It has been an exhausting set of weeks. Someone took another shot at Trump, this time a bit more metaphorically than previously given that he was stopped before he got close enough to even try to injure Trump, and the news is full of talking heads and Republicans repeating the same tired suggestion that this politically motivated violence is a result of the Democrats inciting violence. Which is incredibly infuriating considering that only one side of the current political “dichotomy” in the US speaks of action and violence and overthrow and it sure isn’t the Democrats. That’d be far too active for any of them to advocate for, even setting aside the moral decrepitude required to direct your followers to visit violence on your political opponents. All the Democrats have in them to advocate for, during the rare moments they actually speak in support of something, is forgiveness, tolerance, and passivity. Which sucks so much especially since all that means them just sitting there and taking it while the Republicans and every political consultant without a shred of conscience attempts to alter reality by insisting that the Democrats tone down the heat of their rhetoric literally days after calling on their followers to kill people, after attempting to designate multiple minority groups as some kind of sub-human population, and generally spewing the exact sort of hatred they’re accusing the Democrats of espousing. We’ve had many attempts on prominent Democratic figures, a few of which have unfortunately succeeded, and an increasing level of violence aimed at any group that isn’t a welcomed part of the Republican party. Which makes it extra sickening to listen to those hypocrites accuse everyone they can name of doing the very thing they’re doing, and that’s saying something given the base level of Republican hypocrisy I’ve adapted to.

What makes this case stand out, though, is the relative… well, normalness of the shooter. He’s not just some random dude, he was a respected member of his community who acted due to how morally outraged he felt by the current administration’s actions. While acting in such a violent manner is unacceptable, it is difficult not to see the temperature changing in the world around me. Luigi Mangione was the first sign of what is building as a normal, very handsome-looking man turned himself into an assassin because of how abused he felt by the medical insurance system in the US. We’ve had Tesla dealerships firebombed, someone tried to burn down a warehouse that was supposedly bought by ICE or slated to be sold to ICE for use as one of their concentration camps, someone attempted to firebomb a tech leader’s house because he’s ruining the world with “AI,” someone else burned down a paper products warehouse, and now this guy decides he can’t stand watching what is happening in the world anymore so he does something reckless and wrong. How long until this picks up even more? How long until all those self-styled militias rise up to defend those they view as their standard-bearers? How long until there are skirmishes in the streets as people decide they must take matters into their own hands? I don’t want things to escalate to that point. No one wins when that happens, no matter how it plays out, and I shudder to think of what the the place of my birth might become if we go that far. Almost no other country has as much citizen access to the tools of war and murder as we do in the US and it will end poorly if everyone decides to make good on the implicit threat of personal firearms.

I don’t know what’s going to happen. I know that if something doesn’t change soon, it is only going to get worse. I know it’s already getting worse with every second things carry on as “normal.” As every person with righteous indignation in their heart, no matter where it is pointed or what fuel it burns, starts to find their breaking point, where passion and moral injury overcome good sense and the rules of society, order will begin to break down and so many people who did not want to get involved will get hurt. I grew up around Chicago during the 90s when gang warfare was still the talk of the news every night and the escalation in (at least the reporting on) drive-by shootings started to claim more and more innocent victims. When guns imported from elsewhere were wielded with reckless abandon and mostly the people who were minding their own business got caught in the crossfire. I’ve read so many stories about people injured by cops firing wildly as they just try to live their lives. I’ve seen too many dead kids because some jumpy asshole with a gun saw a toy, thought “gun,” and didn’t hesitate to eliminate the perceived threat. It will not go well for anyone, but it will especially not go well for those without the means to defend themselves, who are just trying to live through the chaos and mess of life in this increasingly unhinged era.

We need someone to stand up and do something about all this. Not about the people slowly losing their minds about the injustices of the world, but about the conditions that create them. “Normal” people only turn to this type of violence when they feel they have no other means of having their problems addressed and confidence in any of our elected leaders is at an all-time low. It did not escape my notice that this attempted assassination came on the heals of news that, even if the Democrats got both the house and the Senate in the upcoming elections, leadership has said they wouldn’t pursue punishment and sanctions against trump and his ilk. They wouldn’t do anything to address the increasingly vile supreme court we’re faced with as six lifers carefully turn the government in favor of the republicans and their shitty theories of rule. All they’d do is try to address cost of living problems. Which are still problems that need addressing, of course, but maybe it would be good if they could do more than one thing, you know? If they could split their attention and pursue multiple avenues of relief for people who feel that they are powerless to stop the destruction of their home at the hands of some billionaires who only want to rack up a new high score in the perverse game of capitalism. It’s sickening and I’m so tired of watching the Dems spin their wheels rather than stand up and fight for once in their miserable political lives.