If you can believe this article, anyway: Poll: 1 in 4 Americans say violence against the government is sometimes OK
I’m disappointed that only 1 in 4 think violence is “sometimes OK.” It should be 4 in 4. Of course it’s sometimes okay.
One in 10 Americans say violence is justified right now. And among Republican men, it’s nearly 1 in 5.
I’m disappointed that 1 in 5 Republican men believe things are so bad that violence against the government is justified now. I strongly disagree with that.
What do you do about a statistic like that? 1 in 10 Americans believe the government is so bad that we’d be justified in fighting against it. Real fighting, not protests and such.
A sensible response would be to try to find out why people believe that, and try to fix the problem.
Rational people only choose violence when they believe non-violent remedies won’t work. Why do 1 in 10 Americans think non-violent remedies won’t work? Do they feel as if they’re not being heard? Do they feel as if they’ve been asking for the same thing for decades (e.g., fixing the immigration problem) and the government pays no attention? Do they distrust the election system?
Some will want to blame fake news, crazy websites, radical politicians, YouTube channels, etc., but I think that’s backwards. Those sources are popular because their message resonates, and their message resonates because people are frustrated. The solution is not to shut down the channels, but to find out why the message resonates — and fix it.
Maybe look at things like this: 20 years of data reveals that Congress doesn’t care what you think.
I have little hope of this happening.
What’s more likely to happen is that the people in power will deny the problem, wag their fingers at the 1 in 10, demonize them, call them deplorables, etc. As that doesn’t work, they’ll take increasingly tyrannical steps to silence the 1 in 10, which will backfire and make those numbers even worse. Eventually we’ll get to the tipping point where too many people believe the only solution is violence.
Violence against the government is sometimes ok in the same sense that it is sometimes ok to kill one’s children. Extreme hypotheticals can be constructed where there is no other option. It is a good idea not to become obsessed with such things.
For a long time I have heard from conservatives that the 2nd Amendment is there because the Founding Fathers saw a violent overthrow of the government might be justified in the future. The problem is that the people of a lower order (of whom I known quite a few in my lifetime) really take this to heart and prepare for such an event. Jan. 6 has actually been brewing for a long time.
But if we should give into the demands of such people? Suppose that they threaten the government and therefore in the long run a reign of terror against a substantial part of the population (because that’s how these things work) if they don’t do X. Well, if “fixing the problem” means simply doing X, we should first consider whether X is a good thing to do.
At present the violently inclined Republicans are apparently demanding that Trump should be reinstalled as president. That is a demand that no just government would comply with. We must not negotiate with terrorists.
Ehh.
I tend to use the moon landing as a good reference point. The second Google result for “what fraction of people think the moon landing was faked” has a breakdown as of July 2019 in the Us. It reports “5% strongly believe”, “6% somewhat believe”, and “11% neither believe nor disbelieve”. That’s 22% of people in a poll who couldn’t bring themselves even to say they “somewhat disbelieve” moon landing hoax theories.
People tend to give more realistic answers on things which are practical and directly affect them.
When you think something is unlikely to happen or affect/involve you in any way, you’re much more free to strike poses.
For my part, I think more federalism is the most viable solution. If people can’t agree on some important principles that you need a majority to agree on to have a functioning association, then let’s sort into groups of friendly neighbours, and see whose approaches work better. Some people will be willing to accept confiscatory taxes in exchange for great weather, and others won’t, but there’s no one true answer. So let’s let a thousand flowers bloom and see which ones actually wilt.
You’ll still have problems, such as refugees escaping from one territory who want to bring the mistakes of the old country with them, but at least it gives us a shot.
Good point about the moon landing, and the “does this really affect me” perspective.
QUOTE: Rational people only choose violence when they believe non-violent remedies won’t work. Why do 1 in 10 Americans think non-violent remedies won’t work? Do they feel as if they’re not being heard? Do they feel as if they’ve been asking for the same thing for decades (e.g., fixing the immigration problem) and the government pays no attention? Do they distrust the election system?
Wait…are you saying that it’s legitimate for citizens to have such feelings? Conservative pundits didn’t seem to have such insights about those that had reached their limit and struck out in unlawful rioting and looting (distinguished from peaceful protesting—which is lawful and constitutional). Rioters indicated they were tired of not being heard, seeing long-term issues go unaddressed with no accountability. Seeing the murder of George Floyd by the police was the last straw for them. Didn’t they distrust the system? Didn’t they feel as if they had been asking for the same thing for a long time without resolve?
QUOTE: What’s more likely to happen is that the people in power will deny the problem, wag their fingers at the 1 in 10, demonize them, call them deplorables, etc.
Seems that’s what happened with some rioters in 2020 when they choose to riot due to their dismay.
QUOTE: A sensible response would be to try to find out why people believe that, and try to fix the problem.
True. Yet, has that happened for those that felt so disenfranchised that they resorted to violence in 2020? Or, is that remedy reserved for those who take up causes like rioting and attacking the Capitol Building? According to our former president, “If I run and if I win, we will treat [the Capitol rioters] from January 6 fairly…and if it requires pardons, we will give them pardons. Because they are being treated so unfairly.”