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By Leela, 01.11.2020
Preparing for violence after election day
As bizarre and dystopian as it sounds, the reality is that while many Americans wait on the edge of their seats to receive the fateful news regarding the election, there is an increase in defensive and violent preparations.
There has been an increased worry for violence as this election is so pivotal. The economy is crumbling, there has been extreme misfortune from the coronavirus pandemic and a large civil movement to end systemic racism. Tension is extremely high after this horrifying year where seemingly, every day something even worse happens.
According to a recent YouGov poll, more than half (56 percent) of voters said they are expecting to see an increase in violence following the election.
Business owners throughout America are preparing for violent protests after the election as many business owners board up shop windows and install increased security. Throughout households across the nation, the stockpiling phenomenon has made a return, with nervous shoppers who snapped up supplies back in March when states went into lockdown now preparing for self-imposed lockdowns in their homes amid fears of unrest in the street.
Of course, Donald Trumps’ message to the far-right militia group the ‘Proud Boys’ to “Stand back and Stand by” has not helped the fearful nation.
Over in Chicago, Mayor Lori Lightfoot warned the city was “preparing for the worst” with officials carrying out “all-hazards drills’ for how to handle a potential eruption of election-related violence. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said “prolonged protests” are expected for some time after the result.
Fears of election-related violence are all around us
One of the main reasons for this is that trust in the nation’s democracy has been eroded through the rhetoric of the president himself.
Trump has repeatedly spread his narrative throughout his campaign trail that if he loses to Biden on election day, it will be because the process is “rigged”.
He has made several unsubstantiated claims that mail-in voting is "manipulated".
Carolyn Gallaher, Professor in the School of International Service at American University, Washington DC and an expert on extremist violence has said the following
"Then on the other side, [Democrats] see the president calling into question the systems and they also go ‘is he going to cheat then?
"So it’s become a heated atmosphere and people have become convinced on both sides that the election is going to be unfair and then of course some people are going to take that further."
"The real danger right now is coming from the far right not the far left," she says.
Gallaher believes "there will be protests no matter who wins" but says it remains to be seen if things will turn violent between the two sides.
In an already hopeless year, It seems like the election will only bring more chaos and confusion.
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