Mail bombs making a comeback.

Mail bombs are commonplace now; we've had them for decades. Assassinations, we've had them for centuries. But this week, mail (and pipe) bombs have for the first time in years made global news. And it's all thanks to this dude:

56-year-old American Cesar Sayoc, who has quite extremely taken criticism of Donald Trump into his own hands. A registered Republican (shock horror), he is accused of sending explosives to many notable Democratic figures including Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton and even Hollywood legend (and vehement Trump opponent) Robert De Niro. It now turns out he has quite a lengthy criminal track record. This includes a 1991 grand theft charge, several felony charges in 2004 for possessing a synthetic steroid, a 2013 battery offence and most prominently a 2002 arrest for threatening to discharge a bomb in Miami, Florida. What a saint!

Assassination in general is no way to defeat something or somebody you oppose, but to attempt it in such a long-distance manner like posting explosives I think is just especially cowardly, and inconsiderate of the potential for killing innocent and unrelated people. After all, some US Postal Service employee could've intercepted one of these packages and fatally opened it out of suspicion. But more to the point, by sending them you're not actually daring to attack your target in person.

Now, were I American I'd undoubtedly be a Democrat but regardless, tactics like Sayoc's are also harmful for the images of all parties and their supporters. Politicians and their fan clubs should all stick to trying to defeat their adversaries/leaders at the ballot box, not with violence.