CLIMATE OF HATRED? REALLY?

I guess nobody should be surprised that the Italian general population and their news media are reacting with shock and dismay to the attack by a mentally disturbed man on their prime minister Berlusconi as he was signing autographs in a cathedral over the weekend. In a cathedral? Really? How deeply inappropriate!

ROME (Reuters) – Italians asked on Monday if an ugly assault on Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was prompted by a "climate of hatred" splitting their nation and commentators said a wave of sympathy looked set to boost his political fortunes.

Berlusconi was hospitalized on Sunday with broken teeth, a fractured nose and a scarred face after a man with a history of mental problems hurled a statuette of Milan's cathedral at him as he signed autographs after a political rally.

A medical bulletin said on Monday there were no big worries about Berlusconi's condition but that he would stay in hospital at least until Tuesday because he was complaining sharp pains in the head and face and had lost about a liter of blood.

Sr. Berlusconi claims to be a devout Catholic despite multiple marriages and very public liaisons and now he is attacked signing autographs in a cathedral. Excuse me if I opine that the so-called climate of hatred is directed more toward his utterly inappropriate behavior and far less toward an atmosphere of political hatred.

The man is a pig. A public pig. He has directed completely inappropriate and vicious language and attitudes toward Pope Benedict and behaved in a manner that is in flagrant violation of both Church and Italian law. Sympathy for this cretin? I think not. But then, these are Italians! So what can one expect? A beautiful country filled with beautiful people, food and wine, and not exactly overly endowed with backbones.