One of the pillars of democracy erodes before our eyes. The ability to disagree with the politically different disintegrates under red and black flags, and hooded rioters obscuring their faces. It’s not Donald Trump’s secret police. It’s not something out of a dystopian novel. It’s the very real culture of permissive violence exploding from today’s left. Bit by bit, this sort of behavior becomes quickly normalized (in the parlance du jour) and escalated.

While there’s generally been blackout coverage of these “mostly peaceful” riots in the legacy media, every once in awhile something breaks through. Such is the case with the ever desperate Kathy Griffin’s latest sickening stunt. Griffin, who most people aren’t exactly sure why she is famous, posed for photos featuring the decapitated head of President Trump Donald John TrumpSteele Dossier sub-source was subject of FBI counterintelligence probe Pelosi slams Trump executive order on pre-existing conditions: It 'isn't worth the paper it's signed on' Trump 'no longer angry' at Romney because of Supreme Court stance MORE. Intended for an audience eager for more and more radical action, Griffin jumped over a big red line. Even CNN had to ask: did she commit a felony?

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Her too little, too late apology simply said she went “too far” rather than understanding the underlying crassness and danger her precedent sets. Griffin, who must appear on almost everyone’s “Top 10 Annoying Noncriminal People” (although the latter may change) list, traded vulgar coarseness for attention to a dying career. She said she asked the photographer to “take down the image” — as if that’s possible in the age of the internet. The only thing genuine in her drab statement was that it “wasn’t funny.” Understatement of the year.

The real underlying question is why Griffin thought that such an odious action was acceptable in the first place. In the echo chamber of the modern left wing, it’s obvious. Where is the swift condemnation of the stunt by this “comedian?” Whataboutisms abounded, said one Twitter commentator with 217 followers — a random hillbilly once depicted a hanged President Obama!

Some criticism came in from the left, including CNN’s Jake Tapper. He hosted a segment where — surprise, surprise, his panel said the network had better things to talk about than her. Considering the news network employs her for their New Year’s “I forgot to turn on Ryan Seacrest” snoozefest says enough.

Will this incident live past this news cycle? Will there be solemn op-eds calling for “soul searching” among leaders of the Democratic Party for their tacit support of violent rhetoric and its predictable results? How many Seth Meyers and Stephen Colbert monologues will ridicule Griffin back into obscurity? Unfortunately, such questions are a waste of time. Even violence committed by that side of the aisle gets blamed on the White House.

One of the rioters in Berkeley was finally arrested for assaulting a Trump supporter with a bike lock. Kellyanne Conway called on Democratic Party leaders to quell the rising violence among their supporters. Police again arrested violent protesters during the People’s Republic of Seattle’s May Day. Black clad antifa rioters assault and intimidate citizens and pro-Trump marchers.

Meanwhile, if you turned on the mainstream media, you would think that President Trump was personally leading a campaign of violence from the left wing Oregon hipster district to the Montana congressional race.

Take last week’s terrible attack on passengers in Portland. A mentally deranged man screamed at two Muslim women and slit the throats of their defenders. The media saw its narrative perfectly crafted. Except he was a Bernie supporting, Jill Stein voting, Trump hating maniac. The New York Daily News instantly declared Trump “ignored” the incident. The Huffington Post had to one up — or should I say 20-up them. Inverse said that Trump’s tweet condemning the attack didn’t even exist.

I wrote about the issue two months ago — and it only seems to be getting worse. This isn’t some sort of game. It’s people’s lives and livelihoods played with to reach the front of TMZ or the Huffington Post. Heck, the latter said that violence was “logical” and apologized to ... you guessed it, liberals.

It’s not funny. It’s not edgy. It’s just wrong.

Where does the atmosphere of delegitimizing an elected government and brushing violence under the rug get you? Well, it gets you this (editor's note: graphic image).

Kristin Tate is a conservative columnist and author of the book “Government Gone Wild: How D.C. Politicians Are Taking You For a Ride And What You Can Do About It.” She was recently named one of NewsMax’s “30 Most Influential Republicans Under 30.” Follow her @KristinBTate.

The views expressed by contributors are their own and are not the views of The Hill.