Violence in America has reached a breaking point. And let’s be clear: it’s not over. Not even close. It will not be over as long as hate groups march proudly in our streets.
It will not be over as long as white supremacists and Proud Boys wave their flags without shame, and as long as right-wing media giants shovel lies into millions of homes every night.
It will not be over as long as Donald Trump and his loyalists cling to power with propaganda.
It will not be over as long as Russia and China flood our feeds with bots spreading disinformation designed to divide us.
This is not an accident. It’s not bad luck. It’s not random. It is cause and effect. It is hate deliberately amplified. It is conspiracy theories treated like truth. It is lies dressed up as “news.”
And every time someone profits from that hate — whether for money, power, or clicks — Americans pay the price in blood.
The Receipts Written in Blood
Yes, what happened to Charlie Kirk was a tragedy. Violence is never the answer.
But I have something to say to the pearl-clutchers on the right: take those pearls you keep wringing, rip them off your neck, and shove them where the sun doesn’t shine.
YOU built this climate of violence. YOU opened the door. YOU poured gasoline on the fire, handed out matches, and now you weep when the flames scorch your own?
The receipts are clear. We don’t need to imagine the cost. We can list it — name after name, tragedy after tragedy:
Charleston, 2015: Nine worshippers murdered during Bible study in Charleston by white supremacist Dylann Roof.
Orlando, 2016: Forty-nine people gunned down at an LGBTQ nightclub.
Charlottesville, 2017: Heather Heyer killed and 28 others injured at a white nationalist rally, fueled by lies and hate spread by right-wing media and conspiracy mongers.
Pittsburgh, 2018: Eleven Jews slaughtered at the Tree of Life synagogue.
El Paso, 2019: Twenty-three innocent people executed at a Walmart by a man radicalized by anti-immigrant propaganda.
Michigan, 2020: A plot uncovered to kidnap and murder Governor Gretchen Whitmer, born from online conspiracies.
Washington, 2021: January 6th — a violent coup attempt fueled by Trump’s lies. Ten people dead in the carnage.
Buffalo, 2022: Ten shot dead in a grocery store because of the color of their skin.
Allen, Texas, 2023: Eight killed in a mall.
Jacksonville, 2023: Three more executed in a Dollar General because they were Black.
And these are just the high-profile massacres. They don’t include the everyday hate crimes, the school shootings inspired by extremist rhetoric, the domestic terrorism plots that the FBI quietly thwarts before they explode.
Different cities. Different states. Same poison. Same ideology. Same enablers.
Not Random. Targeted
This violence is not random. It is not “senseless.” It is deliberate. It is targeted.
It is aimed at anyone who does not fit the narrow, hateful vision of “real America.”
The targets are clear:
Black Americans, still demonized and dehumanized generations after slavery.
Jewish communities, targeted with centuries-old antisemitic tropes recycled online.
Muslims, painted as enemies within by the same politicians who thrive on fear.
Immigrants, scapegoated for every problem from jobs to crime.
LGBTQ Americans, demonized for existing.
Women, attacked for daring to control their own bodies and futures.
Public officials, threatened and stalked for daring to stand against the tide of authoritarianism.
This isn’t random madness. It’s organized hate, dressed up as patriotism, spoon-fed daily by talking heads and political hacks who know exactly what they’re doing.
The Hypocrisy
The hypocrisy could choke you.
These are the same people who scream “law and order” while excusing mobs that beat cops with flagpoles on January 6.
The same politicians who howl about “antifa” while ignoring white nationalist militias training with assault rifles in the woods.
The same pundits who mourn when one of their own faces violence but dismiss the slaughter of Black shoppers, Jewish worshippers, or LGBTQ clubgoers as background noise.
They want to play both arsonist and firefighter — setting the blaze and then pretending to be horrified at the smoke.
They cheer the hate when it serves them and clutch their pearls when it turns back on them.
They want to live in a world where violence against “the other” is acceptable, even desirable, but violence against themselves is unthinkable.
That’s not just hypocrisy. That’s moral rot.
The Real Danger
Here’s the part too many Americans don’t want to face: hate is not just words. Lies are not just entertainment. Conspiracy theories are not just “political theater.”
Every racist rant, every dog whistle, every online thread about “replacement theory,” every wink at QAnon lunacy — it’s all ammunition.
And the guns keep firing.
This is how democracies collapse. Not just with coups or dictatorships, but with steady corrosion.
Normalize the lies. Dehumanize your opponents. Stoke fear. Spread conspiracy theories.
And then sit back while ordinary people, radicalized by those lies, pick up weapons and carry out the violence their leaders only hint at.
We are living in that danger right now.
The proof is in the funerals.
The American Disease
Yes, America has always had hate groups. But what’s different now is how mainstream they’ve become.
When Fox News runs white replacement theory in prime time, it’s not fringe anymore.
When sitting members of Congress speak at rallies hosted by white nationalists, it’s not fringe anymore.
When Trump calls neo-Nazis “very fine people,” it’s not fringe anymore.
The disease has gone mainstream.
It’s in our politics. It’s in our schools. It’s in our homes through television and social media.
And unless we confront it, it will rot this country from the inside out.
Enough Is Enough
So no — don’t tell me to calm down.
Don’t tell me it’s “both sides.”
Don’t tell me to move on.
The blood on our streets is not an accident.
It is the direct result of choices — the choice to spread lies, to amplify hate, to worship power over people.
If we want to end this violence, we have to call it what it is.
We have to strip away the excuses.
We have to stop treating hate merchants like just another “side” in a debate.
They are not. They are dangerous. They are disgusting. And they are deadly.
The time for politeness is over.
The time for “both sides” is over.
The time for pretending lies don’t kill people is over.
What Needs to Happen
Anger is not enough.
Outrage is not enough.
America needs action.
Crack Down on Disinformation
Social media companies and media outlets must be held accountable for spreading lies that radicalize people into violence.
Freedom of speech does not mean freedom to profit from propaganda that kills.
Confront Hate Groups Directly
White supremacist organizations, militias, and domestic terror groups must be treated as the national security threat they are.
They are not patriots. They are enemies within.
Protect the Vulnerable
Communities targeted by hate — Black, Jewish, Muslim, LGBTQ, immigrant — deserve protection, solidarity, and resources.
They are not collateral damage. They are America.
Demand Moral Accountability
Politicians and pundits who peddle hate must be exposed, named, and shamed.
Their sponsors, their donors, their networks must feel the pressure of public outrage.
Strengthen Democracy
The ultimate weapon against hate is a functioning democracy.
That means protecting voting rights, upholding the rule of law, and ensuring power cannot be hoarded by those who spread lies to cling to it.
The Final Word
Because here’s the truth: violence in America is not an accident.
It is the plan.
It is the outcome of a system that rewards liars, elevates hate, and shrugs at death as long as it’s “someone else’s problem.”
And until we face that, the body count will keep climbing.
So yes, I’m angry.
Yes, I’m shouting.
And no, I won’t calm down.
Because calm has gotten us nowhere. Civility has gotten us nowhere. Appeasement has gotten us nowhere.
If America wants to stop drowning in blood, it has to stop pretending hate is just another opinion.
Hate is not debate.
Hate is not politics.
Hate is violence, waiting for its moment.
And unless we tear it out by the root, it will destroy us all.
By Jennifer Geer
Thank you Jennifer. I’d like to carry this around as a hand-out for all the righties who claim it’s left-wing rhetoric stoking the flames.
Please do share it wherever you can!
Nothing has erupted. The slaughter has been in place since the Europeans came to the shores of North America. Now the power brokers own the rest of us. FACT. So…the question remains…where do YOU stand? Either be a victim…or be free. Either way there’s a cost…but being a victim is a dark dark dark road. At least with freedom you can resist by just choosing freedom.
I second the thought, Ioha.
Thank you
Lone wolves
Not just lone wolves. Also wolves in packs. Even, as we saw on Jan.6 a giant herd of stampeding wolves.
I agree with you on that one!
So well expressed, and in support of your above essay, on this issue, may I take the liberty to post the following words and thoughts, too:
“… The Killing of Charlie Kirk and the Political Violence Haunting America
“I think the evidence is clear that we’re at a dangerous point of potential escalation,” says Shannon Hiller, executive director of Princeton University’s Bridging Divides Initiative, which tracks political violence in the United States. A range of forces, she argues—the widespread use of dehumanizing rhetoric, the availability of firearms, the spread of disinformation, vanishing trust in institutions—have converged to create an intractable problem. “It’s the confluence of all of these things that we’re living in,” she says. “And it’s why it’s so hard to put a finger on a single solution to get us out of it.” [TIME SEP 11, 2025 11:40 AM AET]
Thank you
Please share
I do hope we will hear more from you. This was impactful. Hard hitting because it was so well written. We need voices like yours speaking out.
Being an old fart I’d add this. Going back three or four decades violence from RWNJ/conservatives has been steady. Much of it over abortion. Bombings of clinics, murder of providers and I’d also not lawyers and even some judges. And seeing Mark Kelly on TV talking about this we have to remember what happened to Gabby Giffords. People died at that small public appearance and it’s a miracle she survived and partially recovered.
Finally, one huge difference being lost in the attempts by news outlets to “both sides” this is that while some conservatives have been targeted over the past four decades it’s CONSERVATIVES, not liberals who’ve voiced hints at and sometimes outright “they deserve to die” rhetoric. Even a network came into being where such rhetoric became common. I call bullshit on ANYONE who says there’s been anything like this from progressives. Those who do say awful things are roundly and loudly condemned and ostracized. Republicans elect them, or donate to their organizations!
Finally, as you say Fox mainlines this into MAGA’s bloodstream in prime time every weeknight. Ingraham, Waters and Hannity make up what I often call their “Three Hour White Power” lineup and there is NOTHING like it that’s ever come from the left.
Like you I’m angry at where this has led and won’t shut up about it. And as someone who got his first shotgun at age seven and has had firearms most of my life I say we need SERIOUS gun control including taking away certain weapons. With lengthy prison sentences for those who defy new laws mandating certain weapons be turned in.
As I wrote elsewhere yesterday there are lots of FREE countries, allies of ours who have pretty much the same freedoms WE have. But they don’t have this political violence, especially with guns that we do. Why? Because while many of them do allow private gun ownership what type of guns and who gets to have them is far more regulated than here.
Anyway, I’m sure I’m not the only one who hopes we’ll hear from you again. I’d be willing to bet our readers would love to hear your thoughts on a variety of matters and on a regular basis.
Thank you for your kind acknowledgement’ that means a lot to me.
Brilliant, Brilliant piece of writing! Lets hear more from you!
I’m sure you will. Thank you!
So good, so on point! This is the truth we all need to hear and say. Thank you Jennifer and I also hope we hear more from you.
Thank you. yes, you will, after what happened to Charlie Kirk is ripping America apart! The right is doing summersaults to blame the left!
Thank you
“Because here’s the truth: violence in America is not an accident.
It is the plan.
It is the outcome of a system that rewards liars, elevates hate, and shrugs at death as long as it’s “someone else’s problem.” ”
And so, gunshot is the leading cause of death for children in The USA, and this is less important than the right of a minority of people to obtain and carry and shoot weapons anywhere they want.
Their freedom is somehow more important than the lives of children.
Because it has been well marketed.
I agree with everything you are saying!
Thank you
Thank you!