Immediately after the fatal
shooting of right-wing Charlie Kirk at a rally
on the Utah Valley University campus, the Left
and Democrats were quickly blamed. Dictator
trump rattled the chains of other MAGA minions
from U.S. Senator Tim Scott to U.S. Rep. Nancy
Mace, the latter of whom declared, without
justification, “Democrats own this. 100 %.”
None of these characters is on record advising
Kirk to tone down his anti-Black, homophobic
hate speech.
Pro-democratic truth-tellers
must unite to quash the false narrative that
domestic terrorism and political violence come
equally from both sides. It is misguided to
equate left-wing and right-wing extremism
regarding the rising violence dividing us. The
harmful impact of political behavior is not
balanced. The truth is undeniable.
Currently, the right is more
culpable, given the overwhelming attacks on
citizens, institutions, and ideas. A
substantial body of evidence indicates that
since 2002, individuals affiliated with the
right have caused more deaths than any other
group and have been involved in many more acts
of domestic terrorism. Yet, the echo chamber
consistently promotes the false narrative of
moral equivalence. Even some people on the
so-called left join in, urging their peers to
tone down the heated rhetoric.
The MAGA movement and the trump
minions have consistently used hate-filled
rhetoric. At times, they have directly
encouraged their supporters to engage in
violence. Extremist attacks are on the rise,
and it is clear that many of the offenders
look to the Commander-in-Chief for
inspiration, guidance, and cover. The January
6 insurrection and the exoneration of all
those accused or convicted of murder, assault,
trespassing, and destruction of federal
property are a powerful example of this.
If we look back about twenty
years, the trend is frighteningly clear
regarding who is involved, why it is
happening, and how these acts are carried out.
Abortion clinics have been bombed, and
providers have been murdered. Places of
worship have also been targeted, with nearly
1,000 attacks occurring in 2023 and 2024
alone. Judges and their families have faced
threats, such as federal judge Esther Salas,
whose son was killed, and her husband was
injured. Furthermore, threats against elected
officials have increased, with actual
attempted kidnappings and assassinations,
including incidents involving Minnesota House
Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, as
well as State Senator John Hoffman and his
wife, who were injured. The examples could go
on and on. Extremists on the right have been
incredibly active.
A report recently published by
The Economist revealed that nearly 80%
of extremist-related murders were committed by
those on the right. These mass shootings,
including schools, are primarily due to the
availability of high-powered automatic
weapons. Lobbyists for the National Rifle
Association have successfully quashed most
common-sense gun regulations. The number
of guns exceeds the population in the U.S, and
so it comes as no surprise that the country
has the highest number of school shootings in
the world or that guns are the leading cause
of death among our children and adolescents.
The Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, which recognized violence as a
health issue, kept these important statistics
but has now been gutted of its scientific
personnel and funding.
The rise of authoritarianism
has been boosted by right-wing media,
especially social media platforms.
Conservative talk shows, podcasts, and
religious stations have catapulted the ilk of
Rush Limbaugh, Steve Bannon, and a new wave of
far-right conspiracy-rapping, bible-thumping
extremists. Some of them have wormed their way
into the trump cabinet and given positions of
unprecedented authority with no experience.
There’s a lengthy list of social media
characters from Dan Bongino to Tulsi Gabbard
to Peter Hegseth who are wreaking havoc on the
country as they execute the Project 2025
playbook.
Together, they have created a
twisted ideological web of air and cyberspace
frequencies to trap and influence the millions
who drink their special cocktail. The nonstop
dosages of hate against immigrants, racial
groups, and transgender people are guaranteed
to poison the hearts and minds of those who
imbibe. They have been effective at spreading
white supremacist and xenophobic propaganda
wrapped in evangelical Christianity, and even
more effective in getting like-minded
candidates elected. The five biggest tech
companies in the world are right here in the
U.S. and are complicit in amplifying the MAGA
agenda.
All of the above is why blaming the Left or Democrats is
an intentionally lopsided accusation. This is
not to imply that there are no lefty
extremists who are being let off the hook when
it comes to political violence; this is about
putting it into perspective. This is about
getting to the source of the political
violence that spews dangerous right-wing
ideology as its lethal tentacles make their
way into the mainstream. With a deeper
understanding of the problem, we won’t be
stuck in dangerously vulnerable spaces,
defending ourselves from crimes we have not
committed. We won’t be caught making silly
comments like “this is not who we are” when
the history of violence in this country
affirms this is exactly who we are. The quest requires us to be clear on
what and who we want to be, and who and what
are the threats to a peaceful and equitable
democracy. This is a pathway out of the
fascist spiral of violence, aimed to keep us
locked in a world of chaos and confusion.
