Political Violence

Dangers escalate

Photo credit: Matt Hansen Photography

We are still learning about the brutal attack on Paul Pelosi, husband of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, at the couple’s home in San Francisco early this morning. In a fast-moving story like this, new facts will emerge, and what we know might change. But the assault appears to represent a targeted attack on Ms. Pelosi by a man whose online profile suggests he is fully immersed in the conspiracy theories and hate speech of right-wing rhetoric. The fact that she wasn’t home might have saved her life. Thankfully, Mr. Pelosi is expected to make a full recovery.

In short, early indications are that this was an assassination attempt. 

We should not be shocked that this happened. We have seen the storm clouds of political violence assemble. There is a direct line from January 6 to today. And it stretches even farther backward. We should be very careful about using the term “fascism,” but a political system plunging toward normalized violence and instability is one that is taking on very dark undertones. 

Nancy Pelosi has long been a lightning rod for Republican ire. But something changed alongside Trump’s mainstreaming of viciousness and allusions to violence that were not previously acceptable in modern American political discourse. Pelosi's personal safety and that of her peers has become less certain. That many of her colleagues on the other side of the aisle wink at or outright encourage political threats makes the situation even more dire. 

There is a swelling mass hysteria on the political right. 

It is lubricated by lies, bigotry, misplaced grievances, and apocalyptic rhetoric. It can be found in the memes on social media, the chants of “lock her up,” the armed patrols of voting drop boxes, and certainly the violent attempted coup at the Capitol. 

Just as last night's intruder reportedly shouted "Where is Nancy?” the rioters streaming through the Capitol hallways on January 6 were also looking for the House speaker. Do we really need to speculate what might have happened if they had found her?

In many countries around the world, political violence is the norm. We like to pride ourselves in the United States that we are different. We point to the fact that partisans for both parties have traditionally respected the results of our free and fair elections. We boast about our peaceful transfers of power. How did all that work out in 2020? What are the prospects for the midterms less than two weeks away? What about 2024?

There will always be people who, for reasons such as radicalization or mental illness, will be a threat to political leaders. We should recognize that political violence is in fact not new to the United States. Four U.S. presidents have been assassinated while in office. Several more have survived attempts on their lives. 

But just as climate change doesn’t create hurricanes but does make them more dangerous, the poisonous discourse spewed on Fox News, inundating social media, and echoed by many Republican elected officials pushes our political environment closer to the edge of an abyss.

It’s too late to say someone might get hurt. Many already have. And we should not expect much soul searching from those immersed in the cult of personality animating Trump and the most extreme of his followers. But hopefully, events like this will cause enough Americans to pause, step back, and remember we are all human beings. 

We want to say this is not who we are. We are desperate to believe it. And I think most Americans agree. But violence and the threat thereof doesn’t need anywhere close to a majority in order to wreak havoc. And that is why it must be condemned, prosecuted, and thoroughly repudiated.   

Note: If you are not already a subscriber to our Steady newsletter, please consider joining us. And we always appreciate you sharing our content with others and leaving your thoughts in the comments.