Far-Right-Wing Violence since January 2008

[Gaith]

Writing for The Hill, citing Dave Neiwart of Crooks and Liars, Markos Moulitsas makes a list:

July 2008: A gunman agitated at how “liberals” are “destroying America” kills two and wounds four at a Unitarian church.

October 2008: Two neo-Nazis are arrested in Tennessee for a plot to murder Barack Obama and dozens of other African-Americans.


December 2008: A father-son team involved in the “patriot” movement try to extort a bank with a homemade bomb; they end up killing two police officers.


January 2009: A white supremacist in Brockton, Mass., rapes a black woman, kills her sister and a homeless man, and is captured while en route to a Jewish community center.


April 2009: A white supremacist and gun nut kills three Pittsburgh cops because he believed conspiracy theories about President Obama taking away his guns. He had been posting Glenn Beck videos on a neo-Nazi website.


May 2009: Another right-wing crazy in Okaloosa County, Fla., also fearing his guns would be confiscated, kills two cops before being shot dead.


June 2009: A Holocaust denier and right-wing tax protester kills a security guard at the Holocaust Museum.


July 2009: A woman takes a break from posting Glenn Beck videos on her MySpace page to case an Air National Guard Base in Long Island. Upon her arrest, authorities find an assault rifle, a shotgun and 500 rounds of ammo in her car.


August 2009: A man in Collier Township, just south of Pittsburgh, walks into a women’s aerobics class and kills three women. His diary states, “Good luck to Obama! He will be successful. The liberal media LOVES him. Amerika has chosen The Black Man. Good!”


February 2010: An anti-government tax protester flies his plane into the IRS building in Austin, Texas, killing himself and one other.


March 2010: Seven militiamen in Michigan and Ohio are arrested for plotting to assassinate local police officers to spark a new civil war. This is also the month that an anti-government extremist walks into the Pentagon and opens fire, wounding two, before being shot dead.


May 2010: A mosque in Jacksonville, Fla., is firebombed.


July 2010: A Glenn Beck fanatic loads his car with weapons and drives to the Bay Area to attack the offices of the Tides Foundation and ACLU. He is wounded in a shootout along with the patrolmen after they intercept him on a routine traffic stop.


September 2010: A Concord, N.C., man who refers to himself as the “Christian counterpart to bin Laden” is arrested and charged with plotting to blow up an abortion clinic.

So far, that list counts sixteen killed before a female Democratic representative was shot in the head, many of them police officers or other government employees.

Notice how this list of fatalities doesn't include gun store owners, Wall Street bankers, NASCAR attendees or a single conservative talk show host, no matter how minor.

Huh.

Markos sums up:

Make no mistake — this violent rage is being fueled from the top of the modern conservative movement — Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh and champions like Sharron Angle (with her calls for “Second Amendment remedies”).


There’s nothing like it on the left. Not even close.

Notice, however, that he left out the Unitarian People's Front, who killed eight NRA lobbyists just last week by stuffing tofu down their throats. Shame on him for not being balanced and fair.

But seriously, when deranged wackos go out and kill people, they often go after figures associated with government, and nearly always spare those who insist that government (especially that which aims to "promote the general welfare") is inherently evil.

Palin and Beck make millions by shouting as loud as they can, and a nine-year-old girl is murdered.

But I bet those tropical vacations they're able to buy with that money is totally worth it.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Palin and Beck make millions by shouting as loud as they can, and a nine-year-old girl is murdered.

I don't care how often Jared Loughner listened to either of them. He's the one responsible for the shooting, not them.

Palin, Beck and all the rest of them have the right to say whatever they want. They didn't tell Loughner to shoot.

If somebody listens to Keith Olbermann or Rachel Maddow, then goes batshit and kills someone, you wouldn't say *they* were responsible, would you?

 

[Switch]

Palin, Beck and all the rest of them have the right to say whatever they want.

Curious how often folks confuse freedom of speech with freedom from criticism of one's speech.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

^ The attempt to blame Palin and Beck for the shootings implies an intent to prosecute them and therefore shut them down.

And, going back even further in time, anyone remember the "FLUSH RUSH" bumper stickers?

FWIW, I think Glenn Beck is a %#!$ loon, but even I wouldn't blame him for shootings like this. Nor would I wish to have even the most rabid left-wing voices silenced (that's why I'm consistently amused by those who want to shut down Fox News because they think it's too conservative - often these are the same people who loudly proclaim themselves to be tolerant).

 

[Switch]

^ The attempt to blame Palin and Beck for the shootings implies an intent to prosecute them and therefore shut them down.

Umm, I think you've been listening to a little too much Palin and Beck.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

^ I don't listen to them at all. Your point?

 

[Jetfire]

Buffalo Wings!!!

 

[Switch]

^ I don't listen to them at all. Your point?

I can't imagine where else you would get that idea that folks criticising the role played by certain right-wing pundits in contributing to the noxious political environment in the United States are in fact trying to get those pundits locked up. That's precisely the kind of hysteria which is being criticised in the first place.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

^ The kind of hysteria that I have a problem with is the kind that, as the OP referenced, attempts to place DIRECT blame for Loughner's crimes on Beck and Palin (and others). As if they specifically told Loughner to shoot.

Like I said, even I think that a lot of the far-right broadcasters are raving nutbars, but I wouldn't even try to claim that the recent shootings were THEIR fault. Would you say that "Palin and Beck make millions by shouting as loud as they can, and a nine-year-old girl is murdered" is a logical connection? Did they put the gun in Loughner's hand and force him to shoot? They are ALLOWED to shout as loud as they can. If something they say set Loughner off, that's still his fault, not theirs.

"Palin and Beck make millions by shouting as loud as they can, and a nine-year-old girl is murdered" - that's like saying "My next door neighbor mowed his lawn, and a car accident happened ten miles away".

Look, obviously the shootings - all shootings - were a terrible tragedy. Nobody's denying that. But they happened because Jared Loughner was an insane piece of shit *to begin with*, not because of who he listened to on the damn radio. People don't commit crimes because they listened to the wrong radio commentator (or heavy metal act), or played the wrong video game, or watched the wrong TV show, or saw the wrong movie. They commit crimes because they themselves are jackasses. End of story.

 

[fett51]

Mr. Laser Beam is completely right that a direct causal link is ridiculous, people's psychology is not that simple, and trying to hold specific media personalities responsible is silly. However, if someone actually believed that Obama is a commie-nazi or whatever, is it really a surprise that person would think about doing something extreme?

One question I'm looking for an alternate answer to: if the increased craziness in right-wing rhetoric isn't contributing to the increase in violence, what is? Why are all these crazies striking now?

Also not mentioned on that list was that there was an attempt to bomb an MLK day parade: http://www.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/01/20/washington.mlk.parade.device/index.html

We don't know who or why yet, but it looks in line with the trend outlined above so far.

 

[Switch]

^ The kind of hysteria that I have a problem with is the kind that, as the OP referenced, attempts to place DIRECT blame for Loughner's crimes on Beck and Palin (and others). As if they specifically told Loughner to shoot.

Gaith's rhetoric in the OP is a little too hysterical for my tastes too, but that's not the point. I responded to your claim that Beck, Palin, et al. have the right to say whatever they want. And of course they do. Nobody has suggested that they don't have the right to say the kind of things that they do. Your comment implied that those objecting to such violence-laden rhetoric are in fact opposing the right to free speech, which is not true.

I don't mean to pick on you specifically. It's something that always, always comes up whenever one party criticises the speech of another. You can pretty much set your watch by it.

"Your speech sucks!"
"Yeah, well it's my right to say it!"
"Yeah, and I have the right to call you a cockface for saying it!"

*commence hair-pulling*

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

However, if someone actually believed that Obama is a commie-nazi or whatever, is it really a surprise that person would think about doing something extreme?

Perhaps not. But if they DID do something extreme, it's not Obama's fault that they did.

if the increased craziness in right-wing rhetoric isn't contributing to the increase in violence, what is? Why are all these crazies striking now?

Beyond the presence of volatile political commentators as an easy scapegoat? There's probably no answer to that question, other than the general propensity of ALL humans to violence.

Or it could simply be media sensationalism. Is there really as much of an increase in violence as the media would have us believe? Think about it...

Your comment implied that those objecting to such violence-laden rhetoric are in fact opposing the right to free speech, which is not true.

Like I said, I believe that those who are blaming Palin and Beck for the recent shootings are doing so because they wish to place criminal intent on them, and thus PROSECUTE them (or at the very least, unleash all manner of frivolous lawsuits upon them) for the shootings.

 

[fett51]

Perhaps not. But if they DID do something extreme, it's not Obama's fault that they did.

No, it wouldn't be. But I do think the increased rhetoric is a factor, among several, that push some of these people over the edge.

Or it could simply be media sensationalism. Is there really as much of an increase in violence as the media would have us believe? Think about it...

I did. Found data even:
http://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search...e&ob=GTDID&od=desc&expanded=yes#results-table

As you can see the attacks are WAY up in '08, but most of them are by unknown groups and not as nasty as what's described above (though you can find the Unitarian church attack on there). They don't have the '09 and '10 stats up yet, but comparing what's listed above to the previous 5 years shows they would compare unfavorably.

 

[RJDiogenes]

This is nothing new. Anti-American Right Wing groups have been around forever; they have, though, been becoming increasingly organized and violent in the past few decades. This is why I belong to the Southern Poverty Law Center, an organization which tracks these groups, incidents of violence related to racism, homophobia, anti-semitism et cetera and prosecutes individuals and groups that commit these types of crimes. If you check out their website, you'll find a map with some frightening information about the extent of the problem.

Like I said, I believe that those who are blaming Palin and Beck for the recent shootings are doing so because they wish to place criminal intent on them, and thus PROSECUTE them (or at the very least, unleash all manner of frivolous lawsuits upon them) for the shootings.

That's complete nonsense.

 

[The Boy Who Cried Worf]

Make no mistake — this violent rage is being fueled from the top of the modern conservative movement — Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh and champions like Sharron Angle (with her calls for “Second Amendment remedies”).


There’s nothing like it on the left. Not even close

.

The Weather Underground
The Symbionese Liberation Army
The Unabomber
The Earth Liberation Front
The Black Panther Party
Puerto Rican Nationalists
Anti-Globalization activists

If you want to attribute individual racist killings to the right-wing then how about
Charles Manson(yes, look at his pre-murder statements on society)
Lee Boyd Malvo
Nidal Hasan

These things go in cycles and actually makes pretty interesting reading if you are willing to get past the simple-minded rhetoric of people like Moulitsas.

 

[KimMH]

The Weather Underground
The Symbionese Liberation Army
The Unabomber
The Earth Liberation Front
The Black Panther Party
Puerto Rican Nationalists
Anti-Globalization activists

If you want to attribute individual racist killings to the right-wing then how about
Charles Manson(yes, look at his pre-murder statements on society)
Lee Boyd Malvo
Nidal Hasan

These things go in cycles and actually makes pretty interesting reading if you are willing to get past the simple-minded rhetoric of people like Moulitsas.

^True this, but the time frame spans decades. Certainly there are unstable people latching onto extreme ideas; and they are willing to act upon them on ALL sides - such has it been, as it is now and ever will it be.

However I believe another point of the OP is that there has
been a rash of violence aimed at public figures who are perceived to be left at the hands of people who identify with the far-right and that the cycle of violence has shortened. That is, the pendulum swings back and forth but seems to hover disproportionately more at one end of the spectrum than the other.

 

[siskokid888]

With the changing demograpic in this country and the white male realizing his day of dominance is over, and with the loudmouth elitist right wing talkers and politicos fueling his paranoia, expect to see much more of this. When, over the next few decades, people of color begin to partake in the power they have been denied in this country for 300 years, it will reach a fever pitch, and then burn out.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

This is all nonsense anyway. We should all be struggling against a *common* enemy...

THE JUDEAN PEOPLE'S FRONT!!!

 

[marillion]

I thought it was the "People's Front of Judea??!!"

 

[Squiggy]

If somebody listens to Keith Olbermann or Rachel Maddow, then goes batshit and kills someone, you wouldn't say *they* were responsible, would you?

If either one of them alluded to taking back the government using a second amendment option...perhaps.