Two people were murdered this weekend in Tennessee for being liberals -- or at least for associating with them.
As this tragedy takes a bizarre political twist, let me say this, and it is my opinion alone:
The Far Right is no more responsible for this tragedy than “The Fisher King” for the brutal murders it inspired. In other words, not at all. The gunman was unstable.
An unstable mind caught up in political hyperbole: Liberals hate America. Liberals hate Christians. Liberals want to destroy the family. Liberals are ruining our way of life. Liberals should be executed for treason.
You’d have to be insane to believe that crap.
To those who demonize liberals… It’s not that I blame you for these murders. It’s that I want you to recognize them as a warning sign. When someone that sick and violent finds your message that appealing, it should make you stop and think. Do you realize how hate-filled your rhetoric has become? Do you recognize the bile you’re spewing?
Hatred is a strong motivator. It’s very effective in politics. If you can fill the voters with fury at your opponent, they’ll show up at the ballot box in a stampede. You can choose hate and fury as political weapons, if that’s what you want. It’s a free country. And it works.
But remember what it is you’re inspiring. Not murder -- a sane person won’t go that far. But anger. You’re fanning the flames of outrage. You’re filling people with hatred. The kind that would appeal to a madman.
The damage you do to our nation is greater than losing an election.
As for the damage you do to yourself… Mark 8:36.
- Calvin Rye
"The damage you do to our nation is greater than losing an election."
Of course. But when the corporate media rewards this spew with $400 million contracts, it's not likely they're going to stop. They don't care about the nation, they just care about their bank accounts.
Posted by: Southern Beale | July 28, 2008 at 07:02 PM
Oh, wow ... just saw this:
Bill O'Reilly, Michael Savage, Sean Hannity on accused shooter's reading list
4-page letter outlines frustration, hatred of 'liberal movement'
By Hayes Hickman (Contact), Don Jacobs (Contact)
Originally published 07:44 a.m., July 28, 2008
Updated 05:43 p.m., July 28, 2008
Police found right-wing political books, brass knuckles, empty shotgun shell boxes and a handgun in the Powell home of a man who said he attacked a church in order to kill liberals "who are ruining the country," court records show.
Posted by: Southern Beale | July 28, 2008 at 07:41 PM