American Dreaming • 740 implied HN points • 27 Feb 26
- Political violence became far more common and culturally normalized in the 2010s–2020s, fed by polarized rhetoric, social media amplification, and livestreamed "riot porn."
- Both left- and right-wing actors engaged in serious violence — from protests that turned to arson and looting to lone-wolf attacks, mass shootings, assassination attempts, and an insurrection — producing deaths, injuries, and billions in damage.
- Media, activists, and some political leaders sometimes excused or celebrated violence and promoted radical reforms like defunding police; those trends coincided with reduced policing, spikes in crime, and a worrying rise in public tolerance for political violence.