

www.kansas.com/... The incident Witt is referring to is covered by the Wichita Eagle, who addresses the attempt to turn a vehicle into an impromptu incendiary device.

A police report on the incident, which took place sometime the night of Sept. 25 or the morning of Sept. 26, notes a cut battery cable and the recovery of a gas can and drill bit found underneath the U-Haul rental truck. The truck was in the parking lot at the office of Equality Kansas, 800 N. Market.

When asked about the investigation, Thomas Witt offered these thoughts: “Wichita Police have characterized this as vandalism, it's vandalism to cut the battery cables. It's terrorism to try and rig it to incite violence or physical harm. Period.”

These events follow the racist attack on Bethany College, where a college president was attacked, largely due to his adoption of biracial children. From his letter:

That's right. Think about it. A man called my office to tell me that messages like the outline of a dead body and "make Lindsborg white again" were directed at my family--the love of my life and my sweet children, ages seven to 14 years old. Let it sink into your mind and heart. Dead body outline. Children. Hate. As a parent, how would you feel?

Left on the sidewalk, along with attacks against a family were pro-Trump campaign drawings, promoting “Trump 2016!”

The Trump campaign has one result already: one of intolerance and the promotion of attitudes that have now put lives at risk and desecrated the homes of religious leaders and the memorial for a civil rights leader.

Over this election cycle, I have seen the cries from progressives who ask for ideological purity. They do not like Hillary. They want to vote for Stein or Johnson. They plan to vote on principles. I would ask those same voters to look at the results, on the ground, in the states where Trump is doing well.

The rejection of Trump in November must be complete; in this instance, a victory over Trump is not about “well, we hit 270”, it is truly about the importance of running up the numbers. Many Americans, through the Trump campaign, have come to believe that racist, homophobic, intolerant discourse and even public attacks are something that is electable. Should Trump lose in a close election, their views will be validated in some ways. “We came close, we could get there, our views are growing..” and in that environment, many Americans will still suffer the results.

I can respect your thoughts about why you vote. I will remind you every vote for anyone but Hillary is a vote that makes the election in raw votes between Hillary and Trump closer. It validates the opinion of the racists, the hate mongers, and others that they present a viable path forward.

Many say, loudly, in Bernie groups that I participate in that they will not vote for Hillary out of fear from Trump. I would not ask that of them either. It is not fear that drives former Bernie supporters, like myself, to vote for Hillary, even in a Red state that is unlikely to vote for Hillary. It is that the vote I cast will further distance her from Trump, and no matter what state I am in, remind people that the gap between endorsing hatred and intolerance is great, in raw numbers and in the electoral college.

Defeating Trump can not be about barely crossing the finishing line. It must be a rejection of an idea, and a commitment to stand up for those in our society who need us most.