I thought about putting the "politics" tag on this, but it's really more about modern culture. It's something I want everyone to be more mindful of. It's about how violent speech is.
Yeah, the people pointing to Biden's previous comments about "putting Trump in a bullseye" are, I believe, intentionally twisting the meaning. They know how it was meant, and their favorite candidate has said and done worse.
But I want us to think about why we talk like that, and the effects of it.
I'm looking at this as a violent trauma survivor with PTSD. I am constantly braced for what might come out of people's mouths. I hate that people start getting ready for Halloween in the middle of summer because I hate that what almost killed me is a big part of Halloween jokes and celebration.
I'm tired of living in a world where people don't think violent speech is a problem until it becomes physical violence.
Why do we talk about making a guess or just giving something a try as
"taking a [violent act] at it"?
Why do people play competitive video games and refer to winning against the other team as "absolutely [violent sexual act] them"?
Why do we say "I could have [violent fatal act] him!" when we're just mad at somebody?
Why are we so comfortable with speaking in violent ways, but then still shocked when violent acts are committed?
And we aren't as shocked as we used to be. We've become numb. A lot of that is because it happens so often.
But I do think our choices in speech and entertainment influence how we look at the world. I am certainly not a "ban violent video games, but do nothing about guns" person! In fact, I think there is some healthy release to be found in things like shooting and fighting games.
Books, shows, and movies can have violence that is meaningful in the story. And it doesn't all have to be teachable moments. There's just a big difference between violence relevant to the story vs. violence looks cool.
Again, I think the people twisting Biden's comments and trying to point to it as "he planned this"... it's BS. I don't even think they believe it.
These things just often make me think how there are many ways we need to do better. People who blame violence solely on things like movies or games aren't getting it, and that's not what I'm doing. I'm saying there are a lot of factors, and some of them may seem insignificant, but they're the ones most commonly experienced.