I guess I should start this off by saying that I believe that the attempt on 45’s life was staged (by him) in an attempt to generate feelings of sympathy & manipulate passions towards him days before the Republican National Convention. His media buzz was waning & the only thing that would garner him more attention than saying something incendiary would be for him to be attacked while getting ready to say something incendiary. It is difficult for me to believe that the same man who hired actors to play supporters as he announced his candidacy for the presidency, the same man who supported his former running mate, Mike Pence, being killed, wouldn’t produce a spectacle to ultimately win a ticket back into the White House. You may consider this to be nothing more than conspiracy theory, but, in truth, his record, rhetoric & recklessness make my contention more reasonable than ridiculous. It doesn’t matter if you think I’m wrong. What is worth considering is whether or not you’d really be surprised if I was right.
But…what if it actually was? What if someone actually tried to murder a presidential candidate on a campaign trail?
It certainly wouldn’t be the first time that someone resorted to violent measures to silence a figure of influence. In fact, American history is stained with the blood of those who were problematic to someone else’s agenda. Abraham Lincoln James Garfield, Medgar Evers, Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, John & Robert Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, Clementa Pickney along with numerous others were all attacked or murdered because of their stances. The trend that prefers extermination over diplomacy, sniper rifles over statesmanship, is deeply woven into the fabric of American politics. If someone, under their own volition, actually tried to murder 45, it wouldn’t be unprecedented.
If what they said happened actually happened the way that they said it happened, that would say to us that there is a lapse of confidence in everyday American people in 45 to do what is in the best, most moral interest of the nation. The action would give presence to a high level of desperation to keep 45 out of office. The act of violence would represent a feeling of powerlessness.
If what happened 5 days ago was a legitimate attempt on his life and not a staged act to bolster his fame, we would have to consider the reaction from the communities which he has done harm to (especially Black faith communities). That act put tension on the belief of many a believer. In my tradition, the biblical admonition to “pray for those who persecute you” was put to the test. How to feel about someone who has been so unconcerned about our lives potentially losing their own life became the question. The event would have exposed those whose theological orientation is more Christian nationalist than liberational in their own contexts. This would potentially divide our political power come election time (which is why, by the way, we absolutely should not allow it to).
The function of the nation across history has lent to a healthy level of skepticism from those who have suffered violence because of it. My survival while existing under this empire demands that I think critically about the moments I find myself in. What makes most sense to me as an American African is that my intuition be at least explored and not ignored
I choose not to celebrate any human being subject to harm. Reports are that someone tried to take his life and (as my belief in Jesus requires) my prayers are toward him & his family. My prayers are not an political endorsement of his campaign nor will I allow them to be engineered as such. They said it was an assassination attempt & all they show us point to that being the case. Ok. Sure. That being said…
I believe that the attempt on 45’s life was staged (by him) in an attempt to generate feelings of sympathy towards & manipulate passions towards him days before the Republican National Convention.
But what if it actually was?
