Opinion: It’s surreal when the lie machine comes for your hometown

Photo/Maddie McGarvey/The New York Times / An Ohio state trooper stands guard at Snowhill Elementary School in Springfield, Ohio, on Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. Gov. Mike DeWine of Ohio announced this week that he was deploying state troopers to the beleaguered city of Springfield to reassure the community that schools are safe despite a wave of bomb threats. Photo/Maddie McGarvey/The New York Times / An Ohio state trooper stands guard at Snowhill Elementary School in Springfield, Ohio, on Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. Gov. Mike DeWine of Ohio announced this week that he was deploying state troopers to the beleaguered city of Springfield to reassure the community that schools are safe despite a wave of bomb threats.

By Danny Westneat / The Seattle Times (TNS) September 19, 2024 5 min read

I try to stay optimistic that our institutions, our democracy and our American mixing-bowl experiment are all going to survive the current stress test they’re undergoing.

But lately I’ve been having serious doubts. The reason is because I am originally from Springfield, Ohio.

Yes, that Springfield – the one that’s suddenly been slandered as the “pet-eating city.”

It’s surreal to see places where you grew up, like the college where your dad taught for decades, getting evacuated by bomb threats that were triggered out of nothing other than repeated fabrications from a leading presidential candidate.

At first, I reacted with bemused disbelief. As in: Did Donald Trump really just accuse my former hometown of eating household pets? It seemed too ridiculous to take seriously.