_Campbell Biemiller is a first-year journalism major at MU. She is an opinion columnist who writes about politics and entertainment for The Maneater._
A terrifyingly passionate Trump supporter tweeted the following after the Capitol raid:
“It’s a civil war in name only. The butchering maiming torturing will only be felt by commie-progressive-democrats and their commie families. The horror that is going to unfold will be glorious… what needs to happen is leftist-commie-democrat-traitor-politicians’ kids and grandkids need to be burned alive or thrown into wood chippers in front of them…”
The man who posted it realized its impact, apologized and deleted it, however it’s concerning that a human being could have the audacity to post such a thing and not understand how horrifying it was. Following this, I thought about coming back to Columbia from San Diego and remembered the election map in November. Kansas City, St. Louis and Columbia were three little blue dots in a sea of red.
Following the election in November, Missouri Trump supporters gathered in Jefferson City to protest the votes and Biden’s win with signs saying “Stop The Steal,” “Fight For Your Rights” and “Peaceful Protest.”
After Sen. Josh Hawley challenged the certification of the Electoral College results, Missouri gained negative attention nationally and American citizens poorly viewed the state. After seeing what people are capable of during the Capitol raid, the threats in the now-deleted tweet aren’t as shocking as they should be.
The raiders and people with obscene tweets are the reason many non-Trump supporters are concerned for the nation’s safety. They have demonstrated their hatred for many American citizens through their actions.
Hawley was a notable figure prior to the 2020 election. He attended Stanford and Yale, was regarded as one of the best lawyers and taught at one of London’s highest-ranked schools, St. Paul’s. He was a professor at MU’s law school in 2011.
Rather than using his power and influence for good to unite the community, he is knowingly engaging in civil vandalism and encouraging the chaos and violence that comes with it. People will follow him, therefore endangering peaceful citizens’ lives. This adds to the seemingly-allowed hatred stated earlier because many leaders aren’t condemning it.
The disheartening fact of the matter is tension arises when opposing political preferences are revealed in any conversation. For many, the immediate thoughts following are about protests, raids and pure violence. That violence insinuates fear and rests on many people’s minds as they go about their day.
Political discussion should be civil dialogue rather than debate. No matter the party, Americans share a beautiful country and need to work together to strengthen it.
America has learned Trump supporters are sore losers who turn to violence when they don’t get their way. Although the protest in Jefferson City in November was safe, the extremely divided climate of our country has only grown more divided.
While watching the Capitol raid, my mom cried and continuously said how scared she is for me to come back to Columbia. Being less than two weeks before my flight back, she was concerned with protests in the airports and on MU’s campus. While I hoped this would never happen, and thankfully it didn’t, I walked through the airport thinking about how these events could play out which is a thought no one should worry about.
America has a new president, and it’s time political parties are put aside to celebrate Biden’s win and accept Trump’s loss. The people voted, and the fighting and violence needs to end. We have a positive, reborn democracy, and until all Americans try to embrace that, our country will fall deeper into the mess created over the past four years.
_The Bail Project challenges the systematic oppression minorities face and works toward creating a more just bail system. We at The Maneater encourage you to donate to this cause. Donations can be made at: https://bailproject.org/mission/?form=donate_
_Edited by Sydney Lewis | slewis@themaneater.com_