Republish this content

<h1>Political Violence Is Not Violence Against Politicians</h1>

<p>Prior to the shooting at Donald Trump’s rally earlier this week, <a href="https://ndncollective.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NDN Collective</a>—an Indigenous power-building organization—prepared to attend the Republican National Convention (RNC) and related community events. The goals for attending the <a href="https://www.marchonrnc2024.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">“March on the RNC”</a> were simple: combat the invisibilization of Indigenous issues and priorities in the national discourse around elections, and be in solidarity with those fighting for human rights constantly under threat by the right-wing extremism of one party and the inaction of the other.&nbsp;</p>



<p>As news of the shooting flooded the media, at NDN Collective our first reaction was empathy for the loss of life and for the rally attendees who now hold the trauma of gunshots and people dying in front of them. Simultaneously, we were filled with great concern for the safety of systemically oppressed communities, knowing that right-wing extremism disproportionately impacts us, and that state actors under real, perceived, or falsified threat invariably respond with increased policing of social justice movements and Black and Brown communities. Because of this, we issued a <a href="https://ndncollective.org/ndn-collective-responds-to-shooting-at-trump-rally/">statement</a> reminding people that more than anything, the shooting was “yet another consequence of building and maintaining a nation based in violence, control and bloodshed.”&nbsp;</p>



<p>When shootings capture mainstream media attention, we see the same players dominate our news feeds: a tired spectrum ranging from empty “thoughts and prayers,” to shallow messages of unity, to vague demands for more gun control. This form of gun control hyper-focuses on individual acts of violence, but disproportionately impacts the ability of <a href="https://harvardlawreview.org/forum/vol-135/racist-gun-laws-and-the-second-amendment/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Black and Brown communities</a> to access guns and exercise our Second Amendment rights—despite the <a href="https://internal.statista.com/statistics/476456/mass-shootings-in-the-us-by-shooter-s-race/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">majority of mass shooters being white</a>.&nbsp;</p>



<figure><blockquote><p>It’s unsurprising that mainstream narratives in response to the shooting at Trump’s rally have been centered on condemnation of ‘political violence,’ when they only mean violence against politicians.”</p></blockquote></figure>



<p>The real-world implications of race-based exceptionalism around weapons looks like white youth <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/11/19/1057288807/kyle-rittenhouse-acquitted-all-charges-verdict" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Kyle Rittenhouse</a>—who killed two people with an illegal gun—being arrested without a scratch, acquitted of all charges, and turned into a conservative hero. In fact, Rittenhouse was invited to <a href="https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2024/07/10/who-is-kyle-rittenhouse-kenosha-shooter-conservative-gun-advocate-2024-update/74326320007/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">attend this year’s RNC</a>. Meanwhile, 12-year-old <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/amp/GMA/News/12-year-son-tamir-rice-killed-police-im/story?id=71654873" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tamir Rice</a> was murdered by the police just for holding a toy pellet gun. He was shot by officers within two seconds—they didn’t even stop long enough to exit their vehicles before deciding this Black child, alone in a park, posed enough of a threat to be executed.</p>



<p>It’s unsurprising that mainstream narratives in response to the shooting at Trump’s rally have been centered on condemnation of “political violence,” when they only mean violence against politicians. Intentionally excluded from this discourse are the most egregious forms of political violence being carried out by both parties, through the apparatus of American imperialism. While Trump nurses a cut on his ear and the Republican party rallies around the call to “make America safe again,” Gaza has experienced the <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/2024/7/16/israeli-attacks-kill-dozens-of-palestinians-in-southern-and-central-gaza" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">deadliest week</a> since the start of the latest genocide of Palestinian peoples. And two days ago, less than a mile from the perimeter of the RNC, the community of Milwaukee was rocked by the killing of beloved unhoused Black relative <a href="https://www.wisn.com/article/milwaukee-family-samuel-sharpe-jr-grapples-with-shooting-death/61629415" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Samuel Sharpe Jr.</a> by Ohio police who were brought in to provide extra security for the RNC.&nbsp;</p>



<h2><a href="https://www.yesmagazine.org/video/trump-native-political-violence" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">WATCH: What Is (And Is Not) Political Violence</a></h2>


<div>
<figure><a href="https://www.yesmagazine.org/video/trump-native-political-violence"><img src="https://www.yesmagazine.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Political-Voilence-RUWS_1400x840-1-1024x614.jpg" alt=""/></a></figure></div>


<p>The real political violence is our <a href="https://www.nationalpriorities.org/analysis/2024/tax-day-2024/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tax dollars</a> being increasingly funneled toward <a href="https://www.marketplace.org/2020/06/12/police-departments-1033-military-equipment-weapons/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">militarizing local police departments;</a> <a href="https://responsiblestatecraft.org/israel-gaza-war-2668152608/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">creating destructive weapons and technology</a> to kill people for their land and resources; and <a href="https://amp.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jun/09/cop-city-cost-atlanta-city-council" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">destroying forests to build massive training grounds for police to become even more dangerous</a>. The real political violence is both the state-sanctioned murders carried out in the name of profit—and that these wars are being fought with our resources, but without our consent. Refusing to acknowledge the link between the systemic oppression of Black and Brown communities by militarized police forces within our country and the slaughter of entire populations by United States militaries and weapons developed by the U.S. is hypocritical, and aids the country’s rapid descent into fascism.</p>



<figure><blockquote><p>Real power has never been won at a ballot box alone, but is the result of sustained, principled resistance demanding structural change.”</p></blockquote></figure>



<p>As a <a href="https://ndncollective.org/our-mission/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">movement-building organization</a> dedicated to supporting the self-determination of Indigenous Peoples, we acknowledge the two-party system represents two sides of the same coin. They both uphold a culture of violence whose primary goal is to protect and maintain control of the power and wealth built from the theft of Indigenous lands and resources, and the exploitation of Black, Brown, and poor, working-class labor. These are the conditions of a country built on political violence and based in principles of white supremacy, religious extremism, heteropatriarchy, and colonialism, in which racism, classism, ableism, sexism, transphobia, and homophobia are ideological tools of suppression meant to divide and systemically oppress mass intersectional mobilizations.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<p>We are not facing a new “crisis” of democracy. Indigenous people have never been represented by this system, or protected by it. Real power has never been won at a ballot box alone, but is the result of sustained, principled resistance demanding structural change. That’s why NDN Collective also plans to attend the Democratic National Convention in August—because we understand election outcomes have a huge impact on the organizing conditions within which we must operate.&nbsp;</p>



<figure><blockquote><p>We are not helpless victims of the state, but expert survivors with resources that can be pooled together to counter death and destruction.” &nbsp;&nbsp;</p></blockquote></figure>



<p>The legislated gaslighting around what is and what is not political violence can no longer be accepted. We need and deserve elected officials who understand safety and peace are not abstract ideas—they are policy choices—and we all deserve leaders wise and courageous enough to center the well-being of all sacred life and Mother Earth.</p>



<p>Indigenous Peoples hold a wealth of talents, skills, and knowledge needed for our shared liberation. We are not helpless victims of the state, but expert survivors with resources that can be pooled together to counter death and destruction. There are so many ways we can build sustainable power. One way is to support Indigenous-led movements—especially if you are feeling particularly disenfranchised and pessimistic about the direction of this country.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<p>Indigenous Peoples have faced apocalypses before, but we are still here: running healing justice circles, maintaining localized systems of mutual aid, carrying out direct actions in protection of water and sacred life, and revitalizing our lifeways and traditional knowledge systems to build sustainable food systems and models for regenerative economies.&nbsp;</p>



<p>No matter the direction of this country, we are not going anywhere.</p>

<p>This article originally appeared in <a href="https://www.yesmagazine.org">Yes! Magazine</a> at <a href="https://www.yesmagazine.org/opinion/2024/07/18/trump-shooting-assassination-political">https://www.yesmagazine.org/opinion/2024/07/18/trump-shooting-assassination-political</a>.</p><link href="https://www.yesmagazine.org/opinion/2024/07/18/trump-shooting-assassination-political" rel="canonical"/><p>Yes! Magazine is a nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of ... . Learn more at <a href="https://www.yesmagazine.org">Yes! Magazine</a></p><img id="republication-tracker-tool-source" src="https://www.yesmagazine.org/?republication-pixel=true&post=120267&ga4=G-74QJNNY44Z" style="width:1px;height:1px;">

Political Violence Is Not Violence Against Politicians

Prior to the shooting at Donald Trump’s rally earlier this week, NDN Collective—an Indigenous power-building organization—prepared to attend the Republican National Convention (RNC) and related community events. The goals for attending the “March on the RNC” were simple: combat the invisibilization of Indigenous issues and priorities in the national discourse around elections, and be in solidarity with those fighting for human rights constantly under threat by the right-wing extremism of one party and the inaction of the other.

As news of the shooting flooded the media, at NDN Collective our first reaction was empathy for the loss of life and for the rally attendees who now hold the trauma of gunshots and people dying in front of them. Simultaneously, we were filled with great concern for the safety of systemically oppressed communities, knowing that right-wing extremism disproportionately impacts us, and that state actors under real, perceived, or falsified threat invariably respond with increased policing of social justice movements and Black and Brown communities. Because of this, we issued a statement reminding people that more than anything, the shooting was “yet another consequence of building and maintaining a nation based in violence, control and bloodshed.”

When shootings capture mainstream media attention, we see the same players dominate our news feeds: a tired spectrum ranging from empty “thoughts and prayers,” to shallow messages of unity, to vague demands for more gun control. This form of gun control hyper-focuses on individual acts of violence, but disproportionately impacts the ability of Black and Brown communities to access guns and exercise our Second Amendment rights—despite the majority of mass shooters being white.

It’s unsurprising that mainstream narratives in response to the shooting at Trump’s rally have been centered on condemnation of ‘political violence,’ when they only mean violence against politicians.”

The real-world implications of race-based exceptionalism around weapons looks like white youth Kyle Rittenhouse—who killed two people with an illegal gun—being arrested without a scratch, acquitted of all charges, and turned into a conservative hero. In fact, Rittenhouse was invited to attend this year’s RNC. Meanwhile, 12-year-old Tamir Rice was murdered by the police just for holding a toy pellet gun. He was shot by officers within two seconds—they didn’t even stop long enough to exit their vehicles before deciding this Black child, alone in a park, posed enough of a threat to be executed.

It’s unsurprising that mainstream narratives in response to the shooting at Trump’s rally have been centered on condemnation of “political violence,” when they only mean violence against politicians. Intentionally excluded from this discourse are the most egregious forms of political violence being carried out by both parties, through the apparatus of American imperialism. While Trump nurses a cut on his ear and the Republican party rallies around the call to “make America safe again,” Gaza has experienced the deadliest week since the start of the latest genocide of Palestinian peoples. And two days ago, less than a mile from the perimeter of the RNC, the community of Milwaukee was rocked by the killing of beloved unhoused Black relative Samuel Sharpe Jr. by Ohio police who were brought in to provide extra security for the RNC.

WATCH: What Is (And Is Not) Political Violence

The real political violence is our tax dollars being increasingly funneled toward militarizing local police departments; creating destructive weapons and technology to kill people for their land and resources; and destroying forests to build massive training grounds for police to become even more dangerous. The real political violence is both the state-sanctioned murders carried out in the name of profit—and that these wars are being fought with our resources, but without our consent. Refusing to acknowledge the link between the systemic oppression of Black and Brown communities by militarized police forces within our country and the slaughter of entire populations by United States militaries and weapons developed by the U.S. is hypocritical, and aids the country’s rapid descent into fascism.

Real power has never been won at a ballot box alone, but is the result of sustained, principled resistance demanding structural change.”

As a movement-building organization dedicated to supporting the self-determination of Indigenous Peoples, we acknowledge the two-party system represents two sides of the same coin. They both uphold a culture of violence whose primary goal is to protect and maintain control of the power and wealth built from the theft of Indigenous lands and resources, and the exploitation of Black, Brown, and poor, working-class labor. These are the conditions of a country built on political violence and based in principles of white supremacy, religious extremism, heteropatriarchy, and colonialism, in which racism, classism, ableism, sexism, transphobia, and homophobia are ideological tools of suppression meant to divide and systemically oppress mass intersectional mobilizations.

We are not facing a new “crisis” of democracy. Indigenous people have never been represented by this system, or protected by it. Real power has never been won at a ballot box alone, but is the result of sustained, principled resistance demanding structural change. That’s why NDN Collective also plans to attend the Democratic National Convention in August—because we understand election outcomes have a huge impact on the organizing conditions within which we must operate.

We are not helpless victims of the state, but expert survivors with resources that can be pooled together to counter death and destruction.”

The legislated gaslighting around what is and what is not political violence can no longer be accepted. We need and deserve elected officials who understand safety and peace are not abstract ideas—they are policy choices—and we all deserve leaders wise and courageous enough to center the well-being of all sacred life and Mother Earth.

Indigenous Peoples hold a wealth of talents, skills, and knowledge needed for our shared liberation. We are not helpless victims of the state, but expert survivors with resources that can be pooled together to counter death and destruction. There are so many ways we can build sustainable power. One way is to support Indigenous-led movements—especially if you are feeling particularly disenfranchised and pessimistic about the direction of this country.

Indigenous Peoples have faced apocalypses before, but we are still here: running healing justice circles, maintaining localized systems of mutual aid, carrying out direct actions in protection of water and sacred life, and revitalizing our lifeways and traditional knowledge systems to build sustainable food systems and models for regenerative economies.

No matter the direction of this country, we are not going anywhere.

Republish this content

Inspiration in Your Inbox.