting our election officials to do their jobs.

I’m their neighbor, the woman in the pew next to them at church, the person with an extra penny at the grocery store. I guarantee that if they confront me about my beliefs, I will defend them only with pointed words. I expect my vote to count, however, just like theirs.

Ann Melious
Naples