A rising number of young people are embracing the idea that political violence is acceptable, thanks in part to increasingly hysterical Democratic rhetoric and the tolerance of blatant acts of violence on the national stage.
A Politico-Public First poll found that 36% of adults aged 18 to 24 believe “there are some instances where violence is justified” when it comes to politics. So, too, do 35% of 25-34 year olds and 34% of 35-44 year olds. That number shrinks among the older age brackets (21% for ages 45-54, 16% for ages 55-64, and just 7% for those aged 65 and up). Notably, the 18-24 age demographic is the only one in the poll where a majority of people said they do not have friends who support a different political party.
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This is the result of several matters that have been festering for years, beginning in higher education. Universities have soft-peddled political violence from left-wingers to the point that many of them have hired people who support Hamas terrorists or people who were domestic terrorists themselves. Those people have gained increasing power over universities throughout the decades, shaping impressionable college students in the mold of increasingly radical left-wing politics.
This finally came to a head in 2016, when it became clear that young people were being drawn to the extreme political ideas of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT). Sanders, a communist who rants about the necessity of “revolution,” was considered a hot commodity among young Democratic voters. As those voters have aged up, the Democratic Party has modeled itself after Sanders and his more extreme political views, resulting in the Democratic enthusiasm for communist New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani. Mamdani overwhelmingly won voters under the age of 45, and dominated former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo among voters under 30 years old.
These voters have grown their political views in an environment flooded with violent and extreme rhetoric, being told that Republicans are fascists who are threats to democracy and that GOP policies will get people across the country killed. It’s the kind of rhetoric that led to a Sanders supporter trying to murder congressional Republicans at a Congressional Baseball Game practice, and the kind of rhetoric that has been mainstreamed even with the assassination attempts against President Donald Trump (twice), Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, and the late activist Charlie Kirk (among others).
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What’s more, the summer of 2020 showed these younger voters that political violence is something to be celebrated and defended, in the form of Black Lives Matter riots. Elected Democrats said nothing, or defended the rioters, as they burned buildings and looted businesses, portraying the riots as a struggle against oppression. These young people have been told their political opponents are dangerous and have had violence affirmed as a legitimate political action by universities and their politicians.
The result is a political environment that is still turning more toxic and more violent, driven by people embracing more radical politicians, such as the new mayor of the Big Apple. It’s a long-term culture change in the wrong direction, and it will only grow worse as the rhetoric escalates and the tolerance of violence continues.