Without a doubt the last thing the vast majority of Americans want to be thinking about the day after Christmas is the Christmas Day bombing in Nashville. But a few things about the incident inform me that if we blow it off as the work of a demented soul who simply hates Santa Claus we’d be making a huge mistake.
The bomb could very well be the handiwork of a disgruntled Trumpist, or more likely a group of them. The timing could very well have been an attempt to gain the maximum exposure for the evil act, but there are other aspects of the bombing that are just as troubling, if not more so.
The copying of the tactic of announcing that a bomb is about to be detonated beforehand, utilized by the Irish Republican Army during the “Troubles” in Northern Ireland between the late ’60s and 1998, is perhaps among the most disturbing and problematical aspects for authorities to contend with. It could very well signal the beginning of an organized terror campaign.
Additionally, using a female’s voice could give credence to the suspicion of this incident being the work of an organized group, just how organized is yet to be determined. But rare — if ever — are bomb makers female, so it’s somewhat obvious this is not the work of a single, lone individual.
Law enforcement around the nation no doubt has been bracing for some kind of terrorist attack since November 3. And while it would be wrong and counterproductive to lay this incident at the feet of Trumpists without any evidence, the craziness on the right has been ratcheting up incrementally ever since their Fuhrer lost his reelection bid.
Our nation has been down this path of consequential elections before. Lincoln’s elevation to the presidency in 1860 was the spark that ignited the Civil War as Southerners, so intent on maintaining the pernicious institution of slavery, deluded themselves into believing they could win an outright conflict against superior Northern forces. Of course they were wrong, but it took half a million dead Americans to prove the point. Sadly, we have many Americans today that are just as delusional — and now potentially just as dangerous.
Since no demands have been made by the terrorists (at least that we the public are aware of), it’s difficult to discern their motives or determine why the bomb was placed in the spot it was detonated. But the entire episode reeks of a deadly kind of professionalism, not simply a lone deranged individual. If that is indeed the case we need to brace ourselves for future explosions.
All of this leaves me with the sickening feeling that even after January 20 the nation is still going to remain bitterly divided and that more folks, calling themselves “patriots” while hiding behind the American flag, are going to try to win through violence what they could not win at the ballot box.
Unfortunately the country is so divided at this juncture we could be in for protracted “Troubles” of our own in the coming months or years. We can only hope and pray that’s not the case, that our disgruntled countrymen and women come to their collective sense and realize the long-term futility of such violent efforts.
But something alarmingly tells me that isn’t going to happen; that’s not going to be the case. The haters are going to continue to hate. We could be in for a very bumpy ride before we return to any sense of normalcy in the country. Let’s pray I’m wrong.
2 Responses to “MANFIELD: Nashville: The New Normal?”
Richard Yost Pace
Mansfield,
Where did you see that the bomber was a “Trumpist”?
It has been reported that he “hated cops.” Doesn’t seem like a Trumpist, but obviously we don’t have any facts on motive yet.
Best wishes and a much better New Year!
Laura Kennelly
All well and good, but now we know the Nashville bomber was a middle-aged (old) man who entertained SF interpretations of life. I think the fact that he picked a day when few were in downtown and that he actually warned people he was going to destroy everything in 15 minutes, makes his sad case more credible–not that I think what he worried about [whatever his brain concocted] is true–not at all–. Why am I writing then? I want you not to despair and to keep on keeping on. It’s possible we are less divided than we fear. I hope that is true. Thank you for your thoughts.