In today’s edition, on the front page, we ran a photo with an obscenity in it. This decision does not come easily.

At the Daily Mining Gazette, we continue to strive to give you, the reader, the most in-depth story we can as honest and unbaised as we can. Most of the time, that is a fairly straightforward task. An event happens, we take photos and interviews, and we produce a story and a photograph or two to help emphasize the point being made within that story.

In Graham Jaehnig’s front page story, “Rising fears being created by extreme behavior,” he wrote about vandalism occurring in the Copper Country on political campaign signs on private property. Along with that story, we ran a photo that contained a vulgar expression towards a candidate.

The choice to run the photo was one that we discussed in the pagination room back and forth for some time before ultimately deciding to run. While it contains offensive language, we felt it was important to show you, as well as tell you, the type of vandalism we are describing in the story.

The DMG is aware of the tensions being created by this current political climate. Those tensions played out during a recent parade of trucks and cars in support of President Donald Trump and during the subsequent protest by presidential candidate Joe Biden supporters.

The First Amendment gives every American the right to freely express their opinion along with the right of the people to peacably assemble. It is the reason that homeowners and storeowners have the right to display their political opinion on their own property.

However, that does not give individuals the right to deface that expression through acts of vandalism. There are many other ways to express one’s opinion that are more productive than defacing property.