2017-06-15 – Did left-wing rhetoric case yesterday’s shooting at the GOP baseball practice?

Alt-Right seems to think so. Much of the left is chalking it up to an individual crazy person. They are both right—and both wrong. We like things to be all black and white, but they aren’t.

We live in a time when everything is extreme. We can’t just disagree with people. We demonize. Our rhetoric is hitlergenic. Everything is life or death. The right does it. The left does it. And it’s not just politics. It’s sports. It’s business. It’s food.

(Yes, food. Mashed potatoes aren’t on the menu any more. Flamin’ taters are what you get to eat these days.)

The world is filled with crazy people. People who have gone over the edge or are about to. People who don’t know how to direct rage. So when society steeps these individuals in our social-media stew of jalapenos and habaneros, we give them direction. We might never pull the trigger ourselves, but they do happily.

It’s a combination of causes—some individual and some societal.

And a left-wing crank can be inspired by right-wing rhetoric and a right-wing crank can be inspired by left-wing rhetoric. Because, let’s face it, we’re all playing off each other: One echo chamber reverberating off the sound of the other echo chamber.

It’s your fault. No, it’s your fault. Bang. Repeat.