Conservatives' attacks against VP Kamala Harris is a dangerous strategy that could turn deadly

Vice President Kamala Harris, center, was in Selma, Alabama to observe 'Bloody Sunday. by
crossing the Edmund Pettis Bridge, the site of a violent police attack on civil rights marchers.

OPINION

Ever since Kamala Harris was named President Biden's Vice President, there has been an ongoing, relentless campaign against the highest-ranking Asian American in government that has manifested into attempts on her life by radical rightwing zealots. 

What is just as disturbing is mainstream media's figurative shoulder shrugging at the assassination attempts that would be the ultimate anti-Asian violence in the two years of racist hate against AAPI. Civil rights advocates say the racist terms used by the Trump White House was like pouring gasoline on the fire of anti-Asian racism. 

Besides the racism directed at Harris, of Indian and Jamaican heritage, the political smear campaign makes Harris a target by misguided mentally disturbed individuals fueled by conservatives' long-term strategy to weaken the Democratic Party's likely Presidential candidate whenever Biden's time as President ends. 

According to The Hill, two armed intruders drove through a security checkpoint at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, the evening of Feb. 17 just missing the departure of Harris. The Vice Presidential party had just landed from commemorating the 57th anniversary of civil rights march of Bloody Sunday, when hundreds of civil rights activists crossed the Edmund Pettis Bridge in Selma, Alabama.

The Vice President's party landed in Maryland at about 9 p.m. and left the base safely, a White House official told the Washington Post. 

Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff and the rest of the members of her delegation left the base on Sunday night unharmed aboard Marine Two, according to a White House pool report.

Harris was accompanied by transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg, housing secretary Marcia L Fudge, education secretary Miguel Cardona and environmental protection agency administrator Michael Regan .

One of the armed intruders was arrested without injury. The second individual was able to escape the guards.  

“We can confirm that the individual who was apprehended had a weapon, but no shots have been fired,” Joint Base Andrews posted on Facebook.

“There is not an active shooter situation at Joint Base Andrews; however, the intruder’s whereabouts are currently unknown,” the statement continued. 

Though the exact timing of their departure on Marine Two is unclear, Joint Base Andrews also said the vehicle in question entered the base at “approximately 9 p.m” and guards were able to stop the vehicle when the two passengers fled on foot.

This is not the first time Harris' life has been threatened. In office for just one year, there have been two other threats to her life.

In March of 2021, Paul Murray, a Texas man was arrested outside the Vice President's residence in Washington DC.

A police report shows that officers discovered Murray had an “AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, 113 rounds of unregistered ammunition, and five 30 round magazines.” Basically, he was outside of the official residence of Kamala Harris and her family with enough deadly weapons for an entire siege.

None of the Vice President's family was home at the time of Murray's arrest. He apparently had some issues with the government around his veteran benefits.

In a second attempt, Niviane Petit Phelps, 39, pleaded guilty to a six-count indictment, which included videotaped threats against the Vice President. On November 19, 2021 Phelps was sentenced to 366 days.

Her lawyer said she was experiencing a troubled time in her life and didn't really intend to carry out her threats.

Both Phelps and Murray are mentally troubled, according to their defense attorneys.

That's the trouble with the GOP attacks on Harris, who is the first Asian American, first Black American and first woman to be Vice President. Her high-profile position as Vice President is symbolic of the progress of the country. However, for many right-wing radicals, most of whom are White, she represents the demographic shift in the U.S. -- or more correctly stated, "their perception of America" in which they retain a privileged status in the racial pecking order that has tarnished the nation's history since Europeans stumbled upon the Americas.

Therein lies the danger. It doesn't take much to tip "troubled" people over the edge. We've seen how the Trump administration's use of racist rhetoric when referring to COVID-19, has inspired some "troubled" individuals to attack Asian Americans.

Similarly, the attacks on Harris by conservatives -- hiding in think tanks, Supreme Court-approved  anonymous dark money sources and, sadly, Congressional Trumpsters on top of the well-documented anti-Asian sentiment feeding (mostly) white racists -- could very well give mentally unbalanced individuals already stressed out by the pandemic and economic conditions -- the distorted perception of a mandate, or permission, to carry out deadly missions.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow me at Threads.net/eduardodiok, @DioknoEd on Twitter or at the  blog Views From the Edge.