KILLINGS IN THE WISCONSIN MARCH HEIGHTENED TENSIONS, DEEP DIVISION IN US: MEDIA

Fri 26 November 2021:

The deaths of five people in the United States caused by a car slamming into a Christmas procession horrified a country already shaken by acts of violence and at odds with itself over culture, individual rights, and the very concept of democracy, according to the Japan Times.

The incident in Waukesha, Wisconsin, occurred two days after Kyle Rittenhouse, a white teen charged with homicide after fatally shooting two men during racial justice rallies last year, was acquitted, according to the Japan Times.

According to the Japanese daily, the United States’ fault lines over race, gun rights, and vigilantism have been exposed in recent high-profile cases.

These latest tragedies added to an increasingly flammable atmosphere that has riven society as a result of increased crime perceptions and dwindling trust in government and institutions.

According to the research, the violent crime rate in the United States increased by 5% from 2019 to 2020, including murder, assault, robbery, and rape.

The murder rate rose an alarming 30 percent during that period, logging the largest single-year increase since 1905, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

For the first time, the United States has been included to an annual list of “backsliding” democracies, according to the International IDEA think tank.

“Our democracy is in trouble,” said Mary Stuckey, a politics professor at Pennsylvania State University was quoted in the Japan Times report, warning against the fixation on drama and conflict in public discourse.

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