To the Editor:

I was appalled and horrified that the Cranston Herald would publish Erik Thorp’s letter “Will the liberal elites respect electoral process?” (10/15/20). It was not only nefarious in its accusations but was baldly untruthful and historically incorrect about the Russian Revolution.

First, as a student of Russian history, the events that led up to the assignation of the Tsar and his family had seeds going back to the assignation of Alexander II in 1881 leading up to the Bloody Sunday massacre in 1905. To date I have never heard or read anyone call the killing of the Tsar and his family “social justice” – unless it was propaganda from the Communists as they tried to justify what they had done. It is well documented that it was an act carried out without authorization from Lenin in Moscow – instead it was done by Bolshevik minions hoping to curry favor with Moscow and garner fame in the new regime.

As for Thorp's allegations about “liberal elites” inside the palace, I would love to know who he is referring to? There were those within the ruling class who felt it was time for Russia to modernize the monarchy along the lines of England and when the Tsar abdicated they supported the Kerensky's government. I was lucky enough to hear President Kerensky speak (he lived in exile in New York City) shortly before his death. He was a patriot who loved his country and his sadness at being unable to combat the forces of Lenin and the Bolsheviks was still evident 40-plus years later.

Thorp then veers into telling us our civil liberties are under assault by Anita and BLM. First, unlike the Proud Boys, the Boogaloo Boys and armed militia groups like the Wolverine Watchmen who wanted to kidnap Gov. Whitmer, the Black Lives Matter people are trying to ensure justice for Black men and women in our criminal justice system and Antifa is an anti-fascist group who have no organization per se and no leaders. They are a far cry from the organized extreme right-wing militia groups, our home-grown terrorists the FBI has stated are the nation’s biggest security threat.

As for June 1 event, the President ordered the use of military force to remove peaceful protesters from historic Lafayette Square, not, as Thorp states, “to address them,” but to stage a photo-op while holding a Bible upside down in front of the historic St. John’s Episcopal Church. It was a shameful exercise in power by the President and one in which General Mark Miley, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, later apologized for being part of Trump’s entourage. It was also roundly condemned by St. John’s Episcopalian minister.

Finally, when Thorp talks about “hate speech,” it is our President who is so adept at it, encouraging crowds as they chant “lock her up” in regards to Gov. Whitmer's policies to keep Michiganders safe from COVID-19; in calling soldiers who died in battle “suckers and losers”; who routinely denigrates women with comments like “you ask a lot of stupid questions,” or his infamous Hollywood Access tape.

And in Thorp’s most egregious conclusion, he asks, “will the liberal elites respect the electoral process … when President Trump is reelected?” First, it is not the “liberal elites” who called out “dog whistles” to militia groups to be poll watchers; it is not the “liberal elites” who have said they will not support the results of the electoral process while threatening to use the Department of Justice against its own citizens. No, indeed, it is the President who is calling the elections results into question. He has called for “poll watchers” (aka militias like the Proud Boys) to come to polling places while encouraging them to “stand down and stand by.” As for assuming the President is going to win, I suggestion Thorp best wait until his chickens are hatched.

This letter, so full of inaccuracies and accusations, did not deserve the space it merited. Truth matters.

Gail D. Harvey

Cranston