A recent KRCC (the southern hub of Colorado Public Radio’s news network) article gave air to a rather stunning accusation. The non-profit Sand Creek Massacre Foundation–which is a beneficiary of both federal grant money and Great Outdoors Colorado event sponsorship–likened recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) actions to the infamous slaughter of hundreds of Cheyenne and Arapahoe by US soldiers in what was then the Colorado Territory.
Quoting from the same statement used in the KRCC article “…the forces behind these government-sanctioned acts happening today in the United States are the same as those that drove the Sand Creek Massacre in 1864. We are again witnessing the dehumanization of targeted groups of people, the deputizing of an untrained militia given extrajudicial rights to attack civilians, egregious disregard for the rule of law, and the disintegration of human rights.”
That’s quite a statement. And whether you agree or not, it’s no small accusation.
Tragedy experts
In what has emerged as a disturbing pattern in left wing media reporting on ICE, the KRCC reporter and editors let that statement sit unchallenged. There was no one to offer pushback or counterpoint to the accusation, and the article is without mention of a response from the government. When I emailed KRCC to double check whether they asked anyone to respond, they never responded.
I can’t help but wonder if KRCC didn’t challenge the words because they view the foundation as experts in this area. That somehow being related to those that suffered a tragedy gives them insight others don’t have into ICE and what’s really driving them. But is that true?
I notice a similar dynamic about gun control. How many articles about gun rights restricting legislation do you see that involve a quote from, or reference to, Colorado Senator Tom Sullivan? He’s considered an expert in a way that no one ought to be, having lost a child to a mass killer. It’s obvious by his repeated inclusion that his perspective is a compelling addition for many in the lefty media.
Before continuing, let me be clear. The Sand Creek Massacre was a horrible thing, a blight on our country’s history. What happened to Senator Sullivan’s son and family was just as bad; I can’t imagine losing a child. Having suffered a tragedy (or being the descendent of someone who has) may confer on you a unique perspective that others do not have. But it doesn’t make you a subject matter expert on other issues.
Experts know their field in ways laymen don’t. Those same experts, however, when working outside their field, are just as hapless as anyone else. For instance, I can tell you a great deal about the craft of teaching science. I can tell you very little about a lot of other things.
As such, we shouldn’t weigh the opinion of someone who has experienced a tragedy as higher than that of anyone else when we look outside the impact that particular tragedy has had on their lives. Certainly their perspective is no less important, but it’s not more important either.
Unassailable claims
Further, the temptation is all too often to make what the opinions they hold on any topic unassailable. Who am I to criticize? How can I respond? I haven’t lost a child. My ancestors weren’t massacred.
This is wrongheaded. There are ample instances of someone using words we wouldn’t tolerate normally, but which get overlooked due to their tragic past. There is the outsized allusions to ICE being like the murderous cavalry from the Sand Creek Massacre and later to ICE being like Hitler’s goons. There is Tom Sullivan publicly (and on the legislative record) accusing a citizen of profiteering on the death of someone else when that person came to testify about a bill.
Neither of these things are okay, but (outside of an article on Sullivan’s outburst written by Marianne Goodland for Colorado Politics), you won’t see mention of it. KRCC doesn’t share any opposing views, if they sought any at all.
I wish for no one to gain the kind of expertise that those suffering a tragedy have. For those that have, it’s valid to include their voices in our discussions. In fact, it’s best that we do.
All the same, we shouldn’t let their claims and behavior go unchecked. Do it with care, do it with grace as necessary, but hold to the same standard. The victim of a tragedy, or the relative of one, has an opinion to be sure, but it’s only one among many other valid ones.
KRCC, and others, who offer unfettered, unrestrained access to their pulpit so that some can make any claim they want without any sort of counterpoint are not helping anyone. They’re furthering the kinds of divisions that make problem solving difficult.
Cory Gaines teaches college physics and is a regular contributor to Complete Colorado. He lives in Sterling on Colorado’s Eastern Plains. He also writes at the Colorado Accountability Project substack.
