“Norms around anti-violence are eroding”
Some people worry more about inflation, or about a recession. Members of Congress have to worry more these days about personal security (The Guardian):
Members of the US House of Representatives will now receive up to $10,000 to upgrade security at their homes in the face of rising threats against lawmakers, the House sergeant at arms announced last week, in yet another sign that American politics has entered a dangerous, violent new phase.
As support for political violence appears to be on the rise in the US, experts warn that such threats endanger the health of America’s democracy. But they say the country still has time to tamp down violent rhetoric if political leaders, particularly those in the Republican party, stand up and condemn this alarming behavior.
The announcement over increasing security for people in Congress came days after a man attacked Lee Zeldin, a New York congressman and Republican gubernatorial candidate, with a sharp object during a campaign event.
Two weeks before that, a man was arrested outside the home of Pramila Jayapal, chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, for allegedly shouting racist obscenities and threatening to kill her. Last month, authorities filed federal charges against a man who they say traveled from California to Maryland with the intent of murdering the supreme court justice Brett Kavanaugh.
Public service has clearly become an increasingly dangerous endeavor in America.
Public service includes election workers (some I know myself). Facing increased hostility, my local elections staff recently requested that the reception area get bulletproof glass (WRAL):
More than three-quarters of election officials say threats against them have increased, and more than half say they’re concerned about the safety of their colleagues, according to the survey, which was conducted by the Benenson Strategy Group in late January and early February on behalf of the Brennan Center for Justice, a think tank affiliated with the New York University School of Law.
Security concerns were evident this month during a convention in Wisconsin for the nonpartisan National Association of State Election Directors. The agenda was focused on a variety of risk management topics. Organizers attempted to keep the event location and some agenda topics hidden from the public. They also encouraged attendees—election officials from across the country—to remove their name tags in public, the Associated Press reported.
Those concerns have been present in North Carolina this year, too. In Surry County, for instance, the elections director requested police presence in the office’s parking lot to ensure workers get to their cars safely. The request came after a Surry County Republican Party leader threatened the director and demanded access to voting equipment, according to state elections, who have been monitoring the matter.
Our local staff did not get the bulletproof glass, WRAL reports, but public access now is more controlled.
The ongoing threats and attempts at intimidation make it more difficult to hire and retain temporary as well as permanent election workers.
The Guardian again:
According to a mega-survey conducted by researchers at University of California, Davis, and released this month, one in five US adults say political violence is justified at least in some circumstances. A much smaller portion of survey respondents, 3%, believe that political violence is usually or always justified.
Those may still be relatively low numbers, says Liliana Mason, a political science professor at Johns Hopkins University. But ?
“The problem is that, if you go from 7% to 20%, that means that there are certain social spaces where the norms around anti-violence are eroding.”
The US Capitol police reported 9,625 threats and directions of interest (meaning concerning actions or statements) against members of Congress last year, compared to 3,939 such instances in 2017.
The members of the House select committee investigating the January 6 insurrection have frequently been the targets of violent threats, requiring them to get personal security details.
One member of the committee, Republican Adam Kinzinger, recently shared a threatening letter sent to his wife last month. The sender vowed to execute Kinzinger, his wife and their newborn son. He is not seeking re-election in 2022.
One does not need to read the articles closely to know from which political party the bulk of the threats and intimidation is coming.
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