Eric Fuller, a victim of last Saturday's possibly Tea Party inspired massacre that killed six and wounded 13 others is now himself the latest victim of Tea Party incitement. Just one week after the monstrous attack that may or may not have been politically motivated, Mr. Fuller was driven into threatening to kill Tea Party spokesman Trent Humphries, who had just made some inflammatory comments of his own.
This is how far people are being pushed by the Tea Party, and it looks like Fuller's crime, for which he has now been arrested, is standing up to merely say "I've had enough". And also, "I'm going to kill you".
When will this Tea Party madness end? Did they not hear the President's clarion call for everyone to moderate the rhetoric and start thriving together?
"This is just another disturbing example of how the Tea Party and conservatives in general are pushing people in this country over the edge," explained a Democrat strategist. "Some right wingers have forcefully argued all week that the Tea Party's pattern of dangerous, violent rhetoric had absolutely nothing to do with last week's shootings. Fine, but how are they going to explain this one away? This man was clearly inspired by the Tea Party. In fact, he specifically mentioned one of their leaders!"
The bottom line is, if it wasn't for the Tea Party, the victim Mr. Fuller would have been guilty of absolutely no crime at all. You cannot get in trouble for making threats against something that doesn't exist. Solutions to societal ills are rarely simple, but this one is abundantly clear. No Tea Party, no threats. No Tea Party, no violence. No Tea Party, no problem. It doesn't take an Einstein to figure out the answer.
Showing posts with label heated rhetoric. Show all posts
Showing posts with label heated rhetoric. Show all posts
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Sunday, January 9, 2011
I Remember Back Before 2008 When Political Rhetoric Was Not Heated
The heated rhetoric in American politics has been simmering for quite a while, finally boiling over with a horrific mass murder in Arizona this weekend.
But as you'll recall, the crazy political talk only started in 2008. And it's not surprising since there are so many racists out there who hate having a black president. Unfortunately, one only need look to the Tea Party to see where this country has gone wrong in its divisive, violent rhetoric. Before 2008, America was a land where politics was discussed and reported on with sheer frivolity, and spoken of using only fun, safe metaphors.
As you remember, when George W. Bush was president, this country was a place of rational dissent (if you could even call it dissent), where "protesters" spoke and behaved very formally as if right out of Shakespeare. Who can forget when those scamps at Code Pink rushed a stage and tried to gently place handcuffs on Karl Rove for "war crimes" and shouted, "Forsooth, oh merciful tongue! And ye will disavow it, yet I must not. Our remedies in ourselves often do lie."
And we must certainly recall when only peaceful protesters stood near the doors to the Marine recruitment centers in Berkeley, California, how artfully their words were chosen. "Within this hour at most I will advise you where to plant yourselves, ye shall not behold your face at ample view," they casually announced.
And remember when our political commentators were solely composed of the rational and the sane? Like when Keith Olbermann simply went on TV and broadcast his peaceful opinion to all. "But, soft!", he said in a Special Comment in June of 2006, "What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and George W. Bush, whom everyone needs to respect completely at all times, is the sun."
As the animals on the right have lost control over themselves, it is time to not only restrict speech and guns, it is also time to choose our own words more carefully. For example, instead of "battleground state", The Mega Independent will be culling from a list of possible less inflammatory replacements, including, but not limited to, "important states", "states where the race may be close" and "places to watch". We, as the responsible media, must first lead by example. But Dick Cheney is still Hitler.
But as you'll recall, the crazy political talk only started in 2008. And it's not surprising since there are so many racists out there who hate having a black president. Unfortunately, one only need look to the Tea Party to see where this country has gone wrong in its divisive, violent rhetoric. Before 2008, America was a land where politics was discussed and reported on with sheer frivolity, and spoken of using only fun, safe metaphors.
As you remember, when George W. Bush was president, this country was a place of rational dissent (if you could even call it dissent), where "protesters" spoke and behaved very formally as if right out of Shakespeare. Who can forget when those scamps at Code Pink rushed a stage and tried to gently place handcuffs on Karl Rove for "war crimes" and shouted, "Forsooth, oh merciful tongue! And ye will disavow it, yet I must not. Our remedies in ourselves often do lie."
And we must certainly recall when only peaceful protesters stood near the doors to the Marine recruitment centers in Berkeley, California, how artfully their words were chosen. "Within this hour at most I will advise you where to plant yourselves, ye shall not behold your face at ample view," they casually announced.
And remember when our political commentators were solely composed of the rational and the sane? Like when Keith Olbermann simply went on TV and broadcast his peaceful opinion to all. "But, soft!", he said in a Special Comment in June of 2006, "What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and George W. Bush, whom everyone needs to respect completely at all times, is the sun."
As the animals on the right have lost control over themselves, it is time to not only restrict speech and guns, it is also time to choose our own words more carefully. For example, instead of "battleground state", The Mega Independent will be culling from a list of possible less inflammatory replacements, including, but not limited to, "important states", "states where the race may be close" and "places to watch". We, as the responsible media, must first lead by example. But Dick Cheney is still Hitler.
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