I again see people on the right posting things to the effect that, \u201cWe can\u2019t live with these people.\u201d Well, you do live with them. And they live with you. And that\u2019s not likely to change. So we have to find a way to live together.
\nThat\u2019s not to say that nothing should be done. As they did with George Floyd\u2019s killing, there should be an expectation that the institutions of society collectively act to shut down behaviors that create a fertile climate for this sort of thing.
\nOne of them is the frequent labeling of Trump supporters and Republicans as \u201cNazis\u201d or \u201cfascists,\u201d which only serves to imply that it\u2019s legitimate to stop them by any means necessary, including violence. You may call the popular \u201cPunch a Nazi\u201d meme as an example of this, one that explicitly approved of violence.
\nAnother is open celebrations of murder, which we see in this case, but also to some extent in the killing of United Healthcare\u2019s president by Luigi Mangione and in the recent killing of the head of Blackstone\u2019s REIT.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
How much did Turning Point USA pay Utah Valley University for security? Do they get a refund?<\/p>\n
From today’s 2Way show, at the 19 minute mark:<\/p>\n
Jacob:
\nI\u2019m a Princeton student, currently on a two-year break working in marketing for my professor. I\u2019ve been a conservative my whole life. I grew up in Seattle\u2014that\u2019s where I am now.<\/p>\n
When I was in the Ivy League, which is very left-wing, there was this unspoken rule: you had to lie to your teachers and professors, it was harder to make friends, you had to keep a tight circle.<\/p>\n
The way I saw this story, I felt it on three levels. First, the grief for his family and friends\u2014especially his daughter, who will never see her father again. Second, the thoughts about stochastic terrorism, why this happened, and how he got shot. But the third, which I didn\u2019t expect, was people I knew telling me he deserved to die.<\/p>\n
When I asked them why, young Gen Z people said it was because of his opinions\u2014on abortion, on guns, views that I\u2019ve held my entire life. One person even refused to answer whether I deserve to die. That shocked me.<\/p>\n
Scrolling through Twitter and Reddit, glued to my phone these past few days, I\u2019ve seen people openly say these things. I don\u2019t know the percentage\u2014maybe it\u2019s 5%, maybe 25%\u2014but it\u2019s a huge number of people. They don\u2019t just want assassinations of other people; they\u2019re at least undecided on the assassination of me.<\/p>\n
Mark Halperin:
\nWow, Jacob. These aren\u2019t people you know, right? These are social media interactions?<\/p>\n
Jacob:
\nThere was one person I knew who refused to answer, and then thousands more I\u2019ve seen on social media. Honestly, my question to you is: what do I do with that information? I never realized how many people are this violent and hateful. I don\u2019t know what to do with that.<\/p>\n