The US House of Representatives could not manage even a minute’s silence on Wednesday following the shooting of the Maga trailblazer Charlie Kirk. Seconds after a moment of reflection called by Speaker Mike Johnson, the chamber degenerated into a shouting match.
Lauren Boebert, a Colorado Republican, was heard muttering: “Silent prayer gets silent results.” When Democrats protested against the interruption, Anna Paulina Luna, a Florida Republican, shouted: “Y’all caused this. You fucking own this.” To which Connecticut Democrat Jahana Hayes responded: “Pass some gun laws.”
In that melee could be found the kernel of America’s mutual political loathing. The killing of Kirk — a protean conservative activist whom President Donald Trump credited with having energised droves of young voters to support him last November — was shocking but distressingly unsurprising. Scholars of political disorder point out that violent rhetoric creates a “permission structure” for actual violence.