Good essay, EBH. I agree 100%. If we start locking up every blue-haired freak now, we are going to lose support, and then elections. In order to start locking them up, we need evidence, and right now, I’ve seen precious little of that. More than evidence, we need to win in the court of public opinion.
We need to have 60-70% of Americans say NO to political violence. Good luck with that, half of college students think it’s ok to kill your political enemies. However, just because Charlie Kirk was shot, doesn’t mean the tide wasn’t turning our way. In fact, the opposite. We’re winning. Just have to keep doing what we’re doing.
once we cross into labeling entire groups as terrorists, we can’t walk it back. We win not only by defeating violence, but by keeping the very system intact that protects us from becoming like those we oppose
What DOES need to happen, though, is the establishment of cultural norms that make the “blue-haired freak” an outcast and a pariah. When we reach a point where people who look and act normal tend to be successful and the blue-haired freaks are all living in cardboard boxes under bridges, we will have reached a point where the cultural/behavioral indicators have been restored.
”Not everyone was meant to evolve. Some people are here to remind you what happens if you don’t.” — AC’s Book of Wisdom
I think you’re absolutely correct.