With the news that Donald Trump, the most corrupt president in history, has been indicted again – this time for alleged retention of classified documents and obstruction of justice – we find ourselves dealing with an onslaught of violent rhetoric from the Right.
It’s not enough that Trump’s supporters have chosen to demonize the FBI – leading to threats against the agency. Some of them are distinctly calling for violence.
Here’s hoping you and I aren’t caught in the crossfire.
An article in the New York Times reported these examples of the garbage we’re hearing from the Right:
*Kari Like, a former candidate for governor of Arizona, told a cheering crowd in Georgia, “I have a message tonight for Merrick Garland and Jack Smith and Joe Biden – and the guys back there in the fake news media, you should listen up as well, this one is for you. If you want to get to President Trump, you are going to have to go through me, and you are going to have to go through 75 million Americans just like me. And I’m going to tell you, most of us are card-carrying members of the NRA. … That’s not a threat. That’s a public service announcement.”
*Representative Andy Biggs of Arizona tweeted “Eye for an eye.”
*Kimberly Guilfoyle, the Botox-laden fiancé of Donald Trump Jr., posted a photo of the former president on Instagram with the words “RETRIBUTION IS COMING.”
*Conservative talk show host Pete Santilli said that if he were the commandant of the Marine Corps he would order “every single Marine,” to grab Biden, “throw him in freakin’ zip ties in the back of a freakin’ pickup truck,” and “get him out of the White House.”
*Lance Migliacco, one of Santilli’s guests, said that if it were legal and he had access, he would “probably walk in and shoot” Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and someone Trump has identified as one of his enemies.
*For his part, Trump has called the case against him “THE GREATEST WITCH HUNT OF ALL TIME” and attacked those investigating him as engaged in “demented persecution.” He posted a video on Instagram of him swinging a golf club and an animation of a golf ball hitting Biden in the head, superimposed with footage of Biden falling at a public event after he tripped on something on stage.
If you’re keeping score, that’s two (maybe three) direct threats on the life and safety of the president of the United States. Do we have a law about that?
Another tactic is the one used by my worthless congressman Mike Kelly, who’s trying to inflame the GOP base without actually using violent imagery. Kelly posted this on Twitter and Facebook:
“The Biden Justice Department has been weaponized against President Trump! We must stand with Donald Trump. This is an unprecedented assault against a former president – and now leading presidential candidate. If this can happen to a former president, it can happen to anyone.
“If it wasn’t for a double standard, there would be no standard at all. Where is the outrage, America?!”
See you on the front line, Mike. And bring Biggs with you.
So, if you’re a law-abiding citizen who doesn’t think armed revolt is the appropriate response to a legitimate criminal case based on evidence and the not-aways-followed credo that no man is above the law, what are you going to do?
For the most part, all this bullshit should go in one ear and out the other. Of course, we must be aware of it, and it wouldn’t hurt to be extra observant as we go about our daily business.
Still, this is no joke. It’s a very real threat. What these idiots are doing is dangerous – remember the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. But how do we stop it?
“So far, the politicians who have used this rhetoric to inspire people to violence have not been held accountable,” Mary McCord, a former senior Justice Department official who has studied the ties between extremist rhetoric and violence, told the Times. “Until that happens, there’s little deterrent to using this type of language.”
McCord hits at the heart of the problem. Right-wing politicians and media figures are pushing people to what may be the point of violence, and I’ll bet you that every single one of them figures that no matter what it all leads to nothing will happen to them.
They think they’ll just sit above the fray and collect the rewards of the chaos and possible tragedy they’ve inspired, whether that be more votes, more viewers or listeners, more money, or any combination of the above.
Those calling for violence must understand that if that happens, they may very well be the target of violence themselves. That’s the only way they’ll stop – if they think twice about what might happen to them. Or if they think it will cost them votes, if that’s possible.
I know that sounds terrible, crude, and stupid. But that’s the way the world works. These people aren’t going to do anything out of the goodness of their hearts or what’s best for the country. They’re not built that way. Just look at what they’re saying now.
Please understand, this is not a call for violence. No sane American would want that. But no sane American should think that sitting back and letting one political party whip up its base into a frenzy with calls for retribution that includes the use of guns is any way to live.
“Rhetoric like this has consequences,” said Timothy Heaphy, the lead investigator for the select House committee that investigated the Jan. 6 attack. “Politicians think that when they say things it’s just rhetoric, but people listen to it and take it seriously. In this climate politicians need to realize this and be more responsible.”
Unfortunately, they’re not going to be more responsible on their own. Like the child who has to burn his hand to understand he shouldn’t touch a hot stove.
It’s may be time for those of us who seek a peaceful, functioning democracy to turn up the heat.
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Thank you for reading my post. You can see more of my writings on my blog: Musings of a Nobody.
