I walked into my office one recent Monday, coffee mug in hand and noticed the red light signaling that a voicemail awaited me.
Has it started already?
That morning, my op-ed about post-election acts of hate on college campuses appeared in the Cincinnati Enquirer. The piece discussed incidents at universities in Illinois, California, and Pennsylvania, complete with hypertext links, and explained why, contrary to conservative pundits, student fears were based on reality and not a temper tantrum about Trump’s victory. I praised institutions for taking action and argued that Mr. Trump’s campaign rhetoric gave license to misconduct targeting people of color, Muslims, and frankly all the groups the candidate insulted and denigrated on his way to the White House.
Based on prior experiences, I was braced for negative responses from conservative readers in the comments section. In truth, I had planned to avoid those like a Ted Nugent concert. But, a voicemail? Readers usually never called to complain. Maybe I was overreacting. I decided to listen.
It started off innocuously enough.