By Brigitte L. Nacos
If you watched the horrific scenes of the Jan. 6 breach of the Capitol by organized militia groups, enraged members of the MAGA movement, and delusional QAnon conspiracy cultists, you must have heard their bloodthirsty screams, “Na-a-a-n-cy, Na-a-n-cy” as they searched for the Speaker of the House. Had they gotten hold of her… If there was any doubt about her fate, the perpetrator told the police his kidnapping and torture plans. He left plenty of evidence of his Far-Right violent extremist views and his belief in bizarre QAnon conspiracy theory propaganda.
Nancy Pelosi has been demonized by GOP right wing extremists for many years. And she was high on Donald Trump’s and supporters’ list of vilified women. The leader of the Oath Keepers, now tried for seditious conspiracy, threatened to hang her on a lamp post. She surely was the supreme target of their vile rhetorical attacks because the line-up of powerful men can’t stand women in influential positions. Pelosi has received more death threats than any other member of Congress. But she is far from the only one in the two congressional chambers. Instead, the number of such threats against public officials in all branches and on all levels of government, federal, state, and local, have catapulted to unprecedented levels.
Number of Serious Threats against Members of Congress:
2016: 902
2017: 3,939
2018: 5,206
2019: 6,955
2020: 8,613
2021: 9,600
If you take a look at the numbers above about the dramatic increase in threats against Congress members, you see that the significant increase began in the first year of Trump’s presidency and did not end with the changing of the guards in Washington because the former president has not changed his tune.
How did we get to this unprecedented political hate and division, this hyper political polarization?
My take is that there are strong correlations between the hate speech that Donald Trump brought into the political discourse and the huge rise of political threats against public office holders. What in the past was the hate speech of fringe figures and groups, has become normal political discourse that is either practiced or condoned by silence in the highest circles of the once normal GOP.
Violent speech begets violent deeds. And political violence begets more political violence.
I hope, the next weeks and months prove me wrong.
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