Racial violence is going to increase. All fascist and authoritarian movements needs a scapegoat to blame all of the problems both real and imagined on. The GQP is no different. And, given their recent rhetoric it is clear that they are focusing the ire and violence of their radicalizing base on Blacks and immigrants.

I thought we’d highlight one example of how normal people get roped into doing abnormal things in the name of scapegoating. This is what it looks like: A Michigan man shot at his neighbor’s house and slashed their car tires, not because they are Black, but because they had a BLM sign in their window.

“I targeted these people because I didn’t like their political sign that they had in the window,” he said. “I think you guys are some great people and didn’t deserve this at all.”

Man says he shot at, vandalized neighbors’ Michigan home over Black Lives Matter sign

He was sentenced to four to ten years for his trouble.

Amazingly, the targets of the violence responded with grace and forgiveness.

“I’m not angry, I’m not. I’m forgiving,” Candace Hall, 55, said at Frederick’s sentencing. “You’re a good kid and have a chance. You made a bad choice, and we understand that. We have children ourselves. We’re not hateful people, we’re Christians.”

Man says he shot at, vandalized neighbors’ Michigan home over Black Lives Matter sign

Would that all this incidents ended with such a Kumbaya moment and not with people dead and lives ruined,except for the perpetrator’s life, that is, but that’s not likely. It is likely to get much uglier and much worse before it is all over.

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Image Attribution

“Running goats or ibex” by WhatsAllThisThen is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0