Leftist Violence In America
I suppose it was inevitable. It was just a matter of time. A leftist college professor tweeted what I suspect many of his leftist “comrades”, in their heart of hearts, secretly wish for: the assassination of President Trump.
The professor, Lars Maischak, of Fresno State University, tweeted: “To save American democracy, Trump must hang. The sooner and the higher, the better.” He also tweeted that two Republicans should be shot for every alien deported. These calls for the assassination of our President were actually made in February but have received viral exposure only recently. While I doubt that Maischak has actually been out purchasing weaponry, his missives were NOT light hearted or meant to be comedy. He was clearly setting a “tone” or “atmosphere” in which violence toward our President (and other conservative leaders) might simmer and erupt. And, please note, this isn’t harmless fantasy. Attempts on the life of American Presidents are SHOCKINGLY common. NINE percent of American Presidents have been assassinated (shot DEAD) and attempts at assassination of our presidents have been carried out at an astonishing TWENTY SIX PERCENT of them. (see footnote below for the statistics).
The history of leftist violence at home and abroad is, in large measure, an untold story. We all SHOULD know of the horrific violence carried out, world wide, in the name of leftist causes through out the entire 20th century. Leftist carnage in that century has truly blackened humanity’s soul. The death toll of NON COMBATANTS at the hands of Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, Castro and others can scarcely be comprehended (Wikipedia estimates 70 MILLION non combatant deaths. Other estimates are HIGHER!).
When I bring up this leftist record of international MASS MURDER in discussions with leftists, I’ve heard them reply, incredulously, that the actions of Mao, Stalin and others were’nt true socialism! NOT TRUE? REALLY?!!! NONE of those dictators were true leftists? REALLY?!!! Well, I would bet, dollars to donuts, that if those making such a claim ever had the opportunity AND the temerity to share their thoughts with Mao, Stalin and the others, they would have been summarily executed, settling the issue once and for all!
American leftists will sometimes try to evade the appalling history of leftist politics by saying that, although horrendous leftist violence may have happened abroad, it didn’t occur in America. And, it IS true that America has been spared the leftist MASS murders that occurred elsewhere on this planet. But, violent leftist rhetoric and outright leftist violence have occurred on our shores none-the-less.
We have all witnessed the current surge of violent tirades against Donald Trump in America’s “main stream” media: Kathy Griffin holding up Trump’s severed head, the New York production of Julius Cesar that has a Trump look alike being stabbed to death on stage, Johnny Depp “jokingly” relating a fantasized Trump assassination by an actor (himself) to Lincoln’s assassination by John Wilkes Booth, also an actor. These shameful displays are the headliners.
No less pernicious, however, are the violent political memes running just a bit lower on radar. Anti-police lyrics run rampant throughout the rap and hip hop repertoire (Ice-T’s murderous “Cop Killer” is just one of MANY shocking examples). That fact that violent lyrics can be found in the festering sore of contemporary hip hop music is hardly surprising, but violent memes can also be found in more “mainstream” venues as well. As an example, Bruce Springsteen recorded a song in 2012 called “Jack of All Trades”. In that song, Springsteen (who’s net worth, by the way, has been estimated at 460 MILLION dollars in 2016 by Forbes Magazine) sings the following lines:
The banker man grows fatter
The working man grows thin…
If I had a gun I’d find the bastards
and shoot ’em on sight.
I’m a jack of all trades,
We’ll be alright.
The seething jealousy and undisguised threat of violence that’s celebrated in that song is PROUDLY on display for all to see and hear. And this is not a case of a writer just “painting a character portrait” in a story telling fiction. The song makes it quite clear where Springsteen’s sympathies lie.
Still vivid in our memories, of course, is the recent rifle rampage of James Hodgkinson when leftist threats of violence became horrifying reality. Congressman Steve Scalise and four others were shot at the hands of this leftist activist.
But, preceding this recent eruption of leftist imagery and violence, America actually has a long history of it. This history was recently catalogued by Patrick Buchanan in an excellent article posted a few days ago on his blog, buchanan.org: “A Long History of Leftist Hatred”. What follows is an abbreviated recap. For thematic clarity, I’ve left out the cases of clear cut insanity.
On February 15, 1933, Giuseppe Zangara, attempted to assassinate President Franklin Roosevelt but missed and ended up fatally shooting Chicago Mayor Anton Cermak. At trial Zangara said he wanted to “kill all capitalists.”
On November 1, 1950 two Puerto Rican leftists attempted to assassinate President Truman. They were stopped by a heroic policeman, Leslie Coffelt, who was killed in the attack.
On March 1, 1954, four Puerto Rican leftists entered the Capitol Building and opened fire. Five Congressman were hit.
On April 10, 1963, communist defector Lee Harvey Oswald attempted to assassinate right wing General Edwin Walker, but missed.
Later that year, on November 22, 1963 communist defector Oswald, either alone or as part of a conspiracy, assassinated President John F. Kennedy.
On September 22, 1975, radical leftist Sara Jane Moore attempted, with 2 shots, to assassinate President Gerald Ford. Only a faulty gun sight (on the first shot) and an heroic former Marine, Oliver Sipple (on the second shot) spared the President’s life.
Aside from these high profile attacks there have been a shocking number of cases of leftist violence constituting a steady American undercurrent. Groups like the Black Panthers, Students for a Democratic Society, the Weather Underground, the Symbionese Liberation Army and, now, Black Lives Matter have all perpetuated violence on behalf of leftist causes. Their riots, bombings, cop killings, murder and even torture (Yes, torture. Look up the case of Alex Rackley who was tortured to death by the Black Panthers in1969) have been a sorry fact of life for Americans for over 50 years. (And if, by the way, you come across a misleading report that claims attacks from the radical right are more common than from the left, DON’T believe it. When you delve into the actual report, you’ll find most of the “right wing” terror attacks cited involve only property damage, NOT murder)!
Then there were the violent leftist agitators that set upon Trump supporters during the 2016 Presidential campaign who tried to intimidate and silence people who’s views they disagree with. There were even attempts to bait Trump supporters into fights for which, presumably, they would then be blamed. These leftist strategies (reminiscent of the Nazi “brown shirts” in the 1930’s) continued through the entire 2016 campaign and, then, even on Inaguration Day as well. And, conservative young college students have reported frequent leftist threats, intimidation and bullying on campus.
So, ladies and gentlemen, when American leftists ludicrously try to claim “higher moral ground”, a review of American history will show otherwise. And some reflection will further show how disgraceful their subterfuge is.
Footnote: Four US Presidents have been assassinated: Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley and Kennedy. (4/45=8.8%) Attempts have been carried out on TWELVE others: Buchanan (poison), Obama (a letter filled with RICIN),George W. Bush (a grenade), Clinton (a bomb), Truman (a bomb), FDR (gun), Ford (gun), Reagan (gun), (12/45=26%)