Unsurprisingly,
there has been a spike in violence after the beginning of the Trumpocalypse.
All jokes aside however, this post-election violence must be addressed by both
big wig politicians and the public at large. The orange bag of skin who is set
to be the leader of the free world even encouraged his supporters to “knock the
crap” out of protestors. Nice.
Shamefully,
America is no stranger to post-election violence.
The
period between the 1820s and the onset of the Civil War was marked by a substantial
increase in ethnic and religious diversity. This period was also notable for an
increase in violent conflict surrounding politics and elections.
In
a precursor of today’s politics, these clashes stemmed from heightened
anxieties among native white Protestants about the consequences of Irish and
German Catholic immigration for American identity and social harmony.[1]
It isn’t hard to
see how contemporary events have come to mirror historical incidences of hate
and ignorance-fueled violence against socially marginalized groups of people. Election
Violence, however, isn’t limited to the nation’s early foundational days. Just
a few decades ago, white supremacists tried to suppress the African-American
and minority vote.
The
threat—and repeated execution—of violence remained important features of
efforts by white supremacists to suppress African American (and Latino)
registration and voting all the way up until enactment of the Voting Rights Act
of 1965, which strengthened federal voting rights protections and authorized
federal monitoring of election rules in states with records of racial
discrimination in voting.
Violence
implemented by Trump supporters being encouraged by the man who has somehow
become our country’s president-elect is not the only election violence the
nation should be worried about. Liberals, after this election are collectively
heartbroken after the results of the election and as several news outlets have
covered, have taken to the streets to protest. There’s no issue with exercising
your first amendment right, but the line has to be drawn when peaceful
protesting turns into looting and vandalizing.
Using violence
to get your point as cross is not only redundant, but simply takes away from
the bigger picture a group of people may be trying to get across. If you want
your cause to be taken seriously, bashing someone’s head in or looting under
the pretense of a protest is definitely not the way to go. Who would be
inclined to listen to you whine about something you don’t like after you behave
like a Neanderthal?
These sentiments
are echoed by the revered Bernie Sanders himself.
"Any
person who is a Bernie Sanders supporter, please, do not in any way, shape or
form engage in violence," the senator from Vermont said.[2]
The outrage from
both the left and right is understandable. The extremes on both ends of the
political spectrum are acting like underdeveloped children. This isn’t the way
public discourse should take place among those with differing views on how the
country should be run. Despite our differences, it’s imperative that we can
understand one another’s views instead of quite literally trampling on other
people simply for disagreeing with our own perspectives. Being displeased about
election results is understandable, but please don’t hurt anyone simply because
they don’t agree with you. No matter how right you may think you are.
