There are not always equal sides to every issue. The very
nature of Conservatives and Liberals is a perfect example. The extreme versions
are of violent, militant absolutism vs. wishy-washy peaceniks.
Which is why I find it amusing when Conservatives try to
proclaim Liberals to be just as violent whenever defending against some act of
right-wing violence. Somehow, I don’t view dousing yourself in patchouli oil
and breaking into labs at night to free animals quite as violent as attempting
to assassinate people.
My friend Mark posted this link on Facebook regarding the
attempted assassination of Representative Kathy Giffords. A short thread of
responses follow. I’m also going to include my two fairly short Facebook rants
about the same subject in this blogpost because I don’t feel it necessary to
spread this topic out any further.
The names have been changed to protect the innocent and the
guilty – and all the shady characters in between.
Enjoy…
Mark
I usually don't care for Olbermann much... too melodramatic
for me... but his spiel here is spot on.
Heather
Olbermann pretty much nailed it
Nancy
He should've stopped about two minutes in, as he still got
"melodramatic". I would've believed his sincerity a bit more had he
offered specific examples of Dems who've made poor choices in words, as he did
with Beck et al.
Movies, music, tv shows or books are targeted for this exact
same criticism. However, everyone jumps up with responses about first amendment
rights and how each person ultimately has the choice to enact or react to what
they've seen, read, etc. Perhaps this loon took someone's words far out of
context, but are we really going to blame that other person for this tragedy?
And unfortunately, like the movie industry, the news industry thrives on
melodrama and conflict. What better way to cultivate it than to make everyone
think we're at war with one another?
My prayers go out to the families of the dead and wounded.
And I don't care what party they belong to.
Lou
Specific examples of Dems making veiled threats and saying
shit like what comes from the right are so few and far between in comparison,
it would be impossible find an equal number. His repudiation of his own comment
was enough to overstate the ratio.
Jim
Did I really just read someone comparing a fictional
entertainment industry to an all too real political climate??
Bill Mancuso
Please feel free to list all the specific examples that
Olbermann left out about liberals putting cross-hairs on a conservative's
picture and said they needed to be "taken out". And that we should
look toward "second amendment remedies" if we don't win an election. And show up
at speeches carrying an AR-15. And claim it's not time to retreat but to
reload. And threw bricks through a candidate's headquarters. And shot bullets
through a candidate's headquarters. And cut the gas line of a candidate's house
(brother's by mistake). And carry signs about refreshing the tree of liberty with
the blood of tyrants. And say insurrection of the government is an option. And
shoot holocaust museum guards. And carry protest signs saying 'we came unarmed this
time.' And post online the addresses of
candidates to be ‘dealt with.’
Please. I look forward to my email notification when that
list of those specific things liberals did is posted here.
Linda
Bill, I would just like to say, on a completely unrelated
note, that I appreciate your proper use of the words "threw" and
"through." That's a rare ability these days.
Bill Mancuso
Thanks! And I would also like to add that there is no way
that their response can be as thorough as they're hoping it will be.
Lou
Still waiting... That retort has to be coming soon, doesn't
it?
David
There will never be a retort, ever!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * *
CONSEQUENCES
1/13/11
For the past 2 years, Conservatives and Teabaggers have been
telling people to shoot Liberals. On websites they put cross-hairs on Liberals
and say they need to be 'taken out'. They say we have to refresh the tree of
liberty with the blood of tyrants. They post liberal politician's addresses
online and say they need to be taken care of. They say we need second amendment
remedies if we don't get our way. They encourage people to show up at public
functions carrying automatic rifles. Liberals have been telling you to stop
saying these things because mentally unbalanced people will eventually listen
to you and shoot someone.
A mentally unbalanced person shot Rep. Gabrielle Giffords,
(D-Arizona) last week in Tucson, and murdered 6 bystanders: US District Judge
John M. Roll, 63; Christina-Taylor Green, 9: Dorwin Stoddard, 76; Dorothy
Morris, 76; Gabe Zimmerman, 30; Phyllis Schneck, 79 and wounded 13 more. Rep.
Giffords was one of the people targeted to be 'taken out' under one of
quit-after-serving-only-a-half-term-to-devote-full-time-to-making-money-for-herself
Governor Sarah Palin's cross-hairs on her website. Conservatives are claiming, "I don't
see the connection - he was just mentally unstable. Liberals are only trying to
take political advantage of the situation." Since what liberals for the
past two years have been saying was going to happen has literally happened, I
would like to take this opportunity to say - You are lying. We know you are
lying. You know you are lying. Words have meaning. Your actions have
consequences. Your seeds of ignorance are now bearing fruit. You know this, you
lying, cowardly bullies. Take responsibility for what YOU have wrought for ONCE
in your life. Not yet again blame other people for what YOU did.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * *
Posted later that same day…
RESPONSIBILITY AND COWARDICE
I thought I said all I had to say on this subject, but I was
wrong.
A horrible mass murder by a crazy person in Tucson, AZ that
targeted Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, (D-Arizona) happened on January 8, 2011. In
response, Republicans and Teabaggers (and their right-wing media outlets)
claimed that perpetually repeating to their followers over a two year period to
shoot, take out, arm yourselves, don’t retreat but reload, prepare for
insurrection, use gun cross-hair graphics to target opponents and many other
violent expressions had no effect whatsoever on the mentally unstable person
who listened to them. Democrats (and their left-wing media outlets), in turn,
claimed we have no idea why this crazy person did what he did; please just
let’s not blame anyone.
Two things.
1.) Why do companies pay a LOT of money to advertising
agencies to put together a 30 second commercial (or half hour infomercial) to
tell you to buy their shampoo (or slap-chopper) if it has no effect on who’s
listening?
2.) Why do politicians campaign, paying tens up to hundreds
of millions of dollars if it has no effect on who’s listening?
This is, in my opinion, evident of what is wrong with
American politics and the extremes in which it functions today.
On one side, you have militant bullies that never, under any
circumstances, take responsibility for the destruction they have wrought. And
on the other side, you have tree-hugging cowards that never, under any
circumstances, want to upset anyone, so they back away from every single issue
at hand.
Those two mindsets combined drive this country into an
ever-decaying orbit on the world stage.
I didn’t say which party is the bully and which the coward
because you already know.
To be clear, I’m not saying the crazy person wasn’t going to
do something crazy anyway, just that the constant rhetoric of calling to
violence against specific targets had focused the crazy. Imagine if for two
years the crazy people had been hearing this: “Are you mad that things aren’t
going your way? Then go to the polls and vote Republican! We’ll do what’s right
for this country!” Instead of: “Are you mad that things aren’t going your way?
Then shoot the Democrats you don’t agree with!”
And stop blaming the media for pointing out the fact that
Sarah Palin on her website literally put gun cross-hairs on Rep. Gabrielle
Giffords and said she was targeted to be taken out. It’s amazing how Palin is
so often in the news for doing something stupid. It’s not because the media is
going after that poor, poor, innocent woman. It’s because that woman is
incredibly stupid and does many incredibly stupid things (I don’t use the term
‘ignorant’ in describing her because that suggests the ability to learn). For
example, she used the term ‘blood libel’ in describing the media attacks on
her. A huge debate ensued about the origin of ‘blood libel’ and her usage of
it. What no one seems to realize is that Palin didn’t think to use that term.
Glenn Harlan Reynolds first used it in a nonsensical article he wrote in The
Wall Street Journal blaming the liberal media. Palin read this article that
defended her, thought ‘blood libel’ was a cool term, had someone write a
self-centered fireside martyr-cross speech for her to nail herself upon and
then she used that term. But in reality, she has absolutely no idea what it
means. Because she is stupid. She has never had an original thought. She copies
what other people say (sometimes on her hand) and just repeats it. No, wait.
That’s not entirely true. She does sometimes have original thoughts.
“Refudiate” was original. Comparing herself to Reagan, Shakespeare and god was
original. And let’s not forget this classic word salad gem explaining the
writing on her hand, “I didn’t really had a good answer, as so often - is me.”
Classic Palin.
And no. I don’t blame the Blessed Lady of Perpetual Victimization
for what happened. She was just one dumb cog in a giant dumb machine. It’s just
that at a time when everyone else is mourning the true victims of this tragedy,
she has yet again thrown herself into the spotlight playing the victim and
trying to shift blame to everyone else for what she said. But really only just
making a stupid asshole of herself for ramping up the very rhetoric she’s says
she isn’t saying. It’s like thrusting your family onto a reality show about
your family and then in the very first episode complaining that the liberal
media won’t leave your family alone. Like I said, she’s a stupid asshole.
You know what? Forget EVERYTHING I just said. If the
Republicans REALLY, TRULY think that all this talk of violence has absolutely
no connection to the violence it spurs, then they’ll continue to tell their
listeners to arm themselves, target, shoot, ‘take out’ and reload.
However, I know they’re full of shit.
And so do they.
My only fear is that the extremist monster the Republican
party created will escalate the violence. Their idiocy seems to know no bounds.
Yes, I refer to the Teabaggers.
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