The horrific injuries to Helen Haines have fuelled the fear that democracy is under attack. I beg to differ. The attack on her was made by a man so ‘out of it’ police couldn’t interview him until the following day. It was then revealed he was not only ‘out of it’ but in some way allegedly mentally ill. My point is that the man was not a rationally acting enemy of democracy but a deranged individual whose action was more the equivalent of a blundering drunk taking a swing at an available target.
The extent of Haines’ injuries turbo charged the implications of the incident. I do not make light of the attack, but I think it gives the attacker too much credit as a slayer of democracy. Democracy is safe from the likes of him.