If you ask me, both sides are a shitshow and deserving of great disdain. Sadly, a new party isn't an option, so most of the resulting violence from this carefully orchestrated mess is, by all appearances, justified in many ways.
Just to give this credence, here is what I could find on right-wing violence since Trump took office:
Charlottesville, VA — Vehicular murder at “Unite the Right” rally (James Alex Fields Jr.)
James Alex Fields Jr. drove his car into counter-protesters at the white-supremacist “Unite the Right” rally, killing Heather Heyer and injuring many others.
Pittsburgh, PA — Tree of Life synagogue massacre (Robert Bowers)
Robert Bowers attacked the Tree of Life synagogue in a racially/ethnically motivated antisemitic mass shooting, killing multiple worshippers.
Poway, CA — Chabad synagogue shooting (John T. Earnest)
John T. Earnest opened fire at a synagogue and related sites, killing one person and injuring others; his statements and manifesto indicated white-supremacist/anti-Semitic motives.
El Paso, TX — Walmart mass shooting (Patrick Crusius)
Patrick Crusius carried out a mass shooting at a shopping center that targeted Hispanic shoppers; authorities treated the attack as racially motivated and linked to white-supremacist ideology.
2018 U.S. mail bombing campaign (Cesar Sayoc)
Cesar Sayoc mailed explosive devices to prominent Democratic officials, media figures, and critics of the administration in a politically motivated bombing campaign.
Kenosha, WI — Fatal shootings by Kyle Rittenhouse
Kyle Rittenhouse shot three people during unrest; two died. The incident involved a self-described militia/armed civilian presence and became nationally prominent for its political context.
Plot to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer (Wolverine Watchmen and affiliated militia members)
A group of militia-affiliated individuals plotted to kidnap Governor Whitmer; several were arrested and charged in a politically motivated domestic terrorism plot.
Buffalo, NY — Tops supermarket racist mass shooting (Payton Gendron)
Payton Gendron attacked a supermarket in a predominantly Black neighborhood, killing Black shoppers in an explicitly white-supremacist, racist mass shooting.
January 6, 2021 — U.S. Capitol attack (multiple individuals and organized extremist groups)
Thousands breached the Capitol in a coordinated violent insurrection that included assaults on officers, property destruction, and the killing of participants; members and leaders of extremist groups (including factions tied to the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys) carried out and coordinated violent actions and later faced seditious-conspiracy and related charges; at least one participant (Ashli Babbitt) was fatally shot during the breach and multiple law-enforcement officers were assaulted (with subsequent deaths and major injuries and prosecutions linked to the attack).
Seditious-conspiracy and related violent coordination by militia/organized extremist leaders
Leaders and senior members of organized right-wing extremist groups were prosecuted for planning, coordinating, and directing violent actions (notably in connection with the January 6 events), including charges of seditious conspiracy tied to violent breach and assault.
Atomwaffen/neo-Nazi-affiliated murders and plots (multiple individuals)
Members or associates of neo-Nazi cells (including individuals linked to Atomwaffen and similar networks) committed targeted murders and violent plots motivated by racist, anti-LGBTQ, or accelerationist ideology (examples include the murder of a student tied to an alleged neo-Nazi follower and other fatal attacks and plots linked to these networks).
Attempted kidnapping/assault of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband (David DePape / assault on Paul Pelosi)
An assailant broke into the Pelosi residence and violently attacked Paul Pelosi with a weapon; the attack was politically motivated with references to extremist political conspiracy content.
Violent attacks by self-described “sovereign citizens,” antigovernment extremists, and armed militia on law enforcement and federal targets
Across the period, multiple antigovernment extremists and militia adherents engaged in violent attacks, ambushes, and plots against law-enforcement officers, federal facilities, and public officials (including arrests and convictions for plots to bomb, ambush, or assassinate officials).
Targeted political violence and racially motivated assaults by individual extremists (multiple incidents)
Numerous individual attackers with documented right-wing, white-supremacist, or extremist political motives carried out assaults, murders, and terroristic acts against minority communities, elected officials, journalists, and protesters over this period.
Here is what I could find for the left since Trump first took office:
Alexandria, VA — Congressional baseball practice shooting (James T. Hodgkinson)
A politically motivated shooter who expressed strong opposition to Republican politicians opened fire at a GOP congressional baseball practice, wounding Representative Steve Scalise and others; the attack has been widely reported as perpetrated by a left-leaning lone actor.
Portland, OR — Killing of Aaron “Jay” Danielson during protests (Michael Reinoehl)
During clashes between right-wing and left-wing demonstrators in Portland, an individual who identified with anti-fascist/anti-right groups shot and killed a right-wing demonstrator; the shooter was later killed by law-enforcement during an attempted apprehension.
Portland, OR — Attacks on federal courthouse and law-enforcement during 2020 protests (multiple individuals)
During sustained 2020 demonstrations, protesters and affiliated militants threw explosive devices and incendiaries at the federal courthouse and assaulted federal agents; several participants were arrested and charged with attacks on officers and property.
Berkeley, CA — Violent clashes and property destruction at “anti-fascist” counter-protests (2017–2018)
Counter-protesters opposing far-right speakers engaged in organized clashes that included physical assaults, use of improvised projectiles, and instances of arson and vandalism against property and vehicles at multiple campus demonstration events.
Attacks and sabotage attributed to eco- or animal-rights extremists (various incidents)
Individuals and small cells claiming eco-direct-action or animal-rights motives carried out arson, vandalism, and sabotage (including firebombing vehicles and facilities and targeted property destruction) aimed at businesses, research facilities, and infrastructure tied to animal testing, logging, or fossil-fuel projects.
Vandalism and violent confrontations targeting immigration enforcement and ICE facilities (multiple incidents)
Anti-immigration-enforcement protests included episodes where agitators attacked law-enforcement personnel, assaulted officers, and vandalized or attempted forcible entry into ICE or detention facilities during demonstrations opposing deportations and detention policies.
Assaults and coordinated attacks against right-wing events and demonstrators (multiple cities)
Across several rallies and demonstrations (including but not limited to rallies for controversial speakers or right-wing causes), organized left-wing groups and autonomous cells engaged in planned confrontations that resulted in assaults, use of blunt instruments, and targeted attacks on rival demonstrators and organizers.
Firebombing and arson attacks claimed by anonymous radical feminist/abortion-rights cells (incidents of targeted property destruction)
Groups claiming responsibility for attacks on crisis-pregnancy centers and related property (destruction, arson, or attempted arson) in protest of anti-abortion policies or rhetoric carried out coordinated campaigns of property damage and fire attacks.
Sporadic assassination attempts, bomb threats, and targeted violent threats by individual left-wing extremists (multiple prosecutions)
Individual actors with radical leftist, anarchist, or anti-fascist sympathies carried out or plotted targeted violent acts (including threats, attempted bombings, and assassination plots) against public officials, journalists, or perceived ideological opponents; several were arrested and prosecuted.
Participation of identified activists or authority figures in violent acts or directed violent tactics (documented prosecutions)
A limited number of prominent activists or organizers associated with far-left movements were publicly documented or prosecuted for planning, directing, or participating in violent clashes, incendiary attacks, or conspiracies to commit property destruction and assaults during demonstrations.
I feel like if we legalized and regulated mutual combat, much of the issues we face today would seemingly disappear. Just a silly little thought I play with, though, nothing I take too seriously. People want an outlet during these times when everything is going to shit, bread and wine as it were, about time we got some.
