From WNYC in New York, this is on the media. I'm Brooke Gladstone. And I'm Bob Garfield. The murder of two

good Samaritans in Portland, Oregon a week ago, unlike many other such episodes, seemed to be a

zeitgeist moment, as Portland's mayor, Ted Wheeler, put it earlier this week. Our current political climate allows

far too much room for those who spread bigotry. Violent words can lead to violent acts.

The victims had rushed to the defense of two young women being racially taunted and were stabbed to death while

intervening.

One of the women was Muslim in a hijab.

The killer, an avowed racist, was widely described as a white supremacist.

Alleged white supremacist accused of stabbing two Good Samaritans to death on a commuter

train in Portland. A police, a suspected white supremacist.

35-year-old Jeremy Christian went on an anti-Muslim tirade.

Christian was a known white supremacist who had previously

showed up to extreme right-wing marches and performed Nazi salutes.

Because reports of hate crimes appeared to have risen in tandem with the prominence of the alt-right,

and because the alt-right is a vocal advocate of Donald Trump,

some were quick to connect the dots, tracing a straight line between Trumpism and the hate crime.

Vice President Joe Biden partially putting this at the doorstep of the White House

and saying that President Trump's

rhetoric is partially to blame for divisions in the country and the rise in racially charged

attacks like the one in Portland.

As the week rolled on, a debate over free speech flared.

A white power march is scheduled for this weekend, and Mayor Wheeler, citing public safety but in apparent indifference to the First Amendment, sought to revoke the organizer's permit unsuccessfully.

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