American political violence — Is there an off-ramp?

[Mulberry Heel]

By this point literally everything they say is pure projection. If a Republican accuses a Democrat (or the Democratic Party as a whole) of doing something, then you can be damn sure that they have already done it (likely many times) or are planning to do it. Every accusation is a confession at this point.

 

[nycfan]

 

[SnoopRob]

“Sometimes justified” is the correct answer, of those choices.

 

[sringwal]

“Sometimes justified” is the correct answer, of those choices.

How do you define “political violence”?

 

[SnoopRob]

How do you define “political violence”?

“violence to achieve political goals”

That’s according to the question in the graphic.

 

[sringwal]

“violence to achieve political goals”

That’s according to the question in the graphic.

To clarify - I am trying to figure out how to separate violence by the people towards the government vs. violence by the government towards the people (as well as violence by one political party against another party).

 

[UNCatTech]

“Sometimes justified” is the correct answer, of those choices.

I guess that would depend on the extent of the violence.

I don't believe murder can ever be justified. Though trump and this administration have really pushed my opinion on this.
But, as of now, I stand by my opinion that murder is never justified.

 

[SnoopRob]

To clarify - I am trying to figure out how to separate violence by the people towards the government vs. violence by the government towards the people (as well as violence by one political party against another party).

I guess that would depend on the extent of the violence.

I don't believe murder can ever be justified. Though trump and this administration have really pushed my opinion on this.
But, as of now, I stand by my opinion that murder is never justified.

I think, as they say, the devil is in the details, but I'd say that as long as the question is asked broadly (as that survey does), then there is almost certainly a time where "political violence" is justified. (In a better survey, "political violence" would be more narrowly defined and "rarely justified" would be a provided - and more correct - response.)

 

[nycfan]

“… Perhaps most troubling, a significant minority of the population — 24 percent — believes that there are some instances where violence is justified.

There was little partisan divide in that belief, but a strong generational one: Younger Americans were significantly more likely than older ones to say violence can be justified. More than one in three Americans under the age of 45 agreed with that belief.…”

 

[Geisterfahrer]

“… Perhaps most troubling, a significant minority of the population — 24 percent — believes that there are some instances where violence is justified.

There was little partisan divide in that belief, but a strong generational one: Younger Americans were significantly more likely than older ones to say violence can be justified. More than one in three Americans under the age of 45 agreed with that belief.…”

I’d be surprised if that % is significantly different from any other time in our country’s history. Might even be low.

 

[EyeballKid]

I’d be surprised if that % is significantly different from any other time in our country’s history. Might even be low.

I’m not so sure.

As a Gen Xer, I recall a sense of futility and disenchantment with US politics, but still a hopefulness that we didn’t need full-on societal violence to correct things like police brutality, racism, etc.

And Obama’s 2 terms seemed to prove us right—that the old adage of the “arc of justice” could be achieved through steady work with the occasional violent outburst.

Now it seems that a larger percentage of the youngsters understand that we Gen Xers were naive and/or too safe in our surroundings, and that the only way forward likely involves a good bit of violence and bloodshed to figure out who we are as a country.

 

[nycfan]

 

[StrangePackage]

I mean, Miller is correct. Every accusation is a confession.