The latest outburst of American political violence – with no end in sightpublished at 01:39 British Summer Time
Mike Wendling
BBC News
Across the board, politicians of all stripes have come out to condemn Charlie Kirk’s killing – the latest in a string of violent attacks against political leaders.
But if the pattern of recent history holds, any united front will end, and soon.
Already on social media, despite the present lack of details and developing situation, there are angry fingers being pointed and calls for revenge, along with tasteless celebrations of Kirk’s death.
There are familiar patterns after events like these. Hard-core partisans leap to blame their opponents, while dismissing the idea that their side could be culpable for other violent acts.
And conspiracy theories are routinely concocted to explain away shocking outbursts or mass shootings.
Despite repeated calls after events like this to tone down the rhetoric – including after the attempted assassination of Donald Trump last year, and the killing of Minnesota’s top Democratic legislator in June – political leaders including the president himself have never failed to turn the heat right back up again.
The US is not, as some of the more dire prognosticators say, on the verge of mass political violence or civil war.
But neither is there a cohesive effort by the majority of Americans who reject political violence to fully shun fringe extremists, regardless of where they line up politically.
If that recent historical pattern holds, the coming days will be filled not with quiet reflection or serious discussion about how to keep the peace – but with angry words, calls for retribution, and eventually, more violence.
