The U.S. presidential election is about to erupt in violence. Just yesterday, a group of angry Trump supporters in Texas surrounded a Biden campaign bus, leading to the cancellation of a campaign event.
Three quarters of Americans are worried about election violence, according to a new poll.
Election violence is nothing new, both in the United States and elsewhere. But is election violence always bad?
The contrarian view of the 2020 election is that violence is not just inevitable; it may be necessary.
Anyone who says violence solves nothing must have slept through history class. Violent protest, especially after a disputed election, have led to shifts in power in places like Bolivia and in Mali.
And where would the United States be now if the revolutionaries hadn’t taken up arms in 1776? Still a colony, perhaps.
Violence does solve some some things. It’s a dangerous idea, something people are afraid to say out loud.
But maybe they should.
What’s your dangerous idea? Send me an email. I’m also on Twitter.