Interesting what gets people worked up

Coeur d’Alene Mayor Woody McEvers found himself in one of those situations where no matter what he did, someone was going to be mad. 

In the case of the proclamation for "A Day of Remembrance for Charlie Kirk" on Oct. 14 it seems a lot of people were unhappy. Some were angry because the mayor signed the proclamation. Others were upset because he didn’t read the entire proclamation during Tuesday’s City Council meeting. The mayor said he pretty much was hammered all day before the council meeting because it was on the agenda and scheduled to be presented.  

Welcome to the wonderful world of politics, where grace is a thing of the past and quick condemnation, allegations and insults are the rule of today. The days of two sides being enemies inside the political arena and friends outside it are long gone. 

We think the mayor did a good job of being neutral. A mayor should be a calming voice of reason, steady the ship. What McEvers is finding, however, is in doing so it’s hard to make anyone happy. He’s learning that walking that fine line of neutrality is no longer acceptable. You must pick a side. Case in point, someone called The Press last week and insisted we were not political enough. He wanted the paper to take more stands, let its views be known.

When The Press interviewed McEvers after the meeting, he said something that is worth noting. We summarize here, but basically, he said it’s funny what’s important to people, what gets them fired up, what gets their attention. 

We find it interesting that almost no one expressed any concern when the Coeur d’Alene City Council raised property taxes. Hardly anyone cared when the city parks were trashed and vandalized. Few voiced their outrage when a woman was attacked in her home. 

We could make the case that most didn't even notice.

Yet, a proclamation to honor a man who was assassinated infuriated the masses. Suddenly hundreds were tuned in and showing up at or calling City Hall. This proclamation has been met with harsh words and claims of favoritism. This proclamation was even enough to get the attention of high schoolers, who expressed their opinions of dissent to the City Council, which is good, but one also went the route of referring to supporters of the proclamation as ignorant, which is not good. 

Councilor Christie Wood got it right. She said we can all agree to denounce political violence, and we can all agree we support the First Amendment. Wood also spoke of a proclamation that acknowledges all victims of political violence, and that's fine, if the city wishes to pursue it. 

"It doesn’t matter what side of the political aisle you sit on. The grief for the families is very real,” she said. 

But we also believe the city is right in supporting a proclamation to honor and remember Charlie Kirk, a man who not only encouraged debate, but lived it. It's not an issue where the battle line needs to be drawn. Even his detractors would agree Charlie Kirk was about civil, respectful conversations with those whom we may disagree. 

As the mayor said, it's interesting what gets people worked up. These days, it doesn't take much.