Direct Shot to the Ear

Violence is unacceptable in any circumstance. From genocidal wars such as the one carried out by Israel against the Palestinian people with the complicity of the United States, to the social injustice that subjects billions to the inclemency of hunger and forced displacement, or that of an alienated individual who massacres children in a school or assassinates or tries to assassinate a politician anywhere on the planet.

Because of the global connotation of the geographic space and the individual who was in the sights of a young man whose motive is still unknown — and probably never will be known because he was killed immediately by a Secret Service sniper shot — the attack against former U.S. President Donald Trump shook the world, given the possible consequences, although the shot only grazed his right ear.

There are elements that cannot be ignored when analyzing the events that transpired in the dusk of Saturday, July 13, at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. It was the last before the Republican National Convention, which this week makes Trump’s candidacy official. And many believe it essentially guaranteed Trump’s return to the White House.

The emergence of the United States as a state, its territorial growth, the shaping of American society and its culture as a nation are based on armed violence being more frequently employed than reconciliation.

The Constitution itself was amended early on to guarantee the right of citizens to possess and use arms as acceptable and daily items, rather than as dangerous and lethal instruments, to the point that it is the only country where there are more arms in civilian hands than there are inhabitants. In 44% of homes there are firearms, a highly lethal cocktail along with misalignment, xenophobia, racism and intolerance.

Any attempt to curb this trend has been unsuccessful because of the interests of producers and marketers, backed by the National Rifle Association. A simple fact — recently, in supermarkets in four states, ammunition vending machines have been installed that will allow you to buy the bullets you need as if you were buying a bar of chocolate or a soft drink.*

This armed violence is made official and “duty-bound” in the wars of prey and imperialism that have increased the economic, military and political power of the United States, and it has been glorified by the media and in entertainment. Celebrations of fact and fiction, combined with the picture of a heavily armed population, translate into shootings in homes or public spaces. It is a public health and human rights crisis, says a nongovernmental organization.

After the unfortunate Butler incident, another factor contributing to the spread of violence was unleashed: the immediate transmission, widespread through media and on social networks, of inaccurate information and conspiracy theories. This included a fairly tenuous and obscure one pointing to the attack being fomented by Democratic, progressive or left-wing political opponents, and even by President Joseph Biden himself.

Republican allies of Trump, including Sen. J.D. Vance**, Rep. Lauren Boebert and Rep. Mike Collins and former White House adviser Stephen Miller, quickly blamed the current president, claiming that the attack was the result of warnings that electing Trump to a second term would threaten democracy.

Such diffusion adds to the problem, given the current political fragility of a system that has become particularly risky during the present election campaign. It has increased political division and the convulsions of the country.

Trump himself has been a key instigator with his constant paranoid commands, the most notable expression of which was the assault on the U.S. Congress on Jan. 6, 2021. His far-right fanatical followers sought to prevent the outcome of the vote, because their president told them it was “rigged.”

Trump, in repeating his claim of possible fraud in the upcoming Nov. 5 election, was exonerated of any related responsibility when on July 1 the Supreme Court held, “Under our constitutional structure of separated powers, the nature of Presidential power entitles a former President to absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for actions within his conclusive and preclusive constitutional authority.”

None of these justifies the assassination attempt, but they do add fuel to the fire in a nation torn apart by violence. Americans and the world are asking one question: When will this end?

*Editor’s Note: Vending machines selling ammunition will now be in grocery stores in Alabama, Texas and Oklahoma.

**Editor’s Note: On the first night of the RNC, Donald Trump announced that Sen. J.D. Vance would be his running mate.