I am cautiously optimistic that Biden will defeat Trump in November. I am less optimistic about what might immediately follow.

There are not just red flags about post-election violence, but red flags with spotlights on them and blaring sirens. I wrote about one particular example on Monday.

But beyond that, there is this stuff:

Trump ally Charlie Kirk: “I want to make sure we all make a commitment, that if this election doesn’t go our way, the next day we’d fight.”

Kirk then compared this commitment to those who fought in the American Revolution. pic.twitter.com/3FzGtjxs3f

— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) March 19, 2024

There really are no more quiet parts with this mutant right-wing hellbeast that has taken over the Republican Party. They are quite open about it, not shy about their plans. In fact, smart people are trying to warn us that they will be much more organized in their efforts this time.

Now, I will pause here to clarify something in this binary world of PANIC or BE POSITIVE that we currently have in this country. The people who feel panicked have a better reason to feel that way than the dismissive folks do. Likely a large part of it is the reality that people who dismiss very real concerns as pathetic have been consistently wrong since Trump came down the Trump Tower escalator (never forget “c’mon, no way this country could elect someone like Trump!”). Saying “sorry, but I am not going to run and hide, that’s a silly overreaction” when there’s an active shooter in your building is not a sign of wisdom, nor is ignoring what has happened over the last eight years.

That said, I do have some optimism around that fact that while Trump’s lackeys likely will be more organized than they were during the two months after the 2020 election, I do believe the good guys will be as well. This is why being in a state of panic about it isn’t realistic also. Part of the reason why January 6 go out of control so fast is there was a stunning lack of protection of our institutions, despite a constant drumbeat of violent rhetoric leading up to the event. Some of this was people dismissing this as “yet again” another example of the far-right being nothing but talk, a deeply naive take that was driving experts in authoritarianism batty in late 2020. Some of it was old-fashioned racism. I can demonstrate this in a single photo.

That is the Lincoln Memorial in June 2020 during the Black Lives Matter protests. There was nothing close to that level of security for the Capitol Building on January 6. It is hard to argue that race did not play a role. For whatever reason (racism *cough* racism), despite their extremely violent rhetoric and many examples of actual violence (Charlottesville, anyone? Hello?) too few want to believe that MAGAs are dangerous people. We paid for that dearly in early 2021.

I do have a feeling, however, that there will be such a level of protection in January 2025 if/when Trump loses. I think that at least some of our institutions are waking up to the fact that those people screaming about killing liberals and wanting a civil war might actually mean it. That Trump repeatedly treats convicted January 6 rioters as saints is not a great sign for a peaceful transition to a Biden second term.

President Biden certainly is not mincing words. He is openly talking about the dangers of the MAGA movement, raising alarms about their violent tendencies.

So, this is all a good thing. I noted the binary of PANIC/BE POSITIVE at the beginning of this piece. The good news is I think a lot of the right people are right down the middle, taking the threat of violence seriously and not dismissing it. And taking some of the right steps to either control the violence or stop it in its tracks.

They mean what they say. Taking them seriously can prevent another disaster like January 6.

The last word goes to Rise Against.