I believe the violence stems from fear -- the country is at war, and that creates risk and heightened tension. I also believe the violence stems from defensiveness -- the pro-war people know in their hearts that this war is wrong. I also believe that the violence stems from ignorance -- people who were force-fed patriotism from childhood have never learned to think, to create their own opinions from available evidence. They have only learned to believe. Finally, I believe that the violence stems from a sad lack of trust -- what can we believe?
Knowing that we are being lied to by our government and media makes us miserably afraid, and we lash out.