The capacity for violence is an inherently human trait, and therefore not unique to any particular political affiliation. In a curious irony, early reports say the shooter was a registered Republican.
This act, apart from the pain of loss and suffering inflicted on the murdered and wounded and their families, only serves to further roil what was already an extremely contentious, indeed dangerous, race.
I don't expect either candidate or party to tone down their rhetoric. I regret that this incident occurred at all, but I reject the claim by some that Democratic campaign rhetoric incited it. It seems to me that Republican insistence that the 2nd Amendment is the last defense against tyranny, and its steadfast resistance to efforts to regulate the ownership of semi-automatic rifles, are more proximately responsible for political violence than anything uttered by the Biden campaign.
A party already prone to conspiracy theories is likely to make this event into something not remotely what it likely really was, an all too familiar story of a young man with a gun, a grievance and insufficient maturity and intellect to responsibly own a weapon, with the violent and tragic consequences that too often ensue.
If anything, I expect Republican rhetoric to grow more extreme. How that resonates with voters not already in Trump's camp, I don't know. I hope it doesn't.
How it resonates with young men armed with semi-automatic rifles and nurturing their own grievances is a different, and more troubling question.
Originally posted at Nice Marmot 05:58 Sunday, 14 July 2024