Leftists finally got the mass homicide they wanted.
The one in Wisconsin didn't work. The one in the New York subway didn't work, either. The problem with the first two tragedies was the racial composition of the perp and the victims (sick, but true).
Demonize: Synonym for Campaign
In 2020, the George Floyd tragedy, coupled with COVID-19, came just in time to get Joe Biden narrowly elected. But, with a potentially disastrous 2022 mid-term election looming, they needed something similar. Something that could be, ironically and perversely, used to "other" Republicans.
You see, there is this biennial tug-of-war between Democrats and Republicans for the votes of those in the middle. Ideally, each side should work hard to articulate their governing philosophy and explain why their view is best for the nation. Of course, that's not what happens. What both sides' high-priced consultants have concluded is that the best approach is to demonize the other side and imply that "normal" or "good" people would obviously not vote for THEM.*
So, in desperation, the Biden administration's consultants spent six months developing a catchphrase that was supposed to other anyone who didn't agree with them. What the geniuses came up with was "Ultra-MAGA**." Ultra-MAGERS (or is it Ultra-MAGETTES - if you're going with juvenile name-calling, might as well go all the way, right?) have been defined by the President as "the the most extreme political organization that's existed in American history ... in recent American history." Umm, ok?!?
Needless to say, that wasn't going to help enough with the mid-terms.
Neither, it appears, was the leak of the draft SCOTUS opinion in Dobbs.
But, this weekend they may have been handed George Floyd II - The Sequel.
As usual, it is not really a perfect vessel for their reelection hopes. But, that's where having control of most of the media comes in. They can manipulate the narrative in whatever way suits them.
Tragedy
But, let's you and I stick to reality.
First, and foremost, this is a heart-breaking human tragedy. There are innocent Americans who have died, and there are families that are hurting. Please stop there for a minute.
... seriously ...
... really, that ought to be the whole story: properly honoring those who were killed, helping those who survived and executing swift justice on the vermin who did this (Quick aside: it is not the courts' job (or right) to grant him mercy, unless it can be proven he was genuinely not in his right mind (Principle #3)).
"Never Let A Crisis Go to Waste"
This, unfortunately, brings us back to the stupid political side of the story.
First, we need to resist the knee-jerk temptation to implement far-reaching public policy based on a single event and the resulting emotion of the moment. Overreactions have been a staple of human history, and I suspect our current vapid generation, with its nothing-important-existed-prior-to-now mentality, is particularly susceptible to that kind of error. For example, the Buffalo tragedy should not be the single rationale for overreaching gun laws. We can debate that issue at some point, but long-term policy should never be codified based only on near-term emotion.
Second, there is no reason for any of us to exert much energy on this 18-year-old's lengthy treatise. The ridiculous reason it matters at all is because the Left will try to make it matter.
They will paint this person as a "right-winger" who is emblematic of what will happen if Republicans are ever allowed to have any power again. First of all, my understanding (again, not having invested much in this, because it doesn't deserve much) is that this murderer's ranting is all over the place. That is, he is an incoherent amalgam of both sides of the political spectrum. In fact, the things he ranted about that were supposedly "right wing" aren't things Republicans running for office believe in or stand for. On the other hand, his leftist ranting does include things office-holding Democrats believe (climate emergency, over-population and hatred for Ben Shapiro, for example).
Third, broadcasters (and bloggers, FTR) should not be held accountable for what one individual does. This irresponsible BS is an ancient strategy of the Left. Is it a coincidence that when Tucker Carlson became the most popular political personality on TV, that the Left tried to imply the latest tragedy was somehow his fault? Or that when Joe Rogan became the most popular podcaster in history that they tried to imply pandemic deaths were made worse by his podcast? Or that back when Rush Limbaugh became the most influential political commentator of his generation, the Left tried to imply an earlier shooting was somehow his fault?
(They need to update their playbook. If the Left were a football team, they'd still be running the Statue of Liberty play out of the Single Wing formation.)
E Pluribus Unum
Again, this crime was the fault of one individual. However, If we want to theorize about underlying messages that may have prompted this tragedy (and may trigger more in the future), I nominate the Left's balkanization through identity politics and its progeny. For example, if we insist on constantly pounding the idea that Black Americans are hopelessly held back by some unseen "systemic racism" and browbeat White Americans with how guilty they should feel, we are going to foster hatred. Especially among people who are struggling for any reason and are feeling frustrated. Someone will eventually lash out. And one "side" lashing out creates calls for revenge by the other "side." That does not make it right, but in a nation of 330 million people, it does make it inevitable.
Remember, it is the Left that wants to carve us into sides and foment animosity between us. Conservatives are ridiculed for wanting all of us to be one "colorblind" American team.
* This blog is premised on the hope it is still possible to converse about public policy and convert people based on reason and conscience, not intentional misrepresentation. That doesn't mean I don't occasionally get a bit snarky - but it does mean I genuinely try to be accurate.
** some observers suggest the consultants actually came up with something better, but our senile President butchered it in the roll-out. I wanted to note that, just to be fair to the vile, disgusting, low-life scum consultants (that's an understatement, not a misrepresentation).
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