July 2024, an attempt on now former presidential candidate Donald Trump’s life prompts a social explosion. The country reacts to most assassinations and attempts the same – unbiased writing, constant streams of information, and lunchtime gossip. Through Trump’s recent assassination attempts, phrases are so easily thrown around. One that is quite telling of where this country is headed is the phrase; “he shouldn’t have missed”, or “he should be dead”. It’s concerning, as the development in the political world has shifted to something based on mutual respect, rather than mutually assured destruction.
This cycle of hate works in a chain reaction, too. The mentality many people have where hateful statements can just be left alone is distressing, as opinions can sometimes act like littering. One person throws their opinion that a politician should die out into the public, and suddenly a mountain of trash accumulates and everyone thinks their contribution to the heap is miniscule. It’s not helpful to a world already filled with malice and hostility. But that’s not to say free speech should be limited – just that an air of respect between candidates and the general public is integral to having a just and peaceful election.
It’s disheartening to hear the phrase “he should be dead”. In no way am I supporting Trump, I don’t appreciate him being in office, but I would never say that earnestly as it sets an ugly precedent for how we as people should act.
A game called “We Become What We Behold”, by Nicky Case was made in November, 2016. It was made in response to boiling tensions leading up to the election. In the game you play as a camera for the global news. Everything you depict is then portrayed on a TV in the middle of a busy center alongside a headline. People are constantly walking by, some with square heads, some with circle heads. Nothing happens, until a crazed square yells at a passing circle. If you take a picture of this happening, it runs with the hashtag, “#CRAZED SQUARE ATTACKS” which prompts fear from a watching circle. If you take a picture of his fear, it runs “#CIRCLE FEARS SQUARES”, and as you keep playing, things get more heated. Everything keeps getting worse, until one of the little people kills. The headline shifts from “#EVERYONE HATES EVERYONE” to “BE SCARED. BE ANGRY.”, and the people diverge into pure chaos. A bloodbath ensues, as the screen bleeds to a bitter static.
While admittedly on the nose, the game produces the same boiling tensions that can start civil wars, and demonstrates how much the media can influence individual feelings. This individuality is connected to our ability to so easily align with opinions and contribute to the majority. When all you see is your own views and the news knows that, the snowball of belief becomes an avalanche of assumption.
That phrase. “He shouldn’t have missed”, in regards to Trump’s near assassination. is so full of pride.They may hate him, but if you really had the option to kill them, I doubt any of these people who make the statement would take the opportunity. It’s a living, breathing, person. How much hate would that take? Evidently, it can’t come from just one person. The mob mentality is such an important part of politics, and it can sometimes be wielded as a dangerous weapon.
So when these thoughts inevitably rise again in 2028, and 2032 and so forth, acknowledge what possible damage these ideas could cause. There’s no telling what violence the future has in store, but anyone has the opportunity to break free. It’s okay to hate someone. It’s okay to wish something out of the picture. But if it’s okay to wish death upon someone, I have deep dread for the future of America.
