America, The Global Leader Of Political Violence, Condemns Political Violence

Only when the American political class is threatened do we decry violence.

The response to the attempted assassination of Donald Trump was as expected. As conspiracy theories swirled and rightists posted about “civil war,” the political class resoundingly stated: “Political violence is never okay.” Social media feeds and TV channels were teeming with everyone from Barack Obama to sticker companies calling for unity, peace, and a universal commitment to never using political violence. President Biden addressed the nation on this point, insisting that such violence must never enter the political sphere.

“The idea that there’s political violence in America like this is just unheard of.  It was just not appropriate.  And we — everybody — everybody must condemn it.  Everybody.” — President Joe Biden, July 14th, 2024

While the public wishes for Donald Trump’s recovery are mandatory for any public figure, the claims that political violence is offensive to American ideals are preposterous. The elite political class, comprised of politicians, their staffs, media figures, and the thousands of operatives that make Washington D.C. run, are more than comfortable with political violence. They only decry it when it turns inward and threatens to shatter the illusion that the United States is the World’s Freest Country, a nation committed to peace, democracy, and universal suffrage.

Nothing should make this hypocrisy more apparent than the holiday America celebrated weeks ago. The Fourth of July is cherished as the day the Second Continental Congress ratified the Declaration of Independence, severing the colonies from British dominion and establishing the United States of America. King George didn’t take this too kindly, so Congress knew that the only way to achieve independence was through war, a form of political violence. They even enshrined that right to armed resistance in the Declaration.

“But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is [the people’s] right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.” — The Declaration of Independence

Archaic texts aside, the very people decrying such behavior have had no qualms about delivering it themselves.

Take Barack Obama’s above statement, for example. During his tenure, the former president was more than willing to use violence to achieve his political aims. He vastly expanded the drone program and committed “the worst mistake of his presidency” (his words) by assisting the military campaign to remove Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi. Joe Biden, who seconded Obama’s militaristic foreign policy, echoed his former boss’ sentiment in his national address, stating, “Politics must never be a literal battlefield.”

White House Transcript

This is a strange claim, as, perhaps more than any other American, Joe Biden has helped turn the political question of Palestinian self-determination into a literal battlefield. For decades, Biden has supported Israel’s politically motivated violence against Palestine. He was its leading cheerleader from the Senate and its unrestrained armorer from the White House. The President of the United States is more than comfortable with political violence. Based on his record, I’d argue he’s fond of it. Just not here, where it threatens America’s democratic self-image.

Across the aisle, the claims are more ridiculous. While liberal politicians have (primarily) directed their political violence internationally, Donald Trump and his sycophants have encouraged and enabled domestic violence at every opportunity. Putting aside the January 6th insurrection (which is a big thing to set aside), Trump has summoned White Nationalist militias from debate stages, defended the Neo-Nazi terrorists that killed Heather Heyer in Charlottesville, and relentlessly encouraged his supporters to militancy. Right after the assassination attempt, Trump incited rally-goers to “fight, fight, fight” as he was rushed off the stage. To claim this man has some aversion to politically motivated violence is a complete joke.

The Proud Boys saw Trump’s 2020 statements telling them to “stand by” as a “tacit endorsement of their violent tactics.”

For any overzealous federal agents reading this, I’m not saying the attempted assassination of Donald Trump was good or encouraging anyone to political violence. Instead, I find myself pulling my hair out at the response to the shooting and the perpetual American arrogance that somehow our nation is morally superior to the rest. As presidents, Barrack Obama, Joe Biden, and Donald Trump have distributed an unparalleled level of political violence across the globe. They’ve toppled governments, assassinated politicians, and enabled genocide. And the media outlets crying “violence is un-American” cheered them while they did it. Do they think we’re stupid? The country’s highest court said it’s okay for the Commander In Chief to order the military to kill his election opponents. As you read this, bulldozers purchased with American tax dollars are flattening Palestinian homes so Israel can build waterfront beach houses in Gaza. But our leaders want us to believe this nation is “above” political violence? Give me a break.

Whether it’s White Supremacy or delusions of grandeur, whatever it is that makes Americans think we are the most moral, optimally constructed country has been brought onto full display. Following the shooting, Congressman Mike Kelly said America is “like a third-world country.” No, it’s not “like” any other country. This is America. Like many other Americans, Kelly is unable to square reality with the idealized America he’s built in his head.

Unfortunately, this is our reality. The United States is not opposed to political violence. There’s a good case to be made that it’s the world’s chief perpetrator of politically-motivated militarism. The FBI assassinated Black civil rights leaders; the CIA has overthrown dozens of democracies, and the police attack protestors that dare challenge their power. These acts are seldom acknowledged and never condemned. Only when American violence is directed at a member of the political class do we have the gall to clutch our pearls and say, “This is never okay! We’re America. This isn’t how we handle politics!” Sorry to break it to you, but yes it is. Political violence is as American as baseball and cherry pie. It was the source of our birth, the instrument of our hegemony, and the obsession of our citizenry.

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