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To be super clear: capitulation to mob violence is the ultimate failure of democratic governance and the rule of law. 1/ https://twitter.com/TimAlberta/status/1349389150622019584
Preventing extrajudicial coercion is THE POINT of a legal system (at least 1 of them) and foundational to the social contract that justifies government's existence (& monopoly on force) 2/
Valid threat in a democracy: "if you do this I will not vote for you." (Also, w/ some background coercion concerns: won't give you money, won't sponsor your speech on my platform, will tell others not to vote for you) 3/
Invalid threat in a democracy: "if you do this I will kill you." 4/
It is the govt's job to draw a bright line in the sand and say these threats are unacceptable, and anyone who follows through with them (or attempts to) will be prosecuted and held accountable to the rule of law. (This is what law enforcement *should* be for.) 5/
Capitulating to clearly invalid threats (esp those you encouraged, but that's a separate thread lots of other ppl have written) illegitimates and weakens your "democracy," making clear that bullying is an effective political strategy & that your govt serves some, not all. 6/
Appeasing and compromising on the basis of such threats results in steamrolling, not moderation--one reason why it's important to draw the line consistently from the beginning. (Any teacher or parent will tell you this.) 7/
Threats of violence (and violence itself) are part of the white supremacist toolkit because they have worked, over and over, to stop and even reverse racial progress in the US, see, e.g., integration, Reconstruction, etc. (note to self to revisit @ProfCAnderson's White Rage) 8/
I have sympathy for people receiving death threats and threats against their families (the great majority of whom are WOC, often at the urging or tacit support of House Rs & their supporters)--that's terrifying and deeply unnerving. 9/
But the answer isn't to reject accountability for those who threaten; it's to insist on it. Anything else is mob rule. /fin
Point made eloquently and w/ far more expertise by @jbf1755 in @nytopinion today: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/29/opinion/political-violence-congress.html
