Solomon Pena (click here) is accused of paying four men to carry out shootings at Albuquerque-area homes of two county commissioners and two state legislators. No one was hurt.
A defeated candidate for the New Mexico legislature (click here) was arrested this week on charges that he orchestrated a plot to shoot up the homes of four Democratic officials in Albuquerque, an alleged scheme that White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called “horrifying and shocking.”
“It’s a miracle that no one was hurt,” she said at Wednesday’s briefing. “The president has spoken out repeatedly and emphatically about how our nation rejects violence as a political tool. That is a bedrock principle of our democracy. It is important for leaders in both parties to reaffirm that particular that particularly as we’ve seen an increase in violent rhetoric and political violence like seen most recently again in New Mexico.
A defeated candidate for the New Mexico legislature (click here) was arrested this week on charges that he orchestrated a plot to shoot up the homes of four Democratic officials in Albuquerque, an alleged scheme that White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called “horrifying and shocking.”
“It’s a miracle that no one was hurt,” she said at Wednesday’s briefing. “The president has spoken out repeatedly and emphatically about how our nation rejects violence as a political tool. That is a bedrock principle of our democracy. It is important for leaders in both parties to reaffirm that particular that particularly as we’ve seen an increase in violent rhetoric and political violence like seen most recently again in New Mexico.
Violence when it is linked to power and the desire for it is a very bad state of mind. The democratic principles we all embrace carry a sense of fairness in elections. Every vote is suppose to count. It empowers citizens to be a contributing member of society with all the responsibility that goes along with being informed and not brainwashed or apathetic.
The idea a single man casts his vote through violence is the epitome of mental illness. It removes the citizen from a responsible act of citizenship and replaces it with a person that has the desire and ability to overpower the government. It is illegal, but, the lack of mental health in that is also important. This type of power thirsty ideology is not addressed by psychiatry. At least it wasn't in 1997.
Isr J Psychiatry Relat Sci. 1997;34(1):3-15; discussion 16-7.
A personality disorder of excessive power strivings (click here)
By I. W. Charny
Abstract
None of the existing formal diagnostic categories in psychiatry today addresses adequately the issues of excessive power-seeking, corruption and destructiveness. Excessive power strivings both poison the personality of the individual who is obsessed in his spirit and mind with power and do unacceptable harm to other peoples' lives. The present proposal of a diagnostic category of a Personality Disorder of Excessive Power Strivings is intended to fit into current diagnostic schema of DSM as well as into an earlier proposal (1) to examine in all psychopathology not only the burdens and damage people do and impose on their own selves and their own functioning, but also the harm they do to other peoples' lives and functioning. The diagnosis is to be used when the individual displays prolonged and severe manifestations of the following listed criteria: The basic feature which is always present in this personality disorder is:
1. Intense and extensive power strivings. In addition, at least three other of the following characteristics should be present;
2. Lack of empathy for people, and indifference to the suffering of others;
3. "Street smart" alertness and remarkable cunning committed to seizing and expanding power;
4. Ruthlessness in cultivation of power;
5. Scapegoating and projection of blame on to targeted individuals or a group, an insistent need to identify certain others as lowly, worthless and intended victims; 6. Corruption by power and addiction to power;
7. Demands of other people to be dependent on one's powerful personality, or that they become one's obedient followers;
8. Emphasis on symbolisms of pure vs. impure, holy vs. infidel, chosen vs. condemned;
9. A basic disrespect for the lives of others evidenced in callous or indifferent exposure of others to undue risks;
10. An absence of conscience in contexts of self-interest and opportunity;
11. A homicide/suicide orientation.
Previous to Trump's rampage on January 6, 2021, there were always those that would take issue with the government and government officials in a way that called up violence. There are people serving time in prison for threatening a president. It only takes one with an opportunity to carry out his ideology and the country is faced with a tragedy.
Karine, the President's Press Secretary is absolutely correct, it was nothing but a small miracle no one was hurt or worse. It is also excellent police work to find a plot like this and end it's potential.
In the abstract above I found the characteristics interesting. There was a significant number of people on January 6, 2021 that were involved with strivings to achieve power regardless of the power of the USA Constitution and the excellent work of law enforcement. The election of 2020 was considered by those in law enforcement to be the best protected election in USA history. The people of January 6, 2021 had no conscience as they committed violence against Capitol police, destroyed parts of the building to gain entrance and proceeded to attempt a hunt of freely elected officials in their legally obligated roles in placing a President in the highest seat of power of the USA government. You can call it what you want, but, it was nothing short of mob violence inspired by a man that lost an election.
Solomon Pena is attempting a resolve no different. There is an underlying desire for power outside that of which is provided by the USA Constitution. It is wrong, illegal and a mindset that brings about an ideology of violence. How is it that a person even conceives of such plans? A person of this ideology is not living with reality. There is no way a group of men can conspire to take power of government away from elected persons through violence and expect to hold that power. It is so far afield there is no reconciling the idea could be successful, yet, they believe it is.
Emotional fits like this scare the very people that are elected in a peaceful manner and causes them to reconsider their victory as too dangerous to continue on their path of leadership. That is a rational reaction. It takes bravery of which they did not consider before they placed their names on the ballot.
The politically violent mindset has far reaching and disastrous outcomes for our country at every level of government. It cannot be allowed to continue and must be removed from society.
The title of this blog is "The Revolt and the Revolting," not, "The Killer and the Killing." There is a huge difference in those concepts and that difference must carry brevity in society and return peaceful power to our elections and those elected.
