Where did all of the anger and hate come from in Robert Gehrke’s column in the Tribune on Jan. 9? The headline of Gehrke’s column calls Cliven Bundy a cheat and a thief. Granted, Bundy is no saint and owes the federal government over a million dollars in past-due grazing fees. But I’m not sure he deserves all the titles Gehrke has bestowed upon him.

There are many cases of huge amounts of money owed the government in back taxes. Are these people cheats and thieves? I don’t think so. There are advertisements on TV and radio advising these taxpayers to contact attorneys to negotiate with the government to reduce the amount they owe. The difference is the IRS does not put together a small band of well-armed agents to confiscate the taxpayer’s assets. One rogue BLM employee did and, as they say, the rest is history.

Maybe, if the BLM had used just a little less “macho collection tactics,” this whole thing could have been settled much differently and LaVoy Finicum, an Arizona rancher, would still be alive. The title of cheat and thief may better be used to describe a BLM employee.

Bill Inglesby, West Valley City