The Uprising of Political Violence in America, Its Consequences Amidst Recent Events, and Its Potential Solutions
Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore
Now more than ever, political violence appears to be rampant in the United States. With recent acts of violent killing of both public and private figures alike, many have flocked to either ends of the political spectrum to voice their concerns regarding the direction the nation is heading in. A survey designed by the Pew Research Center found that 85% of participants believe that politically-motivated violence is increasing, with 86% of Republicans surveyed and 85% of Democrats surveyed supporting this statistic. In terms of divisiveness, we see that 76% of Democrats view right-wing extremism as a major problem, whilst 77% of Republicans view left-wing extremism as a major problem. One key takeaway is that Americans are “equally likely to see extremism from each end of the political spectrum as a major problem – but partisans see bigger problems on the other side.”
The key problem seems to lie in the divisiveness between each side, and the wound has only grown as time goes on. What began as a simple disagreement on the betterment of America has devolved into something much more violent, as seen in today's media. George Floyd, an African American man who was killed in a police arrest on May 25th, 2020 represents one such case of violence in recent years. Police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for nine minutes and twenty-nine seconds, with Floyd saying “I can’t breathe,” whilst three other officers made no attempts to stop Chauvin. Due to the manner of his death, the event served as the catalyst for nationwide protests, in which millions came out to protest police brutality and issues of systemic racism that have plagued marginalized communities for decades. Despite these protests being mostly peaceful, some news organizations primarily focused on the protests that turned violent. During the Minneapolis protests, approximately 2 billions dollars in damages were incurred. The destruction of the city was heavily televised by Republican news organizations, which also covered uprisings in other places, like Washington D.C. and California. During the course of these protests between 2020 - 2023, approximately 19 people were killed. In terms of law enforcement officers, approximately 60,105 were assaulted while on duty, 46 of whom were killed. However, 93 - 96.3% of protests were ultimately peaceful, and law enforcement only made arrests in 5% ,while using chemical irritants and crowd control agents (according to factual evidence). The reason why we see a steep contrast between the statistics and what we see in the media is due to cherrypicking.
News organizations cherrypick events and information in order to appeal to their intended audience. By covering the more violent ends of protests, viewers will hone in on those aspects of the overall message that protests attempt to convey, thus tainting the overall appeal of the cause. News organizations benefit from covering these events due to having their viewership increase. The drawback for the public is that the divisiveness exacerbates the distaste that each side has for the other. Because of this, we may see vigilantism occur, with individuals believing that they are working towards a better state by harming the other side.
One such extremist from a Republican viewpoint may have been Tyler Robinson, Charlie Kirk’s alleged assassin. The assassination of Charlie Kirk sparked controversy and great distress amongst the Republican base. Some extremist leftists celebrated his death, whilst Republicans across the country mourned. The primary reaction from the moderate left, when they heard of those celebrating his death, was condemnation of those extremists, with figureheads from the Democratic party invoking wishes to end violence. With a small portion of extremists on the left celebrating his death, some news organizations drew some comparisons with his death and George Floyd’s.
Admittedly, from a right-wing perspective, there were few to virtually no indications of violent outbursts from Republicans or their constituents following Charlie Kirk’s death. In fact, Republicans had televised many of their supporters attending memorials of him. Yet, some sources claim that there is a division in the Republican party, especially with Donald Trump seemingly exacerbating the division with statements such as: “He did not hate his opponents, he wanted the best for them. That’s where I disagreed with Charlie. I hate my opponents. I don’t want the best for them,” as well as calling portions of the left “radical-left lunatics.” The issue here is language and harmful rhetoric. Many Republicans, particularly, the MAGA base, view him as the key Republican figurehead. Because of this, not only will they turn to him for advice on how to steer the United States, but also be subservient to his beliefs, ideals, and policies to a certain extent. For instance, whilst Republicans find statements from Trump “entertaining,” constituents or his opponents find them insulting or worrying. Some Republicans believe that he oversteps on occasion and encourages divisiveness, while other Republicans believe that the insults are a required measure to ensure correction.
The trust between politicians and the people is severely damaged, especially as of late. Based on data from Pew Research in a recent poll, approximately 63% of Americans believe that candidate choices are “underwhelming,” which is to say candidates from all parties aren’t ideal for a given race. Americans also believe that the abolition of the electoral college and the implementation of age limits on candidates is pertinent. Doing so would allow younger generations to run for office and provide a new perspective on how the U.S. should be operated.
Moreover, it’s possible that we see political violence or assassinations occur because citizens do not believe that they have a (peaceful) means of expressing their grievances with the government, so some turn to action instead of words, which then leads to mass protests such “No King’s Day” and the surge in hate speech/divisive rhetoric online to worsen the divide.
In order to fully attain this goal, we must work on ourselves as individuals as well as the systems around us. Rather than involving the United States directly in foreign affairs, we should ensure that the homefront is properly equipped to have everyone live a prosperous life. This includes ensuring that there are adequate homeless shelters, infrastructure, well researched and implemented climate change prevention measures, as well as proper public education. While approximately 1% of taxpayer money is spent on foreign aid, many Americans believe that as much as a quarter of the federal budget consists of foreign aid. Due to this perception, many Americans have grown distasteful of the spending means of the federal government, and such distrust is potentially exacerbated when they experience the negative effects of systems at home which don’t meet their current standards.
With prices on goods such as gasoline, homes, and groceries on the rise, many Americans have given up on the “American dream” and have opted to ‘survive’ rather than ‘live.’ Difficulties lie in fixing systems like these without removing the idea of capitalism, but we can use legislation to reduce the price of goods that we need to survive. One such case could be the real estate industry, which could have tighter regulations to ensure young homeowners can purchase a home. We have seen throughout history the price that is usually paid when citizens don’t believe that their needs are being met, like with the French Revolution, and some commentators and citizens today compare aspects of the current wealth inequality or class systems to that of the years prior to the revolution.
News organizations and social media tailor the content we watch to our beliefs. Instead of viewing politics as “good” and “evil,” be open to any and all ideas or beliefs that someone may come across. Empathy is one of the key issues that is absent in politics, and with it we can no doubt move towards a better United States and world.