The recent violent attack on Nancy Pelosi’s husband by a home intruder wielding a hammer and the subsequent shocking commentary by various right-wing personalities illustrate how very low public civility has fallen in America. The intruder at the Pelosi home has confessed to police that his attack resulted from an attempt to kidnap and traumatize Pelosi, speaker of the House of Representatives.
In the immediate aftermath: Donald Trump Jr. bizarrely tweeted a photo of his recommended Halloween costume of men’s underwear and a hammer; Elon Musk tweeted that the Pelosi attack was a gay tryst gone bad; and Kari Lake, Republican candidate for governor of Arizona, mocked the Pelosi attack at a political event.
How has American political discourse descended so deeply into derisive crudity and violence? Let me posit five contributing factors: misogyny, racism, a thirst for power, unprincipled opportunism and an abandonment of empirical facts (popularly known as the post-truth world).
Misogyny has been evident on the periphery of American politics since Hillary Clinton became a lightning rod for Republican ire as she was given prominent roles in her husband’s presidency in the early 1990s. This culminated with Donald Trump’s ceaseless “lock her up” rants during the 2016 presidential election. Nancy Pelosi has been the target of similar virulent verbal attacks by Republican since becoming one of the most effective speakers of the House in a generation. Apparently, many men feel...
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