Whenever there is some sort of tragedy, people of right wing beliefs create laws, institutions, and systems that will eventually be used against them. From the Patriot Act, to gun control, to taxes and finances, all are eventually weaponized by the political opponents of the right, when their political opponents gain political power. The simple solution to this is to never cede power to the government, or any entity that can eventually be used against you.
As of this musing, there was a shooting committed in Nashville, Tennessee, at a private Christian school, committed by a woman who believed that she was a male. Her specific motives for committing the school shooting at still unknown; she apparently crafted a manifesto discussing why she committed the shooting. However, I believe that it is safe to assume that she was upset with how she perceived the world, and how she believed how others perceived her. Whether or not it was specifically caused by mental illness is something that I’m not really capable of determining.
That has not stopped the conservative rightwing, which admittedly I do not align myself with as I see myself more as a libertarian/minarchist, from advocating for gun control and red flag laws. Ben Shapiro recently on his monologue show more or less argued that if someone is believed to have a mental illness, they should be prevented from purchasing or owning a firearm. On its face this seems fairly reasonable. A person who does not have a firm, rational grasp on reality is probably more likely to use something like a firearm to hurt other people. The basic logic flow of gun control follows as “If someone who is likely to harm others with a firearm is prevented from obtaining a firearm, they will be unable to commit the act”. This of course ignores a bunch of nuance in the discussion about firearms, violence, and the reasons for violence. This musing is not going to discuss those issues, though I most likely will at a future date.
Gun control is usually believed to be a left wing issue, however, the aforementioned shooting has spurred right wing pundits and politicians such as BenShapiro, Tucker Carlson, and Texas Congressman Dan Crenshaw advocating for gun control on those with a perceived mental illness, and red flag laws to allow police to confiscate firearms (among other items) from those who “are reasonably at risk to harm themselves or others”. The right, which is normally perceived as the side of personal liberty and responsibility, throws away those principles if someone who they believe is against their side uses said liberties to harm the political right. This is foolish, and any laws or regulations will invariably be used to eventually disenfranchise those who passed them. A law which uses a subjective standard, such as perceived mental illness, as a condition on whether someone can exercise a right, will have the goalposts moved, and definitions changed to make right wing belief a form of mental illness. Already in mainstream culture firearm ownership is perceived as something a normal, well adjusted person does not engage with, Major credit card companies already flag firearm or ammunition purchases, and numerous unconstitutional laws around firearm ownership have been passed in virtually every state, and at the federal level.
This is not even just true with firearm ownership. The Patriot Act, passed in the wake of 9/11, which was originally intended to allow the full weight of the federal intelligence network to target foreign terrorists, has been turned and used against American citizens who have engaged in “domestic terrorism and insurrection”, such as with the January 6th “riot”, the kidnapping plot for Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer (which actually turned out to be a plot created by FBI agents and informants), or even the case of the 2011 Portland, Oregon, Pioneer Courthouse Square bombing “attempt”, where a Muslim man dissatisfied with America’s military involvement in the Middle East, was more or less entrapped into a plot to commit a terrorist attack. The tools originally designed to deal with the problem of foreign terrorism were eventually turned against the very people who created those tools.
It is foolish to believe that any group can hold on to political power forever. Even in totalitarian regimes, political factions rise and fall within their single party’s. Right wing adherents are foolish to believe that any gain in political power will be negated, and the machines and institutions they created will be used against them by their opponents. I only say this because I do not agree with any form of gun control, and I disagree with the use of the federal law enforcement apparatus being used against people merely because they hold a certain set of political beliefs. If someone is not actively harming someone else, I do not see why there needs to be the use of violence against anyone.
The fools at the Daily Wire, Fox News, in our government, however, think only in the short term, and only seek to battle their opponents in the here and now, and never stop to consider the cascading ramifications of their actions.