Why Future Elections Are In Peril In America

The practice of a peaceful transition of power has always been a hallmark of our democracy.

We took it for granted until Trump came along and shattered democratic norms and tried to steal the 2020 election.

Our society is staggering under the weight of angry white men pushing for a fascist state.

They have been emboldened by "stand your ground" and citizen's arrest laws, inspired by a conservative interpretation of the Second Amendment.

Stop the Steal is a Republican mantra based on a blatant lie. An open door to chaos. A reason to walk around in public armed with AR-15s to shoot unarmed citizens.

Angry white guys are a real problem today. They are encouraged by assholes like Sen. Lindsey Graham who warned, "We're not generating enough angry white guys to stay in business for the long term." 

Lee Drutman, a scholar who has studied political violence, recently told the New York Times;

"I have a hard time seeing how we have a peaceful 2024 election after everything that's happened now. I don't see the rhetoric turning down, I don't see the conflicts going away. I really do think it's hard to see how it gets better before it gets worse."

Fact: White male anger has become one of the most potent political forces in contemporary America.

It was that anger that helped an angry white guy win the White House.

We have enough problems with white male violence as it is. Mass shootings in the country are committed more often by angry white men than any other group.

Fact: There's more threats, more guns and more suspicion that the courts will go easy on white people who employ violence.

The Kyle Rittenhouse trial is the perfect example. He got away with killing two men and wounding another. This is the combustible mix that makes more violence almost inevitable.

What we're seeing is more justifications to carry a gun and use it in "self-defense." Somehow unarmed citizens have become the aggressors and the armed citizens who kill them are called heroes.

Our civilian population is already the most heavily armed in the world. Armed militias are getting bolder and organizing every day.

We have laws that not only protect white vigilantes but, in some cases, seem to encourage vigilantes. 

The anger generated by white guys is getting worse daily. A recent poll revealed that 30 percent of Republicans believe that violence is justified to save our country.

To be clear; it's the angry white men - not the black or brown men - who pose the most dangerous threat to democracy in America today.

It's those angry white men who will cause chaos in 2024, challenging our once-cherished peaceful transition of power.