1/1/22 Bakersfield Californian discussing a recent ill-advised statement in Boise:
BOISE, Idaho — On Monday, Oct. 25 — the same day a shooter killed two people and injured several others at the Boise Towne Square mall — an Idaho man asked a charged question at an event in Nampa featuring right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.
“When do we get to use the guns?” the man asked, to applause from the audience, which previously applauded the falsehood that large-scale fraud cost Donald Trump the 2020 presidential election.
He continued: “That’s not a joke. I’m not saying it like that. I mean, literally, where is the line? How many elections are they going to steal before we kill these people?”
Later, the article observes with obvious confusion:
In a public opinion survey this fall commissioned by the Frank Church Institute at Boise State University, researchers found that 85% of adults in Mountain West states are very or somewhat concerned about the health of American democracy. The survey also found that 83% of adults are worried about misrepresented facts and misinformation — yet only 51% believe that President Joe Biden legitimately won the 2020 election.
Do you wonder why people make inflammatory comments?
1. This sort of rhetoric upsets people who are in the middle. Shut up!
2. A proper use of deadly force in a political context is in response to actual violence by the government. Until that point is reached, it will aggravate people we want on our side.
3. A fundamental element of successful action is the element of surprise.
A third of Americans say violence against the government is sometimes “justified,” a shocking new poll revealed on Saturday.
The percentage of people with that view compared to previous years increased significantly, according to the poll published by The Washington Post-University of Maryland survey.
The results, which come almost a year after a violent mob of former President Donald Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol, found that 40 percent of Republicans agreed it could sometimes be “justified for citizens to take violent action against the government.” Twenty-three percent of Democrats and 41 percent of Independents also endorsed situational violence.
Considering the events of April 19, 1774, I'd think the that 100 percent of Americans would agree that it could sometimes be “justified for citizens to take violent action against the government.”
ReplyDeleteI suspect many would share the view of a progressive with whom I worked, who claimed that interfering with extermination camps set up by a democratic government would be fascist.
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