Representative Jay Rodne recently attempted to defend his defenseless remarks that “Islam is incompatible with Western culture,” Muslims are “barbarians,” and people should “arm themselves.”

In his attempt, Rodne portrayed himself as the victim. He said he was just exercising his First Amendment rights, but since it was the cruelty of his comments and not whether he had the right to speak, his is a moot point.

Rodne also claims his remarks were taken out of context. If so, why did he delete them from his website so we can’t judge the context for ourselves?

Perhaps he meant the historical context of the recent Paris atrocity? If so, that is misleading because Rodne suggested the meaning of his words had been changed. Nevertheless, his ethnic attack was extremely inappropriate within the historical context.

Is Rodne suggesting his anger over the Paris atrocity permits a blanket attack on a religious minority? Violence against Muslims escalates after incidents such as Paris. The historical context required calming words, not inflammatory remarks.

Rodne says the criticism is political, as if that de-legitimizes the criticism of his harsh words. Of course the criticism is political. Rodne’s remarks were political.

He was stirring up fear of Islam, letting religious bigots know he is one with them, and courting those who think more guns is the answer to every act of gun violence.

Representative Jay Rodne owes his legislative district, the people of Washington State, and those of the Islamic faith a sincere apology.

Roger Ledbetter

Snoqualmie