The Kindness Matters Podcast
So. Much. Division. Let's talk about how to change that. Re-engage as neighbors, friends, co-workers and family. Let's set out to change the world. Strike that. Change A World. One person at a time, make someone's life a little better and then do it again tomorrow and the day after that, through kindness.
Kindness is a Super-Power that each of us has within us. It is so powerful it has the potential to change not only your life but those around you, too. Let's talk about kindness.
The Kindness Matters Podcast
When Tragedy Strikes: Finding Space for Kindness Amid Political Violence
How do we respond when darkness seems to be winning? Following a horrific act of political terrorism in Minnesota, this special episode takes a raw, honest look at the struggle to maintain faith in kindness during our darkest moments.
The podcast recounts the chilling details of recent attacks on multiple Minnesota lawmakers, including the tragedy that claimed the lives of former House Speaker Melissa Hortman, her husband, and their family dog. With remarkable candor, host Mike Rathbun acknowledges the challenge of advocating for kindness when confronted with such senseless violence: "Sometimes advocating for kindness feels a little bit like beating your head against a wall."
Yet rather than surrendering to despair, this episode makes a powerful case for why compassion becomes most essential during times of grief and trauma. Political violence has haunted humanity since ancient Rome, but history remembers both the perpetrators and those who respond with healing. We face a choice: Will we allow hate to harden our hearts, or will we be "the ones who stay, who hold hands, who refuse to let hate win"?
As our communities grapple with increasing polarization and dehumanization of political opponents, this timely reflection reminds us that kindness isn't merely a pleasant sentiment—it's a necessary response to a fractured world. Join us as we explore how small acts of compassion can begin to rebuild what violence has shattered.
Listen, reflect, and consider how you might bring healing to your corner of the world today. Subscribe to the Kindness Matters podcast for more episodes exploring how everyday acts of compassion create ripples of positive change.
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Well, hello there and welcome. You are listening to the Kindness Matters podcast and I am your host, mike Rathbun. What is this podcast all about? It's about kindness. 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. We're on Facebook, instagram, tiktok. We're even on LinkedIn under Mike Rathbun. Check us out. Uh, we're even on LinkedIn under Mike Rathbun. Check us out. And in the meantime, so sit back, relax, enjoy and we'll get into the Kindness Matters podcast. Hello everyone, you're listening to a special edition of the Kindness Matters podcast and I am your host, mike Rathbun.
Speaker 1: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.
Speaker 1: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.
Speaker 1: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.
Speaker 1: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.
