Assassination is no joke

Recently, a few notable actors and comedians have brought it upon themselves to joke about assassinating President Donald Trump. Generally, these jokes are condemned across the spectrum as, even though politics may be a bit more volatile than it should be, most believe no one should die. Notable people who have recently committed themselves to these jokes are Johnny Depp, with his John Wilkes Booth allusion, and Kathy Griffin, with the picture of her holding up a fake severed head of Trump.

Since the reactions to both statements were so severe, I was curious about the history surrounding presidential assassinations. From my research, I learned a great many things, but to save space I’ll just lay out the statistics.

So far (and again, hopefully as far as it will ever be), only four presidents have been assassinated. These four presidents, in chronological order, are Abraham Lincoln, James A. Garfield, William McKinley and John F. Kennedy. Notably, after the assassination of McKinley, Congress ordered the Secret Service to protect the president as part of their duty.

More than 30 different assassination attempts have occurred in the past, and 16 presidents (former Presidents Andrew Jackson, Lincoln, William Howard Taft, Theodore Roosevelt, Herbert Hoover, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama) have all faced them. With 45 presidential administrations and more than 30 assassination attempts, it sure is frightening to think of how common assassination attempts seem to be.  

And for those of you as young as I am who rarely think of these things, Obama himself faced three attempts since 2009: one in another country; one where a man believed himself to be Christ and Obama the Antichrist and decidedly shot at the White House with several rounds of a semi-automatic rifle; and one secretive attempt where a letter laced with ricin, a fatal poison, was sent to the White House.

Of course, presidents should never be remembered for the vile people who decide to take another life for their own pleasure, gain or other reason. However, it is important to put things in perspective and know that we are  currently in a period of American safety and peace.

I hope no one takes this the wrong way and believes that I am advocating for an assassination. A presidential assassination and attempts themselves are scarring to the targeted individuals and our country. My father was very young when Kennedy was assassinated, but he never forgot that day. He’s always explained it as a still, silent and somber day filled with fears and tears. It saddens me more when I hear the story, because I always remember he turned six years old that very same day.

Needless to say, I hope no one will ever push the boundaries of their presidential criticisms to the decision of assassination. Presidents aren’t perfect, and even some are sly, corrupt or outright evil when they try to get what they want.

For example, when Nixon wanted to defeat his enemies and prove his points, he started the war on drugs to associate hippies with marijuana and African-Americans with heroin. This led to the arrests of these peoples’ leaders, invasions of their homes and a general vilification of these people. Nixon did all this knowing, at the very least, marijuana was not harmful. His administration started a war that disenfranchised and harmed multiple communities across multiple generations.

He, however, should not be killed for something like that. If you desire, hold someone accountable under the law, but do not take the law’s decision into your own hands.