Is America's Left Developing an 'Assassin Culture'?

A wave of Tesla attacks, conservative swatting incidents, and inflammatory rhetoric from Democratic leaders reveals how political violence becomes acceptable when directed at the 'right' targets.

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My husband and I are not ones to pass love notes to each other, instead, we share news headlines, X posts, and memes. It is our love language. Last week he shared a three-word X post from journalist Sharyl Attkisson that said, "I Was Swatted."

Earlier this month, my news feed was filled with headlines about attacks on Tesla showrooms and continuing vandalism of private Tesla vehicles. Two weeks ago, I watched a video of Taylor Lorenz being interviewed on CNN, in which she giggled when talking about the alleged assassin Luigi Mangione while describing him as moral.

These aren't isolated incidents. They're symptoms of something more disturbing taking root in our national consciousness.

Since Trump returned to the White House in January, I've watched a troubling pattern emerge—one that's increasingly difficult to ignore or dismiss as random acts of violence. It makes me wonder if we are witnessing the birth of what I can only describe as an "assassin culture," where political violence is normalized, excused, and sometimes even celebrated, depending entirely on who's targeted.

The Selective Nature of Our Outrage

The double standard is impossible to miss. When violence erupts from the right, our cultural institutions respond with swift, unified condemnation. Even conservative leaders rush to distance themselves from it, and many conservative commentators will denounce it. Remember how quickly many Republican figureheads denounced the January 6 Capitol riot?

"Those storming the Capitol need to stop NOW. The Constitution protects peaceful protest, but violence-from Left or Right- is ALWAYS wrong. And those involved in lawlessness must be prosecuted & brought to justice."
-Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), January 6, 2021

"Everyone has a right to peacefully protest. No one has a right to commit violence. What happened today at the Capitol is disgraceful and un-American. It is not what our country stands for."
-Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), January 6, 2021

"These actions at the U.S. Capitol by protestors are truly despicable and unacceptable. While I am safe and sheltering in place, these protests are prohibiting us from doing our constitutional duty. I condemn them in the strongest possible terms."
-Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), January 6, 2021

"Violence is always unacceptable. Even when passions run high. Anyone engaged in violence – especially against law enforcement – should be fully prosecuted."
-Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), January 6, 2021

Yet when violence emerges from the left—property destruction during protests, campus harassment, or attacks on corporate symbols—the response feels fragmented and tepid. Media coverage often frames it within a broader narrative of social justice or resistance to systemic oppression.

During the 2020 BLM protests, I watched major news outlets prioritize coverage of the underlying grievances rather than focusing on condemning the looting and arson that left some neighborhoods in ruins. And we can never forget the infamous CNN chyron "fiery but mostly peaceful after police shooting" while businesses burned in the background.

I am not imagining this, an analysis by AllSides confirmed it: right-leaning media called them “riots,” while left-leaning ones whispered “protests.”

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