The Uncomfortable Truth About Rhetoric to Violence

In the chaotic month that was September 2025, much has been said about the role of rhetoric and violence in the United States; namely how the former causes the latter, or at least how the former and the latter cannot be separated. This came up on the previous episode of History Impossible, in which I discussed this concept with my friends Daniele Bolelli and Kristaps Andrejsons as we tried to clarify the real horror of what political violence entails. In the time since that episode aired, more acts of political violence have unfolded, including the assault on an ICE facility in Texas and the attack on the Mormon church in Michigan. Whether these represent part of the broader trend that those of us like myself, Daniele, and Kristaps have been worried about, or are simply being spotlighted by the media because of how political violence has now become a topic du jour remains to be seen.But also in the time since that conversation, I thought it would be appropriate—probably now more than ever—to revisit an essay I wrote for the History Impossible Substack and Patreon subscribers that delved deep into the question of whether or not rhetoric causes violence, both from a deeper psychological level and from a broader, more legal level, and finally, addressing whether or not this question even matters all that much. It was a difficult thing to write, and a difficult argument to make, but I think I mostly have my ducks in a row with this one and, if anything, it might prompt a helpful conversation to be had. Perhaps I will be seen as naïve or reckless or simply flat out wrong for the stance I took with this one, but I do believe psychological research and legal history are on my side here.But nevertheless, in this world of ratcheting tension regarding political violence, let’s take a closer look at whether this is something we properly understand or something over which we have a long history of needlessly panicking....History Impossible has been made possible by the following generous supporters on Patreon, Substack, and PayPal. Please consider donating today if you want to show some love for what I do and make and what to help keep the show and all my written content going:David AdamcikDavid AlsbachGregg AndersonRajan AthulRobert BabeonMichael BeachZazu BenbenBenjaminGreg BosaiJohannes BreitsameterCarol ABCCharles CCurtis ChristiansenJason ColemanClayton ConnellCliffydeuceCRB.CyrdaddygorgonDannyLynda DavisPaul DeCosterRegina Dick-EndrizziNeil DickensNathan DiehlBob DowningDramicasJ DubMartin E.EastoneGavin EdwardsHowie FeltersnatchPierre GhazarianJosh GoedertSam GrahamJayson GriesmeyerNathan GroteBenjamin HamiltonPeter HauckJack HennemanEric HodgesMike JarulicJoe6245Lionel JosephThomas JustesenMike KalninsBryn KaufmanLeah KodnerBenjamin LeeConstance LoucksMaddyMounty of MadnessJose MartinezMike MaylebenJudy McCoidKyle MohneyKostas MorosRyan MortensonCameron NeedhamShiranSkip PachecoDavid PageMolly PanSr. PowellBrian PritzlAnaR737PJ RaderGleb RadutskyAleksandr RakitinReptilycusMatthew M. RicePhillip RiceTerry RosenDan SJon Andre SaetherJake ScaliaEmily SchmidtJulian SchmidtAndrew SeeberJoshua SimpsonCameron SmithJerry Spanglertimetosuccedd1995Thomas SqueoAthal Krishna SundarrajanJared Cole TempleWard Van RoyPierre VorupuniRobert VSJonny Wilkie