The big news this week has been the pipe bombs mailed to a
number of left-leaning political figures and media outlets. Although none of
the bombs has detonated or led to injuries or deaths, the attacks come at a
time when tensions are already running high. There is little doubt that the
string of attempted bombings will further stoke tempers in an already precarious
situation.
President Trump denounced the attacks in a speech at a rally
in Wisconsin. “No nation can succeed that tolerates violence or the threat of
violence as a method of political intimidation, coercion, or control,” the
president said. “No one should carelessly compare political opponents to
historical villains, which is done often,” the president continued. “It’s done
all the time. “
Trump then turned his attention to one of his favorite
targets, which was also a target of the bomber, saying, “The media also has a
responsibility to set a civil tone and to stop the endless hostility and
constant negative and oftentimes false attacks and stories.
Thus far, political leaders have been quick to denounce
political violence from the opposing team but slow to critique their own side. In
fact, even though radicals on both sides have carried out attacks on the other, few on each side seem to
acknowledge or remember acts perpetrated by their own side. If you have friends
on both sides of the political spectrum, as I do, you’ll see posts from both
sides claiming that the other side is perpetrating all the violence while theirs
is as pure as the driven snow.
Even though no suspect has been arrested in the mail bombings,
many on both sides seem to have made up their minds already as to the motive of
the perpetrator. Since the targets of the bombs are all people who have been rhetorically
attacked by President Trump, it’s reasonable to assume that the bomber is a
Trump supporter.
On the other hand, with no supporting evidence at all, some
on the right are beginning to make the argument that the bombs are a false
flag operation (to use Alex Jones’ favorite phrase) to make Trump supporters
look bad. Similarly, in the wake of the Charlottesville car attack, some on the right falsely claimed that
James Alex Fields, Jr. was a “radical leftist”
and Clinton supporter.
Let’s set the record straight. Both sides have violent
extremists and both sides are increasingly violent. James Fields was a white
supremacist. James Hodgkinson, who attempted to kill Steve Scalise and other
Republican senators, was a liberal Bernie Sanders volunteer. Right-wing
activists launched an armed occupation of a federal wildlife refuge and staged
an armed resistance to the arrest of Cliven Bundy. Leftist Antifa radicals have
rioted in numerous cities. Leftists have used the threat of violence to deny
conservatives such as Ben Shapiro the right to speak. President Trump
threatened riots if he was denied the Republican nomination. A Trump
supporter threatened to shoot Boston Globe reporters because the newspaper
was an “enemy of the people.” Liberals have taken to confronting conservative
politicians and media figures in restaurants. Right-wingers did the same thing
to Nancy
Pelosi.
In this age of mass media directed to different niches, the
two sides are increasingly separated into camps that have little contact with
the other. A recent conservative meme series refers to liberal supporters as NPCs,
nonplayer characters, that are faceless, generic subhumans that don’t think
for themselves. The left seems to think
the same of the right, frequently referring to the president’s supporters as “Trumpbots.” It
shouldn’t be surprising that as both sides dehumanize the other, the potential for
violence increases.
Leaders of both sides need to come together for a bipartisan
statement that rejects the increasing political violence. This needs to be done
with no caveats. Republicans and Democrats should both tone down their rhetoric
and instruct their supporters to make their voices heard at the ballot box, not
in the streets.
If the leaders won’t take this action, it is up to the
American people to reject violence. Don’t condone and excuse violent rhetoric
or behavior just because it comes from your team. One way to address the
problem is to shame people who take part in this sort of behavior. The second
Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville was smaller than the first, in part because
neo-Nazis from the first rally were publicly identified
and shamed online. Perhaps a similar strategy could be used against Antifa
and the Proud Boys.
Reject hatred and violent rhetoric
online. The anonymous and isolated nature of social media makes extremism thrive.
Unlike and unfollow radical accounts and pages. Report users who violate the
terms of service and community standards. Point out the hypocrisy of supporting
your own side’s violence while condemning the other.
Both sides claim to want to take their country back, but I
suspect that the people who really want their country back are the exhausted
middle who are tired of the constant crises and outrage-of-the-day from both
sides. It is these moderate and independent Americans who decide elections and
they can make a difference by rejecting those who condone violence. These are
people who can hold America together while politicians and activists try to rip
it apart.
Originally published
on The
Resurgent
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