Once more Jill has shown us that sections of the US Right are only concerned about their own narrow views and are literally contemptuous of Democracy (as you will see from this post).
This is important reading, albeit it chilling, for any US citizen. Jill calls out your attention to a problem and a threat to your democracy.
Please read.
As I write this, the dawn of a damp, chill 5th November is here. And tonight all over the UK there will be fireworks and piles of burning woods. And pets will have a miserable time, so will folk trying to sleep. Worse our strained Hospital services will have unnecessary injuries through carelessness with use of explosives. And folk who think they are politically sardonic and witty will be making jokes favourable about Guy Fawkes.
And those words somehow seem allegorical to the state of US politics and the forthcoming greatest challenge faced by the US populations, thus far.
Let’s dial back a smidge and talk about Fawkes. He was part of a group of fanatics who were willing to bring down an albeit flawed but nonetheless nascent democracy by a savage act of violence on its parliament and replace that with a theocratic government and quiescent king. Some folk hero uh?
And do those acts sound vaguely familiar to Americans of the USA of today. Maybe allegorically, maybe literally?
Out there masking as Republicans are folk who assailed its status as Grand Old Party, savaged it, kicked it, beat it until it cried no more and crawling to the attackers’ feet begged for them to let it be and it would do as they told it to do. Forget that lettering GOP, like Winston Smith in Nineteen Eighty-Four, the Republican Party has been through its own Room 101 and now with all its broken heart and battered spirit ‘Loves MAGA’.
There is nothing amusing about this situation anymore, SNL’s stock in trade is finding humour in Life, but there was nothing of value in the sketches mocking Trump, not that marionette of the unpleasant, intolerant, neurotic, deluded mob who believe they can bring all of America to their way, humour is always in danger of a feeling of acceptance and diluting the issue with laughter. There can be no acceptance or diluting what has seized the Republican Party. A Mindset lacking in any sense of the pain and suffering of other nations who tried that attempted authoritarian way. These folk, blind to the potential parallel of Northern Ireland of the last third of the 20th Century. Casting off the spirit of the Founding Fathers Constitution.
If they set up their own independent and isolationist states it would be grim but livable for the US, but this crew of essentially White Abrahamic Hypocrites want the Whole. They will allow their own militias too, believing that their guns and wannabe Taliban mindset can hold in check the anger, growing to fury turning to terrorism; who by the way may be a government in Afghanistan but are having to deal with Islamic States atrocities.
Thus far the opposition is fighting the good fight through ballot boxes, opinions polls, the courts and supporting the liberal governments in their areas. May this prevail. May you be spared the next step as outlined above, for surely in a nation inured at its roots in independence and also with access to so many firearms if law and the ballot box are disregarded in favour of conspiracy and prejudice, then, again as outlined above, violence will spread.
On Tuesday 8th November vote then, vote for yourselves, vote for the vulnerable, vote for your children and their children, encourage others to vote.
For should the Conflict come, should the Terror begin, should the streets be places where groups fired by hate and anger battle, then those who did nothing will be as accountable as those who willingly brought the war.
One Word. Guaranteed to start a fire
If there is one way to upset some folk who worry about Democracy it is to suggest they are living in one. I did this once on a UK Face Book and received stern lectures, warnings and downright abuse from opponents of the British Government, some of whom seemed to have taken the V for Vendetta film as a documentary and are living the freedom fighter fantasy.
The Nature(s) of Democracy
Democracy takes on similarities to some of the categories encountered in Quantum Physics and Mechanics; they are either a wave or a particle, or they exist until you look at them. Taking the analogy one step further the study of both often end up with something along the lines of ‘Even if we can’t see it. There has to be This otherwise That wouldn’t happen’
The observation that there are multiple forms of democracy fogs the perception even more. The fact that in many democratic societies there are disadvantaged even abused minorities illustrates whatever the system is in place it’s not working with a fully ethical efficiency. This is one aspect in which there might never be a solution satisfactory unto all.
Democracy by its nature has to accept a plurality of views and opinions can be stated and therefore addressed. In reaching a workable outcome there will be those very dissatisfied with the outcome and those satisfied and there will be tension. In its worst result, the former will deny there is Democracy and the latter will see the former as a threat…to Democracy. Returning to the Quantum Analogy and the study of Wave/Particle:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wave%E2%80%93particle_duality
Both can be right and both can be wrong. In different places, times and circumstances.
Thorny Questions and Observations
And what of defense of Democracy? Now there is a thorny question. How far does one go to defend Democracy and who does one defend Democracy against?
Some might say, the answer, can on occasions be easy and will cite World War II. The problem with that being the other questions which the answer raises. A sample of the more obvious ones:
The USA and The UK both democracies (well, most of the time, if you were Caucasian that is) gave much aid to one of the most ruthless repressive regimes around; USSR and supported a chaotic and hardly democratic China.
Germany and Japan were subjected to massive methodical and not very accurate carpet aerial bombing and when Japan did not face up to facts was hit by the first nuclear weapons. Both regimes were equally cruel, ruthless, intolerant and fanatical. But folk still dispute the methods by which they were defeated (the effectiveness of carpet bombing of Germany is still up for debate).
When Democracy had been saved both USA and UK took part in the support of totalitarian regimes and were ruthless in attempts at suppression of opposition in areas they controlled. Sadly, in many places which achieved independence violence followed against minorities or political opponents.
A Cause Worth Fighting For
The word ‘fight’ is devalued these days. To go back into times gone by ‘Fight’ meant conflict and in its overtones an indication to accept the violent option in that conflict. Folk should know just what their getting into and how much commitment they are willing to invest.
For instance within the USA there are paramilitaries openly intimidating people right to vote. Now do you complain to ‘The Authorities’ and hope ‘The Authorities’ sympathise with you and not tip a wink to the paramilitaries? OR do you and few others arm-up and confront the paramilitaries face to face, AND if that is the case how far will you take that confrontation? The Nuclear Option does not just refer to Nuclear Weapons? Which do you prefer? OR Which do you regret but think will happen anyway, so ‘let’s get on with it’.
Defense of Democracy. We would all like to think it was a question of discussion and debate. Look closer through the mists and fogs of interactions. It’s long a road and it can get rougher. The phrase around so long it has become an old saying ‘You Talk The Talk. But Can You Walk The Walk?’ Has been around in various forms for thousands of years of our ragged history. It would seem we should always invest in ‘The Talk’. But what happens when the Other Guy doesn’t? Who failed anyway?
A Failed Project Or…
Some of us here of ‘Certain Ages’ had a general idea that Democracy was embedded and although it was flawed and drove us crazy in its operations, it was always there safe and sound.
Wrong.
Intolerance. Ignorance. The Opportunist. They are always there. They never sleep. They have to be confronted. Always.
The question is.
How much are you willing to invest in determination, ingenuity and hope?
Or do you invest in less subtle means and sell a little of your soul for the price paid? Then say it had to be paid?
There are times when news, or to be closer to the precise, news of some communities’ reactions to news or current circumstances can be difficult to process. In the UK we witnessed this in July when forecasts of a record temperatures and subsequent health warnings were met not just with strident denials that there was anything to worry about but vitriolic attacks on social media by a too large and vocal group on the forecasters themselves. There were no apologies in aftermath of the actual heat, there again when the next warning came, the groups were mostly quiet. Personally, I could only conclude that the UK’s general image of the summer consisting of ‘Nice Weather’ is held in quasi-religious regard by some and the act of suggesting summer weather could be bad was an attack tantamount to them of blasphemy.
That is the most publicly generous opinion I have on the subject; my own private personal commentary is best kept that way.
The aforementioned observation is something of an opener on a far more unpleasant and dangerous version of this denial of Reality; this being the cult of MAGA.
In a previous post I argued why this grouping should be considered to have a cult mentality
The Final Evidence of a Cult of Hypocrisy
In a much early post I warned this grouping’s antics would lead to the USA facing severe communal strife.
A Spectre to be Exorcised (Communal Violence)
It would be something of a task to say in the USA not a day goes by without evidence in the news of another outburst of denial, intolerance and skewed thinking by this all too large a grouping. The latest from a UK news feed being that someone who denied the legitimacy of the democratic process for the election of a president of the USA in 2020 had been selected as a candidate over a seasoned and mature Republican who in normal times would not be being championed by Democrats.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-62569056
These antics, for there is no other way to describe the vitriol, the blatant hypocrisy and looming physical threats by this grouping are, it bears repeating is not unique. Nor the sole preserve of the right-wing ‘white’ person. However, in relation to the USA this grouping does have substantial numbers and (despite the fact they hate the word being used on them) privilege (no use denying it folks, you came in your legions, made one of history’s many landgrabs and dug your heels in and there it is…take your place in the history of Humanity).
I would be a terrible reporter for a respectable news feed such as the BBC because my views and opinions would keep on seeping through. Thus, if someone were to charge me with producing an objective piece as to why a section of the USA population still support Trump and the MAGA I could not do it. This would require an approach which need to display a dispassionate analysis and that would grate as ‘understanding their points of view’ and there is vast difference between ‘understanding’ and ‘perceiving ‘. Thus, the following observations are made in a spirit of unapologetic condemnation. Not a ‘Oh now I understand where you are coming from. I don’t agree, but I understand,’. When one group denies the processes of the foundation of its own nation just to suit itself ‘understand’ does fir the bill at all. Instead, my response to them is ‘I see what you are about and it, quite frankly, is unconscionable. You are not patriots.’ followed by ‘Your delusions will in the end be your downfalls. I pity the folk who are dragged down with you,’
Now in these recent decades a Point of View (or argument, take your pick) is not considered media worthy without an Anacronym. After all the less words a modern person has to utter the far more fashionable and attractive their views will appear. So, I spent a fair portion of time dwelling on this. A few were ditched in case they could be used as a badge of pride by the targets. Eventually I came up with this, which to me sums up the mindset of the current slews of aggressive right-wingers in the USA:
White Heterosexual Abrahamic Hysteria (I would not dignify them with the term ‘Christian’ since they seem to pay scant attention to the teaching of My Lord Jesus Christ and spend time looking for out of context comments in the Old Testaments, Book of Revelations, and the writings of Saint Paul-sound bites only not whole passages). When Anacronymised this reads as WHAH. This was an unintentional dip into urban slang. Apparently ‘WHAH’ is a sound or expression denoting maybe disbelief or exclamation of surprise, maybe even dismissal. And this would sum up the general response of the adherents of the Trump Action Toy, customers of the Snake Oil Merchants of Right-Wing Social Media along with a number of republican candidates for the mid-terms. In short, a loud inarticulate howl, of denial with no true thought, much less perception.
There they are, just like their cousins-in-response in the UK. Those who cannot bear the idea that there is something wrong with very hot weather, and those who could not believe the UK Labour Party lost the 2019 General Election through incompetence. Here we witness examples of Denial in the raw. In the UK cases, these folk are in a minority which is at best are seen by the public seen as annoying pests. Sadly, this is not the case for the USA. These folk will rent apart the nation as we have come to see it since WWII. So much so it could be argued if China wants Taiwan all China has to do is wait, for in due course the USA will not be able to help its sometime ally. China does not have to blunder like Russia. Just wait.
There is of course, always Hope; maybe by some process, currently hidden from view in the media fogs and storms, The USA will survive and circumvent a possible decade of internal strife. Hope though relies on action. Standing back and trying to say it has nothing to do with you does not suit the times. Those who adopt this approach might well wake up one morning tune into the newsfeed and exclaim ‘WHAH????’. One response to them might be ‘Uh-huh. You got it,’. The other might be:
‘Too late. You should have paid attention to the Storm Warnings,’
Maybe it’s one of those classic features of old age, maybe it comes from reading volumes of military and political histories or maybe it’s ‘Just Because….’ . Anyway, I can accept Misdirection, Distortion and even Downright Lies as part of the whole box of tricks Humanity indulges in. Sometimes I embrace them as a Means To An End, but other times I condemn them, the latter mostly at the personal level, War and Politics being where Ambiguity is another Dimension.
One other failing which is common is Hypocrisy. With thanks to Wikipedia I give you this quote The word hypocrisy comes from the Greek ὑπόκρισις (hypokrisis), which means “jealous”, “play-acting”, “acting out”, “coward” or “dissembling” . I can also cite British political philosopher David Runciman, “Other kinds of hypocritical deception include claims to knowledge that one lacks, claims to a consistency that one cannot sustain, claims to a loyalty that one does not possess, claims to an identity that one does not hold”
Hold onto those words as we consider the predictable reaction of the Republican mass to the raid on one of Trump’s abodes. One headline of the subject:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-62486406
Bear in mind these cries come from the party which recently was complicit in taking away the right of women in regions of the USA to have an abortion. This is the party which in several states are equally complicit in questionable adjustments to the voter boundaries and legislation. This is the party which now has spokespersons encouraging a fundamentalist Christianity in public schools. This is the party has done nothing to expel, rein in or publicly condemn the activities of semi-militias in its ranks.
And yet is a party which howls outrage when a person who took a public oath to defend the US constitution in turn publicly trampled on that same oath, in a fit of immature petulance which can go down in the record as Public Infamy.
This is nothing that the Current Majority of the Republican Party can say in The Court Ethical Reasoning which will stand up to examination. This group has taken the step to move beyond a Political Party. It has embraced, fully a narrow and ultimately exclusive set of views. It intends in actions broadly in the same camp as The Taliban to impose an ideology based on selective and out on context extracts from a series of Holy Works, and also favouring one racial and cultural grouping (another facet the Taliban would rather not have discussed). Thus, with each denial, with each vitriolic attack on anyone within its ranks who has a differing view it begins to resemble a cult.
All cults of course have their foundations in a basic hypocrisy. They insist on a narrow view, while at the same time demanding the freedom to take away freedom. Their arguments are short on perspective and devoid of any reference to the evidence of histories. Their only tolerance circles around the acts of intolerance to others. And you can see by those recent actions in republican areas how the Greek definition of the word Hypocrisy is being displayed. You will note when again comparing the imposition of anti-abortion legislation with this display of indignation how Runciman’s definition is an accurate summery of recent republican actions in relation to their failure to display true patriotism to the USA.
I see some of the republicans are bleating that the action at one of Trump’s residences is political. My response is….Yes, of course. What did you expect? This is the reaction to the Day of Infamy of the 6th January 2021 and your cowardly, supine responses. Of course, it is political. Nations are built on politics. Laws are framed out of politics. Decisions are taken via politics. Do not try and play that card when your whole actions since the election of Biden have been based on politics. The Republican response in part is typical of the political process, it’s conducted in most democracies. However, the failure of the Republican to distance itself from Trump’s ridiculous actions in 2020 & 2021 and the mob which urged him on, and this puerile attempt to hide behind a thin paper facade of a parody of democracy places that party in the area of Cult.
Of course, it was predictable. I would suggest that there are those who work out of sight of the public arena who knew this and went ahead, because it was time to stop playing moderate and thus trying to win over. It was time to step up the pace. Sometimes readers, it has to be accepted The Stability and Continuation of a Nation requires resolves to stop playing games and trying to avoid confrontation. To act now, along legal lines is better than later down the road when harsher and more jagged alternatives arise.
In history and in this day the current Republican Party of the USA is not unique. Intolerance. Hate. Blinkered Thinking. Selective Textual Evidence. Almost conventional. Where this party can be called to task in the specific spectrum of US politics is on the question of Patriotism to the USA as a nation and a concept. In recent years it has had a wretched record, showing scant concern for the USA as a whole community. It displays that typical cultish blindness to the dangers, all for its limited and selfish ends. Actually, nothing new there either; the result being each time the ruination of the guilty party. Sadly, there is price in innocents though.
Technically there may be some legally questionable actions in the going into one of Trump’s places. An issue for legal experts to chat over. However, there is The Letter of The Law and the Spirit of The Law.
The latter must always take precedence.
Chapter One
Roll up this document. It will not be wanted these ten years.*
Chapter Two
Message to the American White liberal and moderate populations; this is how it’s been for about 35% of your fellow Americans.
Chapter Three
If the opportunity arises for you dear readers post this one word on the site of any American politician, commentator, or social media ‘influencer’ who makes favourable comments on Hiter:
MALMEDY
Chapter Four
No theme of lamentations should be without its prophecies. Here’s one for the American White Right; taken straight out of their Go-To Old Testament of the Bible. Though not from their Selected Text Version:
Lamentations 2: 2, 18-19
The visions your prophets had on your behalf were delusive, tinsel things, they never pointed out your sin, to ward off your exile. The visions they proffered you were false, fallacious, misleading.
Cry aloud, then, to the Lord – groan, daughter of Zion; let your tears flow like a torrent, day and night; give yourself no relief, grant your eyes no rest.
Up, cry out in the night-time, in the early hours of darkness; pour your heart out like water before the Lord. Stretch out your hands to him for the lives of your children who faint with hunger at the entrance to every street.
Chapter Five
You Tube your favoured version of Bob Dylan’s ‘Hard Rains A Gonna Fall’
Chapter Six
Say these words, at least once a day:
“Always take side. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor never the tormented,” (Elie Wiesel)
Gun crime and mass killings in the USA
The raw figures reach deep in the heart, the killing of innocent people shopping or children at school. The statistics will be there for all to see and for the responsible compassionate folk to rage and lament over. All that can be said, will be said. Again and again and again.
And one part of the American Community, locked into a mindset, born of a tradition and nurtured by a mix of fear and the torrent of preachers of ignorance and loathing will block all attempts to rationalise the situation.
‘How can they?’ you cry in despair. Well, that’s an easy one to answer. They can reduce the tragedy of numbers to percentages. It’s a simple formulae, if you are willing to be culpable in the proliferation of the tools of death while denying it the next tranche of death are anything to do with you. To move beyond the accusations and your pleas for sanity with a hope of making some sort of improvement it is necessary to view not just the mindset but the comfort zone of the opposition, places where they will go to and thus meditation of how to make that less comfortable. Let us take a look at places they will go; in statistics:
Statistics Available on The Net ‘Proving’ Gun Death is ‘Unfortunate’
USA Population (2020) = 329, 500,000
Estimates US Deaths Through Gun Crime(2020) = 45,000
Percentage of Population Lost ‘By this Misfortune’= 0.0137%
Mindset response: ‘Well, yes it’s shame, but it’s such a small figure y’know’
Death In The USA. Putting ‘Things’ ‘In Perspective’
Approx Overall Deaths* = 3,358,814
Heart Disease = 690,000
Cancer = 598,000
Covid + = 345,000
Unintentional Injury = 200,000
*Provisional Mortality Data — United States, 2020
Supplied by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7014e1.htm
Now for the benefit of the pro-gun / less control lobby we add
Gun Deaths = 45,000 (1.34% of deaths in the USA in 2020)
As you can see for the benefit of the Gun Mindset these figures are of comfort, and an acceptable loss ratio in defending their right to bear arms……….. as they see it.
(+ A tricky one for some of them to swallow since they have to admit there was Covid, but if they don’t it bumps up the percentage figure for gun deaths)
But nothing is ever as simple as the figure which gives you the most comfort, and this is where we go to upset any figure comfort.
Deaths and Suffers. Consequences
Foreword.
Some of you may know I was a UK Civil Servant for 40+ years and therefore have a familiarity with statistics, the statistics behind the statistics and their implications. The following is therefore written in all damn seriousness
A dead person leaves behind family and friends. Now this is a difficult one to quantify.
What you might call The Nuclear Family figure varies between 2.7 and 3.13 just taking a few measurements, but for simplicity’s sake let’s assume it is 3. Which means each death leaves 2 affected, these we assume are parents or spouse + child. This is an additional figure of 90,000. (45,000 x 2)
But let us not forget other generations and close extensions to the family, a very difficult figure to pin down due to so many variations. But let us assume for brevity and avoiding accusation of inflation there are but an additional 5 close members. 45,000 x 5 = 225,000 + the earlier Nuclear figure of 45,000 = 270.000.
But what about those outside of that circle?
Now based on an Internet trawl of Average Attendees at a funeral in the US is a variable which at ground level could be 15-20 (one way of gauging friends and other relatives- those who can attend that is). Taking the top figure of 20 and comparing this with the base death figure of 45,000 we reach a number of 900,000 people who will be affected by a gun death. We will stop there, even though the temptation is great to reach a more significant figure, for that lays us open to a charge of exaggeration. Let us just leave it instead to the imagination as you add your own categories to the tally.
Instead we shall return to the figures of deaths in the USA. We have or will know death in one way or another; it waits at some stage. Thus those figures of the top two causes Heart and Cancer are part but part of Life’s Cycle; there for the sufferer, their loved ones and their friends; tragedy mixed with poignancy and of course some natural anger. Of course, Life and Death melded. Inevitable, acceptable, hurtful, paradoxical. For a short while a roil of emotions, and then a sadness settles and Life continues.
Not so for the 900,000 left to mourn those 45,000 whose deaths by the means of a weapon were avoidable. 900,000 left with a bitterness, an angry frustration a sense of loss and loneliness that some with more authority that empathy seem unable to take to heart.
900,000. No not a number based on hard evidence. One based on perception, identification, on the simple fact that one death by a gun is not One as in mathematics, part of a statistic, a recorded incident. One, as in an event, raw and sudden which spreads out as ripples through liquid, only these ripples never settle, they continue until they reach a shore of indifference bolstered by excuses, then to reverberate back to the centre where lies a hard memory and outwards again. Repetition, a cyclic dance between pain of unnecessary loss and a belief which long since lost its validity and instead grew a husk of hostile legend and fear to surround itself with.
Other Figures as a Mirror
Post 9/11: 7,057 service personnel died on operational service
Post 9/11: 30,177 service or veteran service personnel committed suicide
Post 9/11: 37,234 in Total
That does not include those living, invalided physical, mentally or emotionally. Or those close to them.
The cost of 20 years which did not result in victory. A nation’s pain
And yet, there are politicians, pundits, professionals and vacuous rabble rousers who would have a larger sort of tally inflicted on the USA every year into perpetuity for some blasphemous ephemeral thing they call have called a freedom. They expect 900,000 people every year to suffer as well, so that they can indulge their belief. Not a care for any of those dead or grieving. If there was they would consider….
Responsibility.
They don’t even have the common decency to admit Culpability.
And do you know what else is missing?
Think about it.
Does every gun incident result in death? I have not even begun to enumerate the injuries or those who were threatened by a firearm.
Where do the figures go? Do they head for the situation where 1 in 50 adults and children in the USA every year risks direct or by association fatality or harm through a gun? Every year. That means the figure is cumulative. Even if you factor in multiple experiences, how long before the figure reaches 1 in 20. 15,000,000 Americans with experience of death or injury by firearms. Do not anyone speak of these thoughts as being apocalyptic when you have a large grouping wedded to the idea of 45,000 deaths every year as acceptable. The tip of a mountain of suffering, grieving, rage and anguish.
Conclusion
There, we have looked into the initially ‘small’ figure of deaths per ‘capita’ and we have extrapolated into the grim area of Consequences. Of course you will not shift the hard core, secure in their conspiracy-narcosis and irresponsibility masking as ‘Rights’.
But what of gun owners, those unsettled. Uncertain? Sure I can agree in some respects. If I lived in the USA I had would a hand gun in my home. Just in case. After all when a portion of the population can envisage Trump as a credible politician and even a president of the USA and thought he had the last election stolen from him, I’d like to have a gun in my house in case anyone of that group came calling. So yes, I get it. But these military grade weapons and their ease of access? They can just as easy be turned on you or yours too.
When may you become one of the 900, or 45,000?
The odds get slimmer every year
And to you who have been your banging your heads or fists against a wall of Second Amendment . Put away your rage, and pick up a large bag of the seeds of doubt.
And start sewing.
For and the end of the day, it is not the bare statistics which count in Human Perception, it is the emotional effect from the implications of those numbers.
0.0137% does not mean much to a nation. But to the person it is happening to or those around them, it is 100%.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-61452958
There is next to zero chance of the following becoming an actual legal action. This is not the point of this post. The theme of this post concerns public responsibility, the consequences of polemic actions and the lack of concern to any victims.
I contend the following should be considered for inditement under 18 U.S.Code 373- Solicitation to commit a crime of violence:
Donald John Trump
Rafael Edward Cruz
Marjorie Taylor Greene
Ronald Dion DeSantis
Trump on the grounds of pursuing of a political career by inflammatory rhetoric, Cruz by his recent display on biased hostility to an African American nominee to the Supreme Court; Taylor Greene by sustained, hostile inflammatory rhetoric not suited to the holder of an elected office; De Santis by abuse of his officer as Governor of Florida by direct legislation in targeting minority groups.
As indicated earlier I am the first to suggest that even the most sympathetic lawyer expertly versed in American constitutional and criminal law would likely smile, sadly and shake their head at what they would view as a most clumsy and amateur use the laws and statutes of The USA.
By the Letter of the Law, so be it. In broad field of Moral Responsibility to a population at large, not so; these four, selected at random for their public profiles, for there are many others, have a culpability in the slaughter of innocent people.
By their actions in playing to one voter base have ignited within essentially White Fundamentalist and also neo-nazi groupings the feeling that that views, no matter how extreme can be displayed in public and taken to whatever level these groupings see fit. Thus they, along with others have reduced the climate of debate to that of Confrontation and Violence.
The ignorance of the forces they are playing with is fearful. When I read of their antics I am minded of a child in a room in an American Home finding their parent’s handgun; with the safety off. They may raise their hands in denial, they may shout (they usually do) this is not so, they are not to blame. They can make as much fuss as they care, by their actions and their statements they are complicit.
This youth who murdered innocent folk, he would had of course seen Trump strutting and bawling during the 2020 presidential election; he would have witnessed Cruz’s tantrum at having a ‘liberal’ African American as a candidate for the Supreme Court; Taylor Greene appears to be, inadvertently a caricature for misogynistic inadequates to sneer ‘See. How hysterical women are and unsuited to politics,’; while De Santis wields his governor’s power with as much sensitivity as the worst of colonial imperialists sent out from the capital to put groups of restless natives in their place.
Unless as a public figure you are for dialogue, discussion, willing to listen for concerns and against confrontational actions and language you are contributing to the steady growing cycle of violence. You are tainted with the pain, the suffering and, yes the death of others. There is no way out of that allegation. Unless you retract, unless you withdraw from inflammatory ways, unless you ask your supporters to reach out to others, unless you condemn over and over and over again violence and hate, unless you are critical of those amongst your base who promiscuously wave guns and talk conspiracies, unless you act like adults…..
You have played and will continue to play your part in more injury and death.
My quasi-legal charge against you will have no bearing on you personally. Your future actions will on the stability of the nation you claim concern over.
Foreword
This post has to be long. Histories have to be considered. Social tides and trends examined. That most troublesome of all factors Human Nature faced. It is hoped you find this grim reading, but not sensationalist. This is a precursor for you to discuss in your homes, your blogs, your meeting places. These words are based on histories of communal violence throughout the world. Including the USA. I have tried to be apolitical, most of the time. It is not always possible. Blame has to be laid in places.
Introduction
The present view that so politically polarised the USA has become, a civil war could take place has moved from blog site discussion onto the mainstream where more sober assessments are. For example:
Brookings in the following assessment of September 2021 concluded there was a sizeable proportion of the USA population who were of this mindset:
Is the US headed for another Civil War? (brookings.edu)
In January of this year an article in the UK Guardian raised this possibility along the lines of the UK’s own experience in Ulster
Is the US really heading for a second civil war? | US politics | The Guardian
Overview
It should be borne in mind that Racism, Intolerance, Profiling and Subjugation are regrettably part of the Human Construct. No race, people, community, grouping, belief system have been free of it. So it is within the USA.
Although legislation and more constructive outlooks made moves to minimise the effects of these corrosions it requires a mammoth task of social engineering to purge them. Something which would challenge even the most efficient and established of authoritarian states.
Thus not the passing phase of the 1960s counter-culture whose short tenure could reduce it to arguably a fashion. Instead it was in the deep-rooted places of a Human Insecurity in sections of The White Community fed by the fear of loss of position in society where the nascent rebellions would grow.
The US involvement in Vietnam with a cost of wasted blood and treasure, left on one side a sense of worthless loss, on the other an anger at some sort of betrayal at home; possibly the first cultural fracture line in The White Community; the dominant group within the USA. These would be played out in the Culture Wars. Not enough attention being given to the mindset which gave rise to the Oklahoma City Bombing of 19th April 1995; this was the warning.
Then in the opening years of the 21st Century came two tipping points:
9/11 and the election of an African American into the Whitehouse, twice with majorities. The former had shaken America and set loose the toxic fantasies of Conspiracy Theories, for the long term trust in government of the USA as dangerous as any handgun. In the case of the latter, the fact he was a Democrat made the backlash easier for one element of the White Community. Had Colin Powell or Condoleezza Rice accepted a Eisenhower type draft and won, the Republican Party and Fundamentalist Right would have suffered a truly existential crisis. But they had a black democrat. This made everything much easier.
Civil Discord (The Path to Communal Violence)
It is now necessary to move from the historical to consider the dynamics of civil discord which lead to a break down in the common currency of discourse, bargaining, and the tacit, sometimes humorous acceptance of tribal lines.
Firstly the notion that ‘There is no Democracy’ has to be put aside, for people are able within the USA take to the streets, the airwaves, the internet to give voice to their feelings. Thus there is freedom of speech and action, however in an atmosphere of heightened feeling this freedom comes with tensions and reactions. The first tension arises when people feel their views are not being listened to, or being stifled. The second tension arises when those frustrations are inflamed by the feeling ‘The Other Side’ are not just ignoring, but are seen to be imposing. At this point there occurs a fault line when a shared perception results in ‘The Other Side’ being seen as a threat and there can be no discourse, the only facet shared by both sides being this mindset. At this stage both sides will feel the need to demonstrate, one will feel it is defending, the other will perceive this as aggression, engendered through the fault line affect. Initially it will be seen one side is more aggressive and assertive thus encourage within them a certain sense of triumphalism. This adds to the danger as in playing to its own support it fails to take into account that the very forces which placed it in this position will also work within the opposition. There is made a fundamental error that the triumphant side can use Democracy and the Other Side will adhere to that rule. In addition some of its more strident supporters will feel the leaders are not strong enough and perceive the need to be ready to defend or if necessary attack with unconstitutional force. The stance sets within The Other Side the feeling they had better prepare. You need only scroll the internet to see that the ridiculously named ‘Snowflakes’ have been starting to own guns.
2016 to Today
To support my views in the previous section it is necessary to consider the last two presidential elections. In 2016 the victory went not to the candidate with the most votes but the electoral college votes. Thus from Day One the losing side felt robbed. A more astute winner in 2016 would have sensed the issue and navigated. By 2016 this was not wanted by the winning side and the other side were willing to take up the fight. By 2020 the lack of discourse had reached such a pitch that the losers of that election believed they had the right to seize back power because of a fraudulent election.
The Republican Reaction as seen from The Other Side
Although cast out of the Whitehouse and seeming to fail in the courts of law, aside from the Supreme Court, the political machines now holding control of the Republican Party have been working at a pace to unravel the social, legal and communal trends of the past 50 years as they seek to defend their own ground. Instead of the usual slow, methodical approach in this heightened tension they have sought to dismantle the processes of The History of Race Relations, Sexual Orientation and Abortion with no effort in trying to convince the opposition of their causes, they pass a simple edict. As they see it, this was done to them, it is now time to undo it. This is against the wishes of the Executive branch, the Whitehouse. Another layer of confrontation therefore plays into the dynamic of continuing Civil Discord. In both cases ‘The Other Side’ are a threat.
The Acceleration of Civil Discord
In this frenetic atmosphere attention must be given to the structure of the USA at federal level. In use of the three office system: Executive (The Whitehouse). The Legislature (Congress/Senate) and Judiciary (Supreme Court) mirrored at State Level it was believed enough checks and balances had been built in. However with Conspiracy as deadly to the body politic as Covid to the population; dismay raised to horror by one group or another at the result of the last four presidential elections, the legislature abrogating its traditional and beneficial wheeler-dealing to consensus and the Supreme Court no longer perceived as a body above The Common Brawl another layer of toxicity has arisen. Belief that the system is no longer working. Either dread for the future, anger at The Other Side, grim preparation to defend the home becomes a norm, or violent intention to impose The Will of Our Side(s).
The Tipping Point into Communal Violence
One action leading to a sudden call to or inexorable slide to fully conventionally armed groups is not how this will start. In a nation nearly inured to gun crime you might even miss the start; another shooting, unless of course it is between two groups. The next tranche of violent confrontations, would be by the bombs, IEDs, the murder of prominent activists or journalists, politicians and any combination. These will be the signals the Tipping Point has been reached. This will lead to the ‘No Go Areas’, the latter being underscored by some very unwise incursion by one group into another and the subsequent ambush. It would appear police are already experiencing these; the next step in this will be the targeting of individual officers. From here will come the targeting of official buildings of government, of one party or another, and then for some twisted thought process a hospital, parents might well start to keep children away from school, seeing the history of school killings this would hardly be surprising.
In this atmosphere although groups will be surveyed, there will be the under the radar individuals for each person has their own tipping point. In recent years I have read the remarks of avid anti-war believers and pro-gun control supporters intimating or outright suggest a violent response is a feasible solution. You will never know when the normally placid person will take a gun with the specific purpose of solving a problem, or the group who decided to investigate how to make bombs, because they’ve been pushed too far. Of course each of these actions will bring the reaction.
The Institutionalisation of Violence
One fatalistic view is, considering the level of gun crime, this state is already in place. However the level can become more intense, once armed groups with names and agenda become seen by one community or another as legitimate alternative police or local guard. There is another level though, this being when the group imposes upon the community a code of behaviour and underground tax to support them, the tax does not have a right of appeal either. With this comes disputes within the group and rivalries with other groups. Hardened now by violence and fuelled by suspicion the violent solution is seen as the norm. And of course wherever there is chaos and violence goes crime, gangs would quite naturally seek to impose their own will either to take over a group or keep a group out of their activities. Those who felt it was only necessary to parade in paramilitary style in a threatening way will find themselves quite out of their depths as a fearful natural selection takes place.
The Official Response.
This is where matters are not so predictable. The National Guard would of course be called in to areas where the police are losing control. Being in a local part-time force with local affiliation it has to be assumed that members or groups within the guard will have sympathies, or feel a certain intimidation. Direct and open large scale mutinies would be very unlikely but expecting all The Guard to be a faceless, emotionless unified body acting only for the defence of Stability and safety of all is naïve, there will be fractures.
The Security Services be they Police, FBI, NSA etc would face the same pressures from within. Also they being closer to the body politic and the civil viewpoint would be in the position of doing deals or reaching accords with whichever group or groups they feel they can work with. In all civil discord this is an ugly fact. Whether in a federal system such as the USA this would be a uniform approach is again highly unlikely.
Whether or not the Armed Forces become involved would depend on whether the nation is still governable as a working state comparable with the pre-violent situation:
“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.” Is open to interpretations, if some decide ‘The President’ is not legally ‘The President’. One thing would be certain, the element of internal security and supervision of members of the armed forces would be increased. Forget Conspiracies. Think of Factionalism.
The Resulting Political Overview
In this area prediction is near impossible, as a great deal would depend on the strength of character of individuals around which groups marshal. There are many possibilities. One of the least worst outcomes would be the fragmentation of the current USA into states which have autonomy. Washington, The Whitehouse and Capitol Hill being reduced to places of symbolism and the possible headquarters of Americanised versions of The EU and NATO, in an attempt to shore up America from outside influences while making workable the large armed forces and corporation based trading systems onto the world stage. How workable this would be is beyond the scope of this post.
Conclusion
Whereas The Ulster Conflict was conducted under a higher level of government the situation in the USA has the potential to reach up to the highest levels as already demonstrated and this is a most distressing situation. Thus what can a US citizen fearful for this scenario do? My suggestion is to voice your concerns, not in a partisan way from your own standpoint but as an appeal to stop this slide. Raise this spectre which everyday seems to draw an inch nearer. Demand of your representatives a return to consensus. Warn them, that they in the final analysis in any failure to bring discourse and consensus to the issues; that they in pandering to, or failing to confront the extremist levels will be complicit in the deaths of their fellow citizens. Raise this in conversation. Not as a warning to prepare, but as a concern as to what might come. The concern must become a talking point in the run up to the next elections. The violent minorities must be marginalised and the conspiracies put back in the toy box.
And finally hope that in years to come this post will be viewed as ridiculous alarmism from an outsider.
The World As It Is. Not As It Should Be 