If you've been scrolling the news feeds lately, you know the feeling: America's not just polarised; it's fracturing. Mass shootings in churches and waterfront bars, federal troops rolling into Portland like it's a war zone, tear gas choking the air in Chicago suburbs, and far-Left networks openly calling for "carnivals of war" against ICE. Michael Snyder was on the money in his latest Substack piece: this isn't normal. It's an epidemic of violence that's numbing us all, but let's not kid ourselves: the powder keg feels lit by a particular fury from the Left, amplified by a society teetering on insanity. As one X user put it, "We are on the verge of full on political violence and civil war ... there's going to be a lot of children without mothers." Is the Left "going mad" as society collapses? The signs are screaming … yes.
Start with the weekend's body count, because facts don't care about your timeline. Sunday morning in Grand Blanc Township, Michigan: A 40-year-old man named Thomas Jacob Sanford rams his truck into a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, opens fire on worshippers, then sets the place ablaze. At least three dead (including the shooter), nine hospitalised, and police warning more bodies might turn up once the flames die down. Eyewitnesses described a "big bang" followed by gunfire ripping through Sunday school, places that used to feel sacred, now fortresses. Motive? Still unfolding, but in a nation where anti-religious hate crimes spiked 30% last year, it's hard not to see the pattern of targeted rage.
The night before? Southport, North Carolina. A gunman on a boat pulls up to the American Fish Company restaurant, unloads into a crowd of diners at the dockside bar. Three dead, eight wounded, kids among them. The suspect, Nigel Edge, a combat vet, fled up the Intracoastal Waterway before getting nabbed. Why this spot? Unknown yet, but as Snyder says, "There is no place that is truly safe." These aren't random; they're eruptions from a pressure cooker of untreated trauma, and a culture that glorifies vendettas.
Now pivot to the organised chaos: Portland and Chicago, where protests at ICE facilities have morphed into nightly sieges. Trump's Saturday announcement, deploying troops to "war-ravaged" Portland and authorising "full force" to protect federal assets, lit the fuse. Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek called it an "abuse of power," but with months of vandalism, guillotines rolled out in the streets, and fires lit even on quiet nights, locals are begging for relief. Clashes erupted within 24 hours: Protesters vs. ICE, detentions, rubber bullets. One resident summed it up: "Every night, there's tons of protesters basically being vagrants ... disrupting the public."
Chicago's no better. Outside the Broadview ICE facility, weeks of protests turned ugly Saturday: Tear gas, pepper balls, flash bangs, a "shock-and-awe blitz" with armoured BearCats scattering crowds like confetti. Federal agents in tactical gear patrolling downtown, arresting "dangerous suspects" amid escalating raids. AG Pam Bondi's deploying DOJ agents nationwide, tasking Joint Terrorism Task Forces with disrupting "domestic terrorism" like these sieges. Victory? For now. But as Snyder warns, "A little tear gas is not going to dissuade these far Left radicals."
Enter the architects: Networks like 50501, "50 protests, 50 states, one movement" pitching as "democracy-focused" but fuelling anti-Trump fury since his inauguration. Started as rapid-response to immigration crackdowns, now it's May Day rallies, "No Kings" actions tying into military parades, and thousands marching in Texas alone. But dig deeper: Reddit groups tied to 50501 brim with calls for "armed retaliation, shootings, even assassination." Not fringe, but consistent incitement.
Then AnarchistNews drops the mic: A September 23 call for "all anarchists across the country" to "occupy and disrupt" ICE ops, "celebrate life with fire against the death march of American law and order." It's a "carnival of war against ICE and all authority." Popular among Antifa, this isn't hyperbole, it's a movement order echoing Tucson's "offensive against ICE" and LA's uprisings.
Why now? Society's collapse isn't abstract, it's engineered. "Publish or perish" in academia birthed junk science; here, "protest or perish" breeds radicals. Social media algorithms feast on outrage, turning echo chambers into echo explosions. Mental health? Gutted by Reagan-era cuts, now a luxury for the rich while vets like Edge snap. The Left's nihilism, postmodern cynicism, lashes out at meaninglessness, but it's laced with Soros-funded networks (as Trump claims) and Antifa's tactical diversity.
This isn't partisan finger-pointing, it's a SOS. Push people to breaking with hate, powerlessness, and AR-15s, and "things will pop off." Reforms? Mandatory mental health access, algorithm audits, de-escalation incentives over viral rage. But really it all comes down the controlling the Left, who now see themselves in a total war. Maybe conservatives need first to wake up and smell the cordite?
https://michaeltsnyder.substack.com/p/americas-epidemic-of-violence-explodes