One prediction that the violent behavior may spread to the left. (First shot in a class war.)

[pampango]

I have also written before about the risks in the rising gap between rich and poor. The chart below from the OECD relates the Gini coefficient, as a measure of income disparity, to social mobility. The US has a high level of income disparity but also a low level of social mobility, indicating that the "American Dream" is just that - a dream.



Now the chickens are coming home to roost. Consider this chart of the uneven recovery. Wall Street (the elite) wins and Main Street (everyone else) loses.



We may blame this specific shooting on the crazies on the Right, along with the Libertarians and the Tea Partiers. As the fruits of this recovery gets more and more uneven and we have to deal with the fallout (examples here and here), don't be surprised if there is a reaction from the Left in the not too distant future.

We used to call that "going Postal". I call this the first shot in a Class War.

http://seekingalpha.com/article/245712-a-first-shot-in-the-coming-class-war

We all know that income inequality is much worse than it has been in previous decades (going back to the 1920's) but social mobility is now worse than in Canada and most of Europe (except for the UK and Italy) - the death of the American Dream of upward mobility. The class war as been ongoing for a long time without much sign of violence from the left. Not sure why this author thinks that will change anytime soon.

[WinkyDink]

1. Some wars deserve to be fought.

[emulatorloo]

2. This shit isn't helpful - it boils down to a justification of what happened this past weekend

I don't think DU want to be the place that advocates political violence against politicians.

[CLANG]

3. I know of no liberals capable of doing such a thing.

Liberals are loving and altruistic. Now if this kind of "hit" becomes more common place, all bets are off. We may be against war, but sometimes you just need to defend yourselves.

[Name removed]

4. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[barbiegeek]

5. The class warfare shot won't be a dem but a CEO

i don't agree with your arguement.

[alfredo]

13. The CEO's are not worried, they can buy armor plated cars and

hire mercenaries to protect them. If things get real bad they can jump into their corporate jet and leave us behind. It is best to work within the system to change the system before things get to the point where people feel the need for violence.

Violent uprising never end well. We need to look to more civilized nations like Poland and the Ukraine to see how they peacefully changed their governments.

[proud2BlibKansan]

6. Well, get back to us when a conservative gets shot

[StreetKnowledge]

7. Well, technically, a Conservative Judge got killed yesterday.....

But I think we all see your point.

[proud2BlibKansan]

9. Who was that?

[Posteritatis]

17. John Roll. (nt)

[alfredo]

22. He wasn't the target, though he had raised the ire of the Tea Party

because of a ruling he recently made. The poor guy just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

[justiceischeap]

8. I think there's a huge difference between class warfare and the wholesale denigration of a pol party

If the lower class rises up at some point in history, it isn't a lib/conservative issue because there are plenty of conservatives that are poor. I think the argument that the "left" will rise up, as if we're the only one's who are affected by the poor economy and what's being done to divide the economic classes, is limited, shortsighted and dangerous. If there ever is a class uprising, it won't be along political lines but socio-economic instead.

[socialist_n_TN]

11. All true. BUT we've got to be cognizent..........

of who's trying to kill us at any one time. I'm sure there were MANY Brown Shirts in Germany in the 30s who were part of the lower classes, but that didn't stop them from trying to kill the left wing Communists and even trade unionists. Until these people realize whose side they're REALLY on, we have to be careful that they don't destroy us BEFORE they come to the realization of who their REAL enemies are.

That said, I consider the lower economic classes, NO MATTER WHAT SIDE THEY'RE ON POLITICALLY AT THIS TIME, as prime targets for education/agitation.

[justiceischeap]

14. As a lesbian, I'm always cognizant of who wants to kill/disrespect me and...

that too doesn't cleave cleanly along party lines. It's gotten better here on DU but it wasn't too long ago that there weren't hateful things said about gays and our issues losing "us" elections. Us being the Dems.

[postulater]

10. The anti-war demonstrations in the 70s were certainly heated but

when people started getting killed, it shut down pretty quick.

The anti-war Left was not about violence then. And we aren't this time either.

[alfredo]

12. I've been trying to tell people that the wide disparity of wealth

can destabilize our society. We are not unique, we are not immune.

Social justice is not a dirty word (though the right wing says it is), it is one way to prevent America from descending into chaos.

[pampango]

15. Good point.As income inequality continues to widen it tears at the fabric of society.

While the left here is not prone to violence relative to the tendencies of the right, the continuing destabilization of society in this manner won't lead to a good place.

Most, if not all, of the demagogues inciting (or at least planting the seeds of) violence are right wing. But as the disparity between or "haves" and "have-nots" continues to widen, that may not always be the case. We are not immune to what has happened in other societies in which destabilization has continued past the point of no return.

[alfredo]

16. The violence by Muslims in Europe is because they have been

denied a stake in society because of their religion or skin color. The same thing happens when people have no hope of ever advancing economically.

[Last_Stand]

19. In addition to the wealth disparity...

education has been under siege for decades now.

Critical thinking is not something that is taught or encouraged, and mass media/entertainment is becoming more and more propagandized.

My friends call me a pessimist about the future of this country, but I consider myself a realist.

[alfredo]

24. An educated, informed, and strong middle class is our greatest defense

against tyranny.

[Cleita]

18. A lot of the poor have RW ideology and vote

for Republicans against their own best interests. The Republicans tell them that the Democrats are at fault for their problems and they believe them. So it will be the Democrats and not the Republicans who will be victims if those poor become violent.

[Last_Stand]

21. My inlaws in the midwest share this quality...

They and their neighbors have voted for republicans for generations and yet they attribute their state's woes to the liberals.

These are only a handful of the culturally ingrained problems I've encountered out there.

[Rex]

20. Why are people so desperate here to make the left out to be

as bad as the Rwingers!?!?! Pathetic, sad and wrong.

Some people around here really do show their true colors when we have a national crisis that puts Repukes squarely in the blame collum,

I'm sorry, but you and the others are WRONG.

Lefties don't start shit, we finish it.

[Doctor_J]

26. Their gurus on Hate Radio told them to today

I fucking hate these people.

[readmoreoften]

23. This has nothing to do with class war.

[Doctor_J]

25. WTF?

you're predicting that "the left" will engage in violence?????

Why don't you go to the clue station before posting? Here. This might help.

http://www.csgv.org/issues-and-campaigns/guns-democracy-and-freedom/insurrection-timeline

[nadinbrzezinski]

27. When we officially enter civil war

but we will first see a lot more low level violence...

The noise machine has not stopped.

[TheKentuckian]

28. Whole different ballgame. At some point a reaction is self defense.

Platitudes and civility don't provide shelter or fill bellies.

You don't besiege millions of people for long without EARNING a reaction.