4w ago

US staggers into 2025 buffeted by week of attacks and looming political violence

www.theguardian.com US staggers into 2025 buffeted by week of attacks and looming political violence

Just eight weeks ago, the country had heaved a sigh of relied after the presidential election went peaceably

Summary

The US began 2025 with a wave of violent incidents, including an ISIS-inspired truck attack in New Orleans that killed 14, a suicide bombing at the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, and the FBI's largest-ever seizure of explosives in Virginia.

Experts warn of increasing risks fueled by political polarization, extremist rhetoric, and global conflicts like the Gaza war.

While overall support for political violence has declined, even a small percentage translates to millions of Americans willing to act.

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It’s a good thing that no one is hell bent on sowing division and discord, then.
- (Obviously /s)
  
  I heard your /s loud and clear, mostly because I can read, and have been watching the referenced sowing of division and discord. smh

Don't worry, guys, our incoming president is such a uniter, he'll unite us the unitest.
- Just like he did on his first term. I mean, we were all so united we literally couldn't leave our homes.

In it, the president-elect responded to the New Orleans attack in characteristically less-than emollient style. “The USA is breaking down,” he posted. “A violent erosion of Safety, National Security, and Democracy is taking place all across our Nation. Only strength and powerful leadership will stop it.”
He's right about the first part, the US is breaking down. He's wrong about why it's happening and how to fix it.
I think that's true of a lot of Americans. They intuitively know something's really wrong, but they don't know what. That doesn't stop them from speculating, however, nor from jumping to conclusions and convincing themselves that they have the answers. Then they find like minded communities, often online, where their false beliefs are reinforced. I expect we will see more and more of this.
The fact is, no one really knows exactly what's wrong, or how to fix it. Modern society is just so incredibly complex, it's extremely difficult, if not impossible, to understand all of its minutia and nuance. But, some have a better understanding of what's happening than most. Unfortunately, those people are rarely listened to.
- The largest issue in the US is that empathy is dying, and is constantly used as a weapon against good people as the Right condemns them for being "weak".
  The sad part is that they see being a bully and putting down others that should be allies as "strong", all in a futile grasp for this dream of power unattainable for 99.999999% percent of people. They are never going to get the carrot, but are also determined to keep down as many like them as possible. If they could just come around to the idea of strength in numbers against those using wealth as a weapon to suppress the masses, we could fix a lot of issues more easily/quicker.
  
  The other day in a video game public chat, someone said something like "these zombies are so fast in the cave. They keep killing me!"
  Someone replied "skill issue"
  I looked at this interaction and was like, huh, why? Why say that? It's kind of trite but I guess very mildly funny in the "I understood that reference" kind of way. But also it would've taken about the same amount of effort to be like "I hear you bro. those zombies are assholes." Just, like, be nice.
  So I asked the guy why he chose to be unkind rather than supportive. He was confused, but after I elaborated he responded by saying I'm "soft"
  I think about this sometimes, now. He could've been nice. But he decided not to. Because he views being nice as being "soft", and that's bad.
  That's not a set of norms I really want to live under.
- Address wealth inequality and most of the other problems would evaporate.

The ultra wealthy are the enemy of the non ultra wealthy in the current way of things.
Perhaps they can be talked into reasonable and equitable resolutions to their crimes, with nice, civil words.
- There's only one civil word that will bring about an equitable resolution. It's called a guillotine.
  
  That word will get you banned. We call it Luigi Day now

The number of armed dissidents does not need to be a majority of the population. The government itself has direct control of the police and the military. Those groups are already weaponized to commit acts of political violence, they will continue to do so under the Trump regime. Particularly as mass deportations begin.
- Don't worry, the military and police would start acting when the peaceful protests against violence start.

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