Apple News Today What we get wrong about political violence in the U.S.
36 snips
Sep 27, 2025 In this engaging discussion, Sean Westwood, an associate professor at Dartmouth College and director of the Polarization Research Lab, dives into the nuances of political violence in the U.S. He clarifies what constitutes political violence and discusses how the rarity of such events is often overshadowed by media attention. Westwood reveals that most Americans reject violence, citing polls showing less than 3% support for partisan murder. He emphasizes the role of inflammatory voices in distorting perceptions and suggests tangible actions for individuals and media to lower political tensions.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Precise Definition Matters
- Political violence should be defined as violence motivated by partisanship or political views, not every hate crime or social violence.
- A narrow definition prevents normalizing or diluting repulsion toward targeted group-based violence.
Rare But Isolated Upswing
- Political violence incidents are increasing but remain isolated and uncoordinated lone-actor acts.
- Lack of centralized structure makes intervention hard but reduces risk of organized onslaught.
Perpetrator Motivations Are Unclear
- Perpetrators often lack coherent ideology and frequently show signs of severe mental illness.
- We rarely get clear manifestos, making motives hard to reconstruct and predict.