I am not an American, and I personally think that in a country of over 330 million people, the fact that the decision has once again come down to Biden versus Trump is a complete joke. What we witnessed on Saturday, however, is horrific and speaks to the deeper issues that exist in the United States.
On Saturday at around 6:15 pm, former President Donald Trump was shot in the ear during his rally in Pennsylvania. The shooting came from a man from a nearby roof who was seen crawling and holding a rifle. The shooter, identified as Thomas Mathew Crooks, was able to fire five shots before he was neutralized by the Secret Services. This shooting attack is being investigated as an assassination attempt.
The shots rang through the screaming crowd while Trump was forced onto the ground by his security team. In the aftermath, one person was killed and two other rally-goers were critically injured.
As shocking as this attempted assassination is, it cannot be remotely surprising anymore. For too long now, we have turned into a society where violence against those who you politically disagree with has become normalized. Politicians, political leaders and the mainstream media have contributed to this by ramping up the voices of the political fringe who endorse violence. This is the direct result of a culmination of toxic rhetoric (not just in America, but all over the world) surrounding politics that an assassination attempt like this could be conceived.
Just like we saw in the aftermath of the Hamas massacre, the pro-terror extremist voices erupted in celebration of 1200 dead Jews, and now, we are seeing the same voices come out in support for this assassination.
The people who endorse this shooting or argue that Trump "had it coming," are the people who pose a greater danger to democracy or Western values than anyone else. The exact moment when you normalize violence over political differences is when we open the doors to authoritarian regimes like the Islamic Republic of Iran that harass, arrest and torture those who politically challenge their government.
Have we not learned our lessons since the aftermath of October 7?
It is for these exact reasons that the pro-Hamas movement has become so dangerous to democracies. When you justify a massacre or deny the atrocities committed by a terror group and believe that violent resistance is justified, you contribute to a world where something like assassination of a politician in a democracy is deemed acceptable.
The ramifications of this run deeper than just a distaste for having Trump as the American President, it creates a gateway where violence is and killing is an acceptable alternative to dialogue and debate. Palestinian leadership serves as a perfect example. Since 1948, the Palestinian leadership has been given plenty of opportunities to liberate their people through diplomacy and peace, but they have rejected these avenues and instead chose the violent route. Anyone who advocates for the use of violence or "intifada" to achieve political goals and endorses "by any means necessary" is part of the problem. Those same people have contributed to legitimizing extremism and political violence in the United States.
As upsetting as it was to watch an attempted assassination, it cannot come as a surprise after almost a year of violent riots, which we now know was funded and organized by Iran, and the normalization of extremist voices - This will undoubtedly play a huge role in the upcoming elections and will definitely play in Trump's favor.
Again, in no way is this an endorsement for Donald Trump, but it is a call for the protected rights in a democracy where an American citizen running for President is able to give a speech without being a risk to his life. We are entering a frightening era in global politics, and we cannot enter an era where murdering politicians you disagree with does not become the norm.
