Because we stopped doing shit like this

Did we? Or was this always a rare and remarkable incident, both in that it happened at all and it was captured and preserved for us to talk about today.

Certainly, you can talk about the no less than three different Trump assassination attempts. Or the Luigi Mangione shooting. Or the fatal stabbing of Bob Lee, CPO of Cashapp. Or the assault of Bryan Kobel, CEO of TC BioPharm, after a dispute with his Uber driver. Or the vigilante attack on Paul Pelosi. Or the Doohickey assassination of Shinzo Abe. Or the Charlie Kirk assassination. Or just run the numbers annually for violence targeting C-level officials

This study analyzes 424 open source reported incidents targeting senior private-sector executives between 2003 and late 2025, highlighting a sustained and accelerating rise in both physical and cyber threats. Physical attacks dominate (85%), and one-third of all incidents resulted in injury or death. Incident frequency has surged since 2023, with 2025 already doubling 2024 totals by October, marking the highest level on record. Targeting increasingly occurs at workplaces and residences, with protest-driven activity driving growth at public events.

But I’m not seeing any evidence to suggest we “stopped” doing any of this. On the contrary, it looks like we’ve got a rising tide of stochastic violence, both from within the state itself and against state and private leadership.