The Thing We All Know We Need to Talk About

Speculation is immaterial. Conspiracy is immaterial. It doesn't matter who the shooter was, what they thought, what they believed in. They could be an alien riding a human, we could find that out, and one side would still blame the other. It sucks that we're in a place where these answers don't matter, because in a rational society perhaps they would change things.

Had things played out differently, I am genuinely not certain it would be an improvement. I mean that. It's not that I agree with all of these politicians suddenly condemning violence in the midst of an actual genocide, because you know I couldn't disagree more. We need violence perpetrated against the powerless to stop–I frankly don't give a fuck about the powerful. But. We live in a country in which one political party is apt to hold who they view as the other side physically accountable for acts perpetrated against them. The other, well, you could piss on their leg and tell them it's raining and they'd agree with your forecast.

History Tells Us

Assassinations rarely work as intended. They are carried out after the fact, fail, or start a Great War. Assassinations against fascists have, historically, allowed for said fascists to martial support. This is no different. You've already seen the picture of Trump, defiant, in a moment which I think all of us would agree we expected him to be cowardly. He knew how to seize this opportunity, and he has. His base is fired up and this cache will not disappear. Nor would it have, I don't think, had the shooter succeeded.

This movement, amongst the common American, is a cult of personality–and without Trump I think a certain amount of it dies. But not enough of it. There are more serious people who saw Trump for what he was and took advantage of it–putting in place a machine that can operate with or without its head. Trump, for his part, was able to galvanize the right in a way that nobody else on the field could at the time because he came from a place of both success–supposedly–but more effectively, hate. He cut his teeth on Obama's birth certificate. He galvanized the right when the left (the liberal left) were writing op-eds about the end of the GOP thanks to the shifting demographics of the nation.

While Trump is a potent figurehead, that is all that he is. What felt like ages ago I wrote that I was more concerned about a slick, knowledgeable politician slipping through the fascist wedge that Trump created–but that's no longer entirely necessary. The Dems have not pushed back, when they've had the country's reins, and so the Overton Window has remained far to the right and the country has only slid further toward authoritarianism. Whether the people oppose it or not, this is a country whose considerable means are aimed, with a Democrat as president, at the eradication of a native people in a land we helped to colonize. We're a country which has decided, against the will of the people, that more police are necessary when we're struggling in every other way. We no longer need a competent leader at the helm to guide this country into fascism–a figurehead will do nicely.

Our Response

Keep your fucking head down. Now is not the time for jokes, however smart. Hopefully glib images don't get my teeth knocked out. I will say again that it doesn't matter who made the attempt–he could be right wing, could think Trump isn't far right enough, and the ire would still fall on our side. Don't say anything online.

Offline, you should be doing the work. If you are comfortable with firearms, you should be training with them. If you are a vulnerable minority, this goes double. Trump's lackeys will not only target who they think is literally to blame for this–they will target who they feel is the sickness attacking this country. That's us. That's self-professed communists, anarchists, Trans people, and POC. Check in with each other regularly. If you know isolated folk who tend to stick to themselves–check in with them. They're the sort of person who would get followed home from the grocery store. Take care of each other, in short.

I do not know what to expect from this election, but my money is on Trump winning because that is the worst outcome and we're in the darkest timeline. It would be helpful to you, if you are the sort of person named above, if you didn't need to leave your house should something suddenly go sideways. Having connections in your community who can supply you with food, water, and medicine, would behoove you. Having a stockpile of said items would also be a good idea. Having folks who can stay with you and watch over your home if you feel threatened is even better, and is the sort of thing we should be doing for each other.*

This is a crappy time to be alive. Recent events make it no less so. The way we survive this, as always, is together. Get with people you know share your feelings–they exist no matter where you are, whether you've found them or not. You're not alone. Share skills, share resources, look out for one another. We're going to make it. We just have to make it through.

*and is historically proven to help repel and weaken fascists on the street-level.