Compelled Civility Better Than None Prosecute Angry Words Just Can’T Be Tolerated.

Imagine an airline passenger making threats - serious or otherwise - at an airport security station. He’d be thrown off the plane.

Imagine an eighth grader at Sacajawea Middle School, calling a teacher to say, “You son of a bitch, you’d better get me, ‘cause if you don’t, you’re dead.” He’d be promptly expelled.

So, why should State Sen. James West be held to a lower standard than an airline passenger or a middle school student?

Workplace violence has become an increasingly dangerous trend. Businesses now consult with psychologists to find ways to defuse employees who threaten their co-workers. In workplaces like the U.S. Postal Service, verbal threats are always taken seriously.

West’s intimidating words were way out of line. Under Olympia’s criminal code, they may also be illegal.

Olympia City Prosecutor Mark Erickson should be commended for pursuing misdemeanor charges against West. While West’s offense doesn’t warrant jail time, a wise judge could devise the sentence to fit this crime.

Community service hours on a Habitat for Humanity site or on a telephone crisis line seem appropriate. After all, it was a building industry lobbyist West threatened - over the telephone.

A series of anger management classes could give West valuable time for introspection. Just why would he feel it necessary to threaten to anyone’s life, whether physical or political? At the very least, couldn’t he devise a more effective way of resolving conflict?

If West’s behavior typifies business as usual for the state Legislature, which we doubt, it’s time to inject a new level of civility. Our city streets are spilling over with enraged drivers, our radio waves with seething callers, our workplaces with angry employees. This is no time to condone West’s public display of fury.

It is a time to remember that anger is a black cauldron that boils from the inside out. It easily burns the person who carries it.

A misdemeanor prosecution just might be the best thing that ever happened to West. It could improve his political relationships, strengthen his personal life and maybe even ward off a heart attack.

This is his chance to examine his anger and become a role model, rather than an object lesson. We hope he learns to simmer down.

For opposing view, see “No misdemeanor, just angry bluster”