The Dichotomy Of Violence
America condemns violence while sponsoring it worldwide
"I am an American coming to fight with you in Ukraine; I am flying into Krakow and will take any transport to Kyiv to meet you and fight to the death ... We must get every civilian in the world to come and join the fight; I will be the example. Attack moscow now. Ryan Wesley Routh, 2022
Once again, America's chickens have come home to roost.
On September 14th, 2024 Ryan Wesley Routh, a 58 year old recruiter for the Ukrainian armed forces, took up a position on the perimeter of the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach. Inside a sniper’s nest in the bushes he waited for over 12 hours armed with a modified SKS rifle.
On September 15th, Donald Trump arrived at the course for a scheduled game of golf. Routh’s position was ideal, it provided him with a clear line of sight on the course at several areas, the closest of which at the 6th hole was only 150 feet (50 yards) from the position, an easy shot for anyone proficient with that rifle. It is clear that this was not a spontaneous attack, Routh had planned this and done reconnaissance of the position beforehand. Trump approached to around 300 yards from Routh’s position before the secret service spotted the would-be assassin and opened fire. Routh fled, leaving his rifle and backpack behind.
After a brief chase, he was captured alive by police and taken into custody. No one was harmed in this failed attack, which represents the second known assassination attempt against Donald Trump. In the aftermath, the usual suspects were out in force to condemn the attack. Politicians who just days before had been calling Trump the greatest threat to democracy in history were now concerned with his well being and saying there is no place for political violence in America.
While this sort of statement is to be expected, it belies a savage truth about America and it’s governing ideology. Almost since the very beginning, America has been the greatest purveyor of political violence in the world. Indeed, without political violence, namely the systematic destruction of the Indigenous nations and people which once inhabited this continent, the United States as we know it would not exist. This is to say nothing of the merciless repression of any left wing or working class movements in the country, the suppression of which has led to the Army massacring striking workers or gunning down peaceful protesters.
Of course, it is not fair to judge the politicians of today based off the crimes of the past. However, there is no need to do that. We can judge them by their own actions and still find plenty of guilt to go around.
President Biden was personally responsible for the Iraq war, using his position as chair of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee to ensure that only pro-war voices could be heard in the run up to America’s illegal, unjustified and savage full-scale invasion of Iraq, a nation which Biden knew had no WMDs and was not associated with Al-Qaeda. His chief of staff at the time was Tony Blinken, the future secretary of state who now spends most of his time justifying America’s steadfast support for yet another genocide in the Middle East.
This lie was neither the first nor the last. After the fall of the Soviet Union left America with no real opposition, the political class have unleashed a torrent of political violence on the world. The very same politicians who now clutch their pearls and wring their hands at the thought of one of them being injured are responsible for the deaths of at least 4.5 million people over the past 20 years.
As the world burned and bled from this wave of political violence, the silence of this administration and it’s members was telling.
When mercenaries raped Ghaddafi to death with a bayonet, did they condemn political violence?
When Syria was torn to bloody shreds by an army of throat cutting Jihadis, did they condemn political violence?
When armed neo-nazis deposed the democratically elected Yanukovych government by shooting into crowds of civilians, did they condemn political violence?
When the Zionists systematically dismantle the legitimate government of Gaza via arrests, torture and murder, do they condemn political violence?
In every case, the answer is the same. No, the Americans did not condemn political violence, they supported it. Political violence is perfectly acceptable to the ruling elites just as long as it’s against the right people, and that is a long list.
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