By Isaiah Grady
In the 248 years of its existence, America has always been a restless nation. Born amongst rebellion, iron and blood, and weaned off whisky, our country at times found itself states in violence and civil unrest. From the Revolutionary War to Bleeding Kansas our history serves as a perfect prerequisite to the rising conflict we find ourselves in now.
During the evening of July 13th, 2024 Americans turned their channel to find out that former president Donald Trump had almost been killed. Thomas Crooks, a would be rogue assassin, opened fire on the former president, grazing his ear. The shot would kill firefighter Cory Comperatore and seven others would be injured. However the moments after the gunshot became the most notable with Trump holding his fist in the air shouting the words “fight” as blood trickled down his cheek.
A photo of this moment was taken by Evan Vucci and has become a symbol of right wing resilience. The chant fight echoed in the RNC Area the next night.
As of September 19th, Crook’s motivations are still not fully understood. The Federal Bureau of Investigation yet to find definite evidence that Crooks acted with some sort of political agenda.
Many people across both sides of the political spectrum condemned the act saying it has no place in our ‘civilized’ society. Late night host Stephen Colbert announced on his program and asked his views “How many times do we have to learn the lesson that violence has no place in our politics?”
However many people online, including high profile figures, did not outright denounce the attempt. Steven Kenneth Bonnell II, known on as Destiny, had some choice words on the topic. During a stream he said “If you ‘re in the crowd and you’re a conservative and you get blown away or whatever, I’m making fun of you the next day on Twitter.”
Ryan Wesley Routh was arrested on September 15, after being spotted on the outskirts of the Trump International Golf Course with a loaded AK style rifle . Luckily no one was hurt and Routh was arrested shortly after the attempt.
During the investigation, a letter was found wherein Ryan confessed to the assassination calling for Americans young and old “to finish the job”. The letter even offers 150 thousand dollars for anyone that can pull the trigger on the former president.
Trump’s reaction post the event was mixed. Initially, hours after the incident, he tweeted that he was fine and at the RNC called for “peace and unity” between parties. However his tone on the event seemed to shift.
On September 30th, Trump and democratic nominee Kamala Harris held a debate live on television. Trump lambasted Harris blaming her for the weaponization of left wing rhetoric.
“I probably took a bullet to the head because of the things they say about me”, Trump said.
However, the attempts are not said to be without a pretense. While the aforementioned assassination attempt by Crooks still lacks an official motive, many in the left wing circles say that this rise in violence is simply a product of right wing talking points.
Many political critics of Trump pointed to his comments on Haitian migrants “eating cats and dogs”. Others will point to concerns about his proposals to “terminate and suspend the constitution” on his social media platform “Truth Social”.
Many Democrats see this as a sign that Trump is a sort of authoritarian dictator. Republicans however have touted him as a sort of messiah against what people see as a corrupt government out to pressure and eliminate the American conservative lifestyle.
The major throughline is that the rhetoric that has been driving much of the polarization in this country seems to be at a boiling point. Many students on Willaim Peace’s campus share similar concerns. In a student poll, 63% of students feel as though there will be violence and civil unrest come this November.
Raleigh mayor candidate and student of William Peace University James Shaughnessy shared his concerns as well. “I have disagreements with some of the people I’m running against but like, I would never wish violence upon them”.
In truth, no one can tell what sort of election this will turn out to be. But it should be remembered that nations that deny the possibility of violence are sureley prone to it. With rising threats of bombings and threats of violence, the United States is heading towards a storm and frankly America needs to batten down its hatches.
Photo by Jacob Moore