When Tragedy Strikes: Finding Space for Kindness Amid Political Violence

It's a pushback against everything negative that we see in the news and on social media today , and it's a way to highlight people , organizations , that are simply striving to make their little corner of the world a little better place . If you want to join in on the conversation , feel free , Go ahead and follow us on all of your social media feeds .

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. Hello everyone , you're listening to a special edition of the Kindness Matters podcast and I am your host , mike Rathbun

. It was early 2 am on a Saturday morning , july 14 , 2025 , when a man dressed as a police officer knocked on the door of Minnesota State Senator John Hoffman . He had claimed that there had been a report of gunfire at the home .

He carried a flashlight , wore the uniform , but something wasn't right , and as the flashlight lowered , the Senator said what would become the only warning ? You're not the police . What followed was a brutal , chilling act of political violence 17 shots , nine hit the senator , eight struck his wife who had thrown herself over their daughter , and then he fled .

But it was not over , not even close . At 2.24 am he arrived at another lawmaker's home . They weren't there . Then he drove to a third . A police officer arrived for a wellness check , alerted by the attack on Senator Hoffman . She saw the suspect in what looked like a police vehicle , sitting silently . He didn't respond .

When she attempted to engage in conversation he just stared straight ahead . When backup arrived , she went about her wellness check and then he disappeared again . At 3.30 am , the former Speaker of the House of Minnesota , melissa Hortman , along with her husband Mark , became his next target . He parked in their driveway , emergency lights flashing .

Two police officers arrived . As they stepped out , he opened fire immediately and rushed into the house . He opened fire immediately and rushed into the house . By the time it was over , representative Hortman , her husband and their family dog were dead . Officers recovered a handgun , a mask and body armor In his car a list of over 45 elected officials .

For 48 hours , the largest manhunt in Minnesota history unfolded Eventually . Vance Bettler was captured in rural Sibley County . This was an act of political terrorism , domestic extremism , and for many in Minnesota and across the country it shattered something , a sense of safety , of decency , of order . And as I record this , I feel

torn . Sometimes advocating for kindness feels a little bit like beating your head against a wall , especially on days like this , when there's so much grief , so much anger , despair , evil Right here in our community . And yet isn't this the very moment when we most need kindness ?

Isn't this exactly when we need to reach out to offer a hug , a shoulder , a heart willing to listen ? The need for empathy , for compassion . It didn't vanish overnight . It grew exponentially . Ever since Brutus plunged a dagger into Caesar in the Roman Senate , political violence has haunted humanity .

John Wilkes Booth , lee Harvey Oswald , james Earl Ray , john Hinckley the names echo through history , but they are not the ones we must model ourselves after . Instead , today , let's choose to be the ones who stay , who hold hands , who refuse to let hate win , who insist loudly , softly , persistently , that kindness still matters , especially

now . Thanks for joining me today on this special episode of the Kindness Matters podcast . We'll be back again on Thursday with a brand new episode . Take care and be kind .