Adapted from presentation at the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution U.S. Presidential Election and Threats of Civil Violence Online Teach-in, Oct. 26, 2020
Tensions have been escalating among sectors of the U.S. long before the current election cycle. These tensions were a part of the impetus for the election of Trump. Some of what we’ve been hearing for the past few years are behind much of the tension – sectors of the U.S. who feel unheard, unrepresented, ignored, and forgotten.
These are some of the people who have voted for Trump, who have joined ranks with the Proud Boys, who are feeling threatened by the cultural, industrial, demographical changes around them. They also represent the largest demographic of perpetrators of U.S. mass violence: white men between the ages of 20-60.
As I’ve watched events unfold over the past year, I’ve worried about another spike in U.S. mass violence, long before COVID broke out. Once COVID disrupted our lives, it brought conditions ripe for emergence of more mass shootings or attacks.
In an article last year I wrote that in the past few years in the U.S., “subcultures face increased resurgence in conflict and confrontation; long-standing discords of racial strife and cultural clashes boil up and erupt again—it is fair to say that we are seeing increased isolation, ostracization, and frustration across the country.” ADD in political rhetoric intended to divide, plus quarantine from COVID, and the resulting economic crisis, and there’s significant escalation in two of the primary factors that contribute to the emergence of U.S. mass violence – isolation and insecurity.
I believe one of the reasons we haven’t seen much mass violence happening over the past few months is because schools have been mostly closed, people are working from home, and large gatherings have been essentially shut down. Quarantine has perhaps been beneficial beyond curbing COVID.
In a few days, we will not only have high profile public gatherings of large numbers of individuals. We will also have an election that could amplify feelings of being unheard, unrepresented, ignored, and forgotten. There will also be increased frustration. And this is happening in a year that has seen record sales of firearms in the past few months.
I don’t say all of this to try to scare you. But I think there’s a very real chance for incidents of mass violence, based on my studies of perpetrators of mass violence in the U.S.
So what do we do about this?
Honestly, with only days until the election, there may be fires already burning that we individually cannot prevent. But in this environment, when the tinder is dry, we should consider ourselves in a high fire risk environment and do what we can to not set off sparks, and not fan the fires.
Let me share some insights into what I have learned about perpetrators of mass violence. They are, for the most part, regular people.
But,
They are afraid of what the world has in store for them.
They don’t think people understand them.
They struggle to navigate the world and society around them.
And they don’t suddenly emerge one day raging with anger and ready to kill large numbers of people.
It takes time. It builds up. The process offers opportunity for us to do what we can to de-escalate.
It also offers opportunities to fan the flames.
Our interactions with others have the power to either increase or decrease fear. To increase or decrease a sense of isolation. To increase or decrease the divide.
And while I have focused my opening on a subset of society associated with the Proud Boys and Trump supporters, the current environment is fostering isolation, frustration, and fear among many groups and individuals.
Those on the right of politics are perceiving a level of recognition they feel they haven’t had in a very long time. And they feel they are at risk of losing that recognition.
Additionally, they are increasingly experiencing rhetoric that labels them and their representative, Trump, as evil, debase, ignorant, uneducated, out of touch, and a threat to society.
I’m not here to argue for or against those labels, but to point out their inflammatory nature and the effect they can have on individuals who already feel unheard and unrecognized by the larger society. Many of these sentiments are similar to those experienced by a majority of perpetrators of mass violence, but on a much larger, much more public scale.
Public rhetoric and how it affects our daily interactions can contribute to fueling the fires.
Compassionate engagement is what I propose as a fire retardant.
When you engage with others, either in line at the polls, online in social media, in line at the grocery store, compassionate engagement involves seeing that we are all in this mess together.
- We are all scared of what is to come.
- We are all dealing with circumstances we haven’t had to navigate before – certainly not on this scale.
- We all, when it comes down to it, want a better future. And if we had more breathing room, we might find we want a lot of the same things.
And most important:
- We all are hurt when we are labeled as monsters or evil.
- We are all frustrated when someone refuses to listen to us.
- We all struggle, to some degree, to be heard.
- We all feel better when we feel we’re in this together, than when we feel we’re facing all of this all alone.
The degree to which any of us on this call can affect change through compassionate engagement depends on our reach.
For some of us, our efforts may only reach as far as our social media feeds.
- More than just stopping negative language, there’s a need to amplify unifying messages: How can we help you? How can we help each other? What concerns you?
- More than being patient with others, express empathy: I hear that you’re worried. I’m sorry this is tough for you. Do you want to talk?
For others, their media reach may be much stronger. If you have the ability to influence or direct media channels, how can the language above be part of the larger discourse?
For many, the polls and polling interactions may be the biggest concern. Here, too, bravery, empathy, and compassionate engagement are greatly needed.
- Don’t be offended or infuriated if and when people decide to monitor the voting locations. If you keep calm, there’s less chance for things to escalate.
- Remind yourself that these people are reacting out of a fear. Whether the fear is justified or not, this is where they are coming from. See them as people, not enemies or monsters.
Obviously this does not fix everything. But if we can do our part to set the model, to engage in a more compassionate manner, we may just put the damper on someone’s anger, on someone’s frustration, at least long enough to get us through this dry season.
If perpetrators of mass violence feel alone, a friendly voice might help. If they feel frustrated, having someone listen might make a difference.
What is not going to help is continuing to place blame, call names, ostracize, and hold at a distance. My step brother and I hold drastically different political and social views. But we could agree and commiserate together that this has been one hell of a year.
When it all is said and done, we have all been through a lot. Together.
Disordered Allegiances 