Is Biden as guilty as Trump for recent “political” murder?

Question

Apparently this guy ran over a trump supporter after a political discussion. Though neither he nor the Jan 6ers seem to be reliable.

nightdrot · Accepted Answer

Yes, but NOT in the way the question generally suggests. Rather, this episode - as with January 6th - is a consequence of the populism that both President Biden and former President Trump share. They are thought of as being political polar opposites, but in fact the differences between them could be measured with a micrometer.

To start, the first individual who is responsible for any crime is the individual who committed the crime. There is an irreducible element of personal responsibility that is being lost in the effort by each side to blame the other for the actions of individuals. Indeed, the effort to define crime as a social construct, born of social pathologies, is what is justifying much of the "soft on crime" mentality that afflicts the nation. After all, if society is responsible for human imperfection, than those who commit crimes are as much victims as those who were actual victims of crime. It is, to say no more, a warped view born of the ideas found particularly in Rousseau in the 18th century Enlightenment.

In this particular case, it appears that the criminal was drunk and the young man who was killed appears not to have been politically involved at all. Indeed, it is revealing that the accused - who was let out free on a very light bail, by the way - simply went for an excuse that he believed would earn him sympathy. This all has yet to be confirmed, but it is revealing that an accused drunk driver and murderer thought it was efficacious to fall back on political explanations for his actions.

This here being where the nexus between Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump is revealed. For all their alleged policy differences - and for the most part both support policies that are well within the mainstream of American politics - Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump, the former peevishly, the latter bombastically, make a populist appeal. Populism being the appeasing of the envy, resentment and self-pity in the culture. Characteristics where the finger of blame is pointed at anyone other than back at the population whose choices, freely made, are what has brought the nation to where it is.

The greatest political leaders in American history are those who sought to elevate the character of society. As Lincoln put it, summoning "the better angels of our nature." This Lincoln did. As did figures like James Madison, Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan. They used humor, eloquence and acted as much as possible to unify society. Please note, by the way, these were philosophically, in many respects, very different figures, often in opposition to each other. Yet for all those policy differences, they sought a politics that unified society and called the individual to a higher standard.

By contrast, former President Jimmy Carter once said, "I will give you a government as good as the American people." Suffice to say, the people, in making themselves the standard of their own purity and goodness, have made a reasonable and elevating politics all but impossible. Thus the ever self-pitying Mr. Trump and Mr. Biden.

So the answer is "Yes," Mr. Biden's rhetoric has helped - as Mr. Trump's did before him - the American public to feel sorry for themselves and for any subset of that public to blame anyone other than themselves. The January 6th riots were not organized by Mr. Trump - as the Hollywood produced Congressional hearings have amply - if unintentionally - demonstrated. Rather they were the product of a self-pitying segment of the population who fancy themselves oppressed and therefore the rule of law is to be dispensed with.

Similarly, Mr. Biden, with his positively grotesque speech calling his political opponents fascists - only to then walk it back and then back the other way and back and so on - is simply indulging the biases and emotions of his supporters. This then making it fashionable for drunk drivers to kill young teenaged men.

So it goes. The American public reaps what it sews.

Stoner710 · Accepted Answer

No I don’t think Joe Biden is responsible for the recent political martyrs I think he is toning up the rhetoric but rhetoric does not equal a call to action. If I say go kill Joe Bob Smith because he is Pro death than I am calling on people to go murder Joe Bob Smith. If I say Joe Bob Smith is wrong for his opinions on abortion and we need to fight like hell in order to stop abortions from happening that is not a call to action that is toning up the rhetoric, but it’s not a call to action. There is a difference and I’m going to all the same standards as I would for Republicans and Democrats

(This is just an example and I’m not calling for some dude who is named Joe Bob Smith I don’t even know he exist this is only an example nor is trying to get into a pro life versus pro death debate I’m just using the example)

cth96190 · Answer

Trump is not guilty of promoting violence and murder. He has not done that. Not once.
Multiple Democrats are on video inciting violence and murder.
Re the Democrat who ran over and killed a Republican after a political discussion, I read today that the murderer had been released.
Okay, so be it.
That sends another signal to patriots that the legal system is another tool of the Democrats and that there is no justice to be had by patriots.
So, when Democrats commit crimes against patriots, the only way to seek redress is for patriots to act directly against the offenders.

Anonymous · Answer

The left made this big squeal that Trump has inspired his zombies to kill journalists because he has called them fake news. Did that happen? No.

What we got instead was a Democrat politician allegedly killing a journalist, who ended up remaining in office and not in jail, and this lunatic right here claiming that the guy he ran over was a "republican extremist".

Many point to the speech where Biden gave a message like "Won't someone rid me of this meddlesome priest" to Trump and those who voted for him in 2020 and want to vote for him now. I doubt that was the inspiration, unless specifically stated, because there has been political violence and killings of this nature ever since Antifa became a thing.

Juxtapose · Answer

Biden gave a pretty inflammatory speech that I think should not be acceptable but I would not blame him directly for this. He did not put a gun to the murderer's head and force them to do this, people are 100% responsible for their own actions

exitseven · Answer

The only person who killed anyone on Jan6th at the Capitol was a trigger happy security guard that shot an un armed woman for trespassing.

goaded · Answer

Did Biden ever say anything to suggest that people should be violent towards his political opponents? No. Did Trump? Yes. So: no.

AngryCarl · Answer

Calling out fascists doesn't make Biden a murderer. You people are batshit crazy.

Anonymous · Answer

Nope, January the 6th was completely different. That was a terrorist attack on democracy. This is completely different.

msc545 · Answer

When you post poor-quality photos and then cut off the edges the results are useless.

jshm2 · Answer

That's a false dichotomy, kiddo

dustybiker · Answer

Fair is fair.

Is Biden as guilty as Trump for recent “political” murder?

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