I originally started writing an article in the wake of another transgender shooter killing several children at a church, before I had a chance to finish the article, there were two more high profile shootings that made the news, and likely more. Trying to typify the shooters is something I don’t really want to go into, mostly because I don’t have access to all of the information, and any assessment would likely be conjecture. That said, it is fairly safe to surmise that the rise in violence is largely motivated by ideology. War again becomes politics by other means…
Shooters, while the highest profile, are not the only risk. Following at least one recent shooting, several people attempted to plant incendiary devices under a news van reporting on the shooting (there was a delay of at least a day). At least one of the recent shootings IEDs were recovered from the scene that had not been detonated.
While some people have focused on firearms being the chief casualty producing implement, this only seems to be by virtue of less emphasis being put on the use of incendiary and explosive components. It is clear that attacks will continue and will use any means at their disposal to perpetrate what should best be described as a suicide terrorist attack.
From a prevention standpoint, it is very likely the political sides will use whatever their preferred narrative is (ban guns, ban transgenderism, etc) to try to affect their own outcomes, which will likely not reduce violence, but exacerbate it. The reality that most of us on the ground have to contend with, is that our neighbors are increasingly willing to kill us for slights real or perceived and it is up to us to contend with both the attacks and the aftermath.
It’s been discussed in other venues what a civil war would look like in the US, and the increasing consensus is a mix between the covid lockdowns, BLM riots, and the Troubles in the UK. In the last six months, there have already been a series of riots, arguably most of them racial, against actions taken by the federal government to round up and deport illegal aliens. Followed by a rash of high profile lethal attacks on churches, and synagogues. Some of the violence is opportunistic, much of it is targeted.
At the moment, I don’t see a clear path towards countering these threats. I also don’t see any signs of cessation of hostilities in the near future. Most of these attacks are calculated to drive people off the fence, and push them towards picking a side, even if it is the side of the adversary. In most cases terrorists need to maintain some kind of moral justification for their actions, and the fewer people who are on their side, the freer they are to act.
Keep your head on a swivel, we might be in for some chop.