President Donald Trump just made it clear that he already has his eyes set on a new target following the US’s capture of the president of Venezuela. During a press conference on Saturday, he urged Colombian President Gustavo Petro to ‘watch his ass.’ The threat marks a dramatic escalation in tensions across Latin America, with Trump openly invoking the Monroe Doctrine to assert US dominance in the Western Hemisphere.
Oh absolutely, they get off on it!
Here in Denmark, a climate activist was pushed down by a guard during our kings new years speech a few days ago. Most rational people agree that force was necessary (He didn’t move after being called out), and I agree. But the man was violently pushed to the ground. When he returned to the crowd, someone punched him in the face.
This was not a climate activist blocking public infrastructure, or sabotaging a grid. He pretty much just stood there for a moment with a sign, telling the public “Pull the emergency brake, climate collapse” before he was violently pushed to the ground and punched.
I’m not going to argue whether these things are appropriate, right, wrong, or what amount of force was necessary. But I do want to point out the glee, the frothing of the mouth, the absolute intense schadenfreude of every right-of-center person sharing his picture on social media. Everyone was roaring in approval, not just celebrating violence, but in many cases encouraging more of it.
People absolutely love this stuff. It’s intense tribalism, and it’s getting worse. I don’t remember it being like this 20 years ago.