Escalated moral rhetoric against gun reform opponents has real physical consequences

Evidence

Former mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg, who cofounded a coalition of mayors and supports grassroots activism for gun reform, has been especially targeted by gun enthusiasts. They have branded him a “nanny statist fascist” and an “anti-gun bigot” (Barbaro & Goldstein, 2013). Their intense hatred went beyond words. One man sent letters to him and the director of his advocacy organization that were laced with the poison ricin. The letters asserted that the right to bear arms is a “God-given right” that the sender would protect to his death. — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 1177

Categorization

• XREF: Ricin letter as consequence of dehumanizing rhetoric parallels the harm legitimation mechanism central to moral disengagement theory.