The US is more divided than ever
The US Supreme Court has overturned the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that established a woman's constitutional right to an abortion. This means that abortion is no longer a protected right under the US Constitution.
In most countries, the women, or at most the couple, rightly decides if they want an abortion - this is not the case in the US. Those who oppose abortion for religious or other reasons consider it an act of murder and often resort to extreme measures to prevent it. Anti-abortionists target doctors that perform abortions and abortion clinics with violent attacks, which have even led to deaths.
The right to bear arms
Even before the Supreme Court ruling, it would have been illegal for doctors to perform abortions in some conservative states. Some Chinese students in the US are not aware of this fact and often go through a lot of trouble because of it.
But the ruling will likely aggravate the battle over abortion. Large-scale pro-abortion demonstrations have already occurred in several states. An armed man was even arrested near the residence of a Supreme Court justice, leading to heightened security for Supreme Court justices. No doubt, the tussle over abortion rights will further exacerbate the American society's divide.
A colleague of mine has a collection of over 40 guns, including machine guns, which he proudly showed me when I visited his house.
As a result of the Second Amendment to the US Constitution, stores selling guns and ammunition are ubiquitous in the US. In flea markets, guns and ammunition are bought and sold easily without any checks. Indoor and outdoor shooting ranges are also found in most states, with shooting and hunting seen as trendy sports. Most American households own guns as well.
A colleague of mine has a collection of over 40 guns, including machine guns, which he proudly showed me when I visited his house. After migrating to the US, my Chinese classmate also bought several guns, including a two-wheeled heavy machine gun, which he boasted about to our old classmates online.
Due to the proliferation of guns, gun violence has also become commonplace in the US. Dozens of people die each day from gun violence - Chicago sees an average of dozens of shootings in a weekend. However, politicians are unlikely to pass stricter gun laws, despite the constant calls by gun-control activists, as the US's National Rifle Association is a powerful lobby group that can influence the elections.
Not too long ago, a mass shooting broke out at a Texas elementary school, killing 22 students and teachers. New York thus passed a law to ban guns in many public places, but the Supreme Court ruled this law as unconstitutional.
The number of people possessing guns in public places is expected to increase, and this will push up the number of gun violence cases.
The number of people possessing guns in public places is expected to increase, and this will push up the number of gun violence cases.
Black-white conflict persists
American textbooks assert that former US President Abraham Lincoln fought the American Civil War to free black slaves. While this claim is not entirely true, many Americans accept this fact as truth. Over 150 years have passed since the civil war but the black-white conflict remains a persistent problem in US society.
The Black Lives Matter movement once brought US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Congressional Democrats to their knees, but this aggravated the conservative whites even more. The New York Times reported that three white North Carolina policemen, who were later fired, were caught on tape saying that they were ready for another civil war to solve the black issue once and for all.
At the height of the Black Lives Matter movement, US Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said that the US had even "tried to deal with our original sin of slavery" by electing an "African American president", but that did not solve the problem.
California recently passed a bill to make reparations to historically enslaved blacks, while other cities have also made resolutions to compensate them. Asheville, the Western North Carolina city where I am based, has also approved reparations for blacks. Some historical landmarks in the city were also renamed after black figures. For example, a few years ago the recreation centre I play ping-pong at was renamed after a former black nanny who took care of local white lawyers and doctors.
Moderate whites are considering migrating to another country to avoid the growing racial divide, while radical white supremacists like the aforementioned white policemen and some militia groups are prepared to resort to violent means to solve the issue.
Radical white supremacists and violent means
A former mayor of Asheville is black, as is the city's former police chief. The mayor and police commissioner of New York are also black, demonstrating the elevated status of blacks in the US.
However, these have triggered the ire of many white supremacists, who question how the reparations for black Americans will be funded. The election of black mayors and police chiefs is unacceptable to them as well.
Moderate whites are considering migrating to another country to avoid the growing racial divide, while radical white supremacists like the aforementioned white policemen and some militia groups are prepared to resort to violent means to solve the issue.
... competition for resources will only intensify, and it is likelier that politicians will use racial tensions as a political campaign tool.
Black Americans mostly live in cities, especially big cities such as New York and Chicago, while white Americans mostly live in the suburbs or rural towns. While both parties own guns, white supremacist organisations are more well-organised and own more lethal weapons than black groups, which mostly own pistols. If a confrontation breaks out between both sides, the African Americans would suffer badly.
To alleviate racial tensions, American elites once called the US a model of racial integration, which many agree with. But following the US's increasing national debt, which has resulted in financial pressures, competition for resources will only intensify, and it is likelier that politicians will use racial tensions as a political campaign tool.
Former US President Donald Trump is only the first - and will not be the last - to do so. There is still a high chance that a large-scale racial conflict could break out in the US.