Fear, Loathing, and Support for Political Violence in the United States

Fear, Loathing, and Support for Political Violence in the United States

Findings from a Nationally Representative Survey

  • by Wintemute GJ, Velasquez B, Shev AB, Tomsich EA, Wright MA, Reeping PM, Robinson SL, Tancredi DJ, & Pear VA
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About the Paper

IN ONE SENTENCE

Homonegativity, racism, transphobia, xenophobia, hostile sexism, Islamophobia, and antisemitism are all disturbingly common in the United States, and each of them is strongly linked to support for and willingness to commit political violence.

FINDINGS IN BRIEF
  • In 2023, strong agreement with expressions of 7 forms of hatred, fear, and enmity toward others was common in the United States: homonegativity, 26.4%; racism, 19.1%; transphobia, 17.1%; xenophobia, 10.3%; hostile sexism, 8.1%; Islamophobia, 5.5%; antisemitism, 3.2%.
  • For each of them, strong agreement was significantly associated with the view that political violence is justified.
  • Strong agreement was also significantly associated with personal willingness to commitpolitical violence, including lethal violence.
  • Finally, strong agreement was significantly associated with the assertion that “the United States needs a civil war to get things right.”
  • Differences in support for political violence between persons who strongly agreed and those who did not agree were often very large: 20 to 50 percentage points.
IMPLICATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS
  • Endorsement of hatred, fear, and enmity toward others is associated with support for and willingness to commit political violence generally, not just violence directed at specific target populations.
  • Political violence prevention efforts could focus on individuals who hold such beliefs, as they do on members of other high-risk groups that have been identified previously.
  • Assessments related to firearm access, including for permits to carry concealed firearms and for extreme risk protection orders, could include records of an individual’s endorsement of beliefs that carry an increased risk of political and other forms of violence.
  • “The vast majority of Americans reject these harmful beliefs, just as they reject political violence,” said lead author Garen Wintemute, MD, MPH. “We cannot eradicate such beliefs, but we must work to prevent them from leading to acts of violence.”
METHODS

These nationally representative findings are from Wave 2 of an annual longitudinal survey that was in the field May 18 – June 8, 2023. There were 9,385 respondents; the response rate was 84%.

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Primary Category

Political Violence

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Research