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Jared Lee Loughner, the twenty-two year old suspect in today’s murderous rampage in Tucson, Arizona, subscribed to a bizarre set of conspiracy theories that inspired his actions. Six people are dead and twelve are wounded, including Democratic Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, as a result the shootings. The alleged murderer left online YouTube rants prior to engaging in violence that give clues to his political beliefs. Of course, it was chilling to see the murder attempt on a lawmaker who was included in an infamous cross hairs map put out by Sarah Palin’s “Sarah Pac.”
The Congresswoman herself ominously addressed the provocativeness of the image on cable news saying, “We’re on Sarah Palin’s targeted list…but the thing is the way that she has it depicted has the cross hairs of a gun sight over our district. When people do that, they’ve got to realize there’s consequences to that.”
The rhetoric is immature and that of pseudo-populist fluff. It certainly doesn’t help the situation when there are unstable folks who might take its exaggerations to a deadly conclusion. That being said, trying to make sense of the political beliefs behind today’s murders takes us well beyond easy Palin bashing. For any understanding of conspiracy inspired violence, Chip Berlet is the analyst to turn to and his expertise is much valued. This is especially so when the Lazy Angeles Times runs a story proclaiming “Arizona Shooting: Mystery Surrounds Suspect in Rampage.”
Not really. Berlet has a good handle on his talk2action post, “Alleged Giffords Shooter Shares Currency Plot Obsession with Anti-Abortion Killer.” The best excerpts of the analysis are setting his actions in context of a similar a historical case:
Jared Lee Loughner, the alleged shooter of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and others in Arizona shares an obsession with government currency and money manipulation plots with anti-abortion killer John C. Salvi 3d. Loughner wrote about a conspiracy of currency manipulation in text posted on YouTube. Salvi was found guilty in the Brookline, Massachusetts clinic shootings in late 1994 that left two women dead and several persons injured.
Next, Berlet gives a summary of the beliefs the alleged shooter left as clues to his mindset:
Jared Lee Loughner warned about the “current treasonous laws,” and stated he would not “pay debt with a currency that’s not backed by gold and silver!.” He said he could not “trust the current government because of” Constitutional “ratifications; adding that the “government is implying mind control and brainwash on the people controlling grammar (sic).”
The post ends with the most level headed analysis of the situation:
The writings of Jared Lee Loughner are an odd jumble of right-wing Patriot and anti-Federal Reserve themes mixed with rhetoric similar to that from people who are mentally unbalanced. It is too early to tell where this story will lead. It is clear, though, that aggressive right-wing rhetoric targeting Democrats as treasonous encourages some unstable people to act out in aggression or violence. This was the warning of my report Toxic to Democracy: Conspiracy Theories, Demonization, and Scapegoating, published in June 2009.
It’s unfortunate that an expert such as Chip Berlet will not make the rounds of the corporate media. His informative take is essential to make sense of the mayhem today in Arizona. There’s no evidence that Loughner was directly inspired by the chalkboard silliness of Glenn Beck or the gun rhetoric fluff of Sarah Palin. Unless we learn something in the coming days, Berlet’s assessment is a good guide to go by until then. His warning about aggressive demagoguery and its potential dangers to democracy, however, is a caution that needs no delay.
He also called America a terrorist country, loved to see the American flag burnt and loved: a communist manifesto and he hated religion…. Sound left wing!
Stop spinning it!
So, you’re saying that liberals think the US is a terrorist country, burns the American Flag, read the Communist Manifesto and hates religion. Except for the fact that I, as an educated American have read the Manifesto…none of that applies to me or any liberals I know.
And yet, you call THIS author a “spinner.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DJh5DXR7To
He was crazy! That is it!
This is a good analysis. I will check out Mr. Berlet’s writings too. We need to stop trying to categorize everything by “left and right”. The danger here is undiagnosed mental illness and vitriol infused rhetoric that is processed by unstable minds.
@Michelle- I do not thing Loughner has a “party”. I would be considered left-wing by most standards but I do not support those ideas or actions. How are they solely “left”? If he has any political leaning it’s called anarchy. He is against the whole government. Most likely he is a schizophrenic who latched on to random ideas he read in school and on his own, and possibly on the Internet. Ms. Giffords was nearby him and he saw an opportunity to make his move. I noticed a lot of his Myspace page is written in past tense which implies he knew people would be reading his words post-assassination. At another time he asks why no one talks to him. He wanted attention and now he’s getting it. He probably feels like a revolutionary hero. Sick and sad.
Janet,
Did you even read the post? GSR is doing exactly what you decry – he’s laying it all on conservatives. From GSR’s total non sequitor of including (like the MSM has been doing ad nauseum) the Palin map (I’d link you to stories from the Daily Kos – that’s ultra liberal since you may not know – about “targeting” people but I don’t think it would matter) to the last paragraph he cites from Berlet. GSR has no interest in the facts (like a friend of Loughner’s describing him as liberal). He only wants to smear conservatives in the most intellectually dishonest way. Please don’t fall for his claptrap.
Newbie —
I disagree with your assessment. I’m not “laying it all on conservatives.” There is a broad, complex matrix at work in this tragedy.
I cite Berlet’s work to demonstrate that the alleged shooter’s expressed ideology is not “conservatism” but more of a radical conspiracy laden one that links up with documented views of extremist rightists.
Like Berlet, however, I think we can’t ignore the role of media and political rhetoric even if there is no direct casual link pointing A to B.
Gee, whose assessment should I take seriously? Chip Berlet – someone who specializes in the history of conspiracies and has an almost unmatched grasp of these things…
…or MQ: who specializes in conspiracies herself (in her own special way)
The alleged shooter is probably schizo, but he had political ideas (conspiratorial/disjointed) and Berlet nails them. The media, probably for reasons of ignorance and nothing else, can’t seem to figure this part out. Maybe they should have Berlet as a guest.
Now, not all is said and done. There is a second person involved according to reports. It would be interesting to see if this older suspect had similar or different political motives or saw instability in the shooter and exploited/manipulated it to carry out the bloody act…
Until another apprehension is announced and details come forth, we can only speculate.
And why would you link to such a waste of time youtube video put up by a cyber neurotic seeking weblebrity attention in the wake of tragedy?
Unless you, like some of the commentators on the post, think it’s authentic! haha.
MQ is a perfect example of the vitriol on the right towards government and government officials.
“Let me guess you are a public worker? Feel free to change the name of the at which you work! It matters not, there all crap!!” MQ 1/03/11
Right-wing radio and TV is always demonizing anyone and anything they disagree with, this rhetoric resonates with the crazies. Remember DEMON PASS? Fox News anchors were all over it, whipping up anger;
From TPM;
Discussing the self-executing rule on the 16 Mar 10 edition of his show, Professor Glenn Beck asked, “How is this even constitutional?” He later wrote in his newsletter that Democrats are “slaughtering the Constitution” and that “the Constitution is being thwarted” if the health care reform legislation passes using the self-executing rule. [FOX PACs’ Glenn Beck, 3/16/11]
Michelle Malkin;
Constitution Butchers: Stop Pelosi’s Slaughter House;
By Michelle Malkin • March 13, 2010
Meet Constitution-butchers Nancy Pelosi and Louise Slaughter.
Cleaning House…by bloodying it:
(she has posted a picture of a blood covered Nancy Pelosi and Louise Slaughter with butcher knives and the constitution)
BIGNEWS.COM on deem and pass;
Pelosi and Obama are counting on a really STUPID PUBLIC to not understand the SHELL GAME that was just PLAYED on them with this Pelosi DEMON PASS procedure and expect us to rollover and accept a MONSTEROUS bill full of SECRET deals, campaign PAYOFFS, White House deals with the SEIU UNION BOSSES and the DREADED pharmaceutical companies, and who knows what else, because of all the LIES we have heard on health care, claims that the process was transparent when SECRECY dominated the process is the most ARROGANT and DECIETFUL SLAP IN THE FACE of the public we have heard.
From Media Matters;
Fox Suddenly Silent On Reported GOP Plans To Use “Cowardly” “Demon Pass” Rule
January 07, 2011
Fox News’ extensive coverage of the new Republican House majority has so far ignored the fact that the GOP is reportedly embracing the use of the self-executing rule — commonly referred to as “deem and pass” — to mandate federal budget limits. By comparison, Fox figures repeatedly attacked Democrats for considering using the rule during the health care debate, dubbing it “demon pass” and questioning its constitutionality.
More details emerge. From Politico this morning:
“The Department of Homeland Security has issued a memo to law enforcement authorities suggesting that the suspect in the Arizona shootings Jared Lee Loughner was influenced by a racist group, Fox News reports:
No direct connection, but strong suspicion is being directed at American Renaissance, an organization that Loughner mentioned in some of his internet postings and federal law enforcement officials are investigating Loughner’s possible links to the organization. The organization is a monthly publication that promotes a variety of white racial positions.”
Apparently much of the full Fox News report on American Renaissance is rife with errors concerning the organization. The more accurate assessment of possible racist/anti-immigrant beliefs the shooter may have held is again given by Chip Berlet:
http://www.talk2action.org/story/2011/1/9/16240/71598
“He was crazy! That is it!”
Right. The onslaught of rhetoric we’re exposed to through a myriad of media sources has absolutely NO chance of seeping into our consciousness. Right. We all live in a vacuum, completely unaffected by all that.
“Let me guess you are a public worker? Feel free to change the name of the at which you work! It matters not, there all crap!!” MQ 1/03/11″
MQ says:
I stand by that statement 100%!
What is happing in this country is that one segment of the population a small portion of the whole country is running the country! The pelosi’s and the far left has thrown this country into chaos and therefore has created fear and anger!
There is no greater release of anger than expressing it! The founding father’s knew that! Freedom of Speech!
People like myself and most of this nation has the right to express our frustration and disgust at our public workers. The fact a unstable young man killed people has nothing to do with that! Killing someone is more than anger and frustration, it is an unstable human being who has become irrational!
I grew up in a place where violence and killing was everyday news and there is a huge difference in rhetoric that advocates the death of innocence! Michelle Malkin, points out the problems within our country, she does not advocate killing our government officials and I think it is disgraceful that anyone would accuse her of that!
Discussing our concerns is healthy and it is unhealthy not speak about issues because of fear of violence from crazies and terrorists!
I advocate for freedom of speech not violence and death!
“People like myself and most of this nation has the right to express our frustration and disgust at our public workers. The fact a unstable young man killed people has nothing to do with that! Killing someone is more than anger and frustration, it is an unstable human being who has become irrational!”
MQ is right, that people have a right to express their opinions, what they do not have a right to is their own set of facts, because this is what leads to “irrational” behavior.
Fox News and their counterparts on the radio have been twisting and distorting the facts for quite awhile now and what we have is a percentage of the population (that is not particularly bright to begin with), that believes these distortions, completely.
These same people tend to have distorted opinions of themselves, they feel that they are smarter, harder working and more moral than others. They also feel they’ve been kept down and put upon by liberals, elites, minorities, poor people, unions, the government and (I kid you not) even baby-boomers. The sad truth being, is that most of these people are ignorant, illiterate and frustrated with their lot in life, which leaves them particularly susceptible to propaganda and hyperbole.
Anyone who has read this blog is familiar with MQ’s rants, there is no amount of facts and figures that can dissuade her from her erroneous beliefs. She is unable to discern fact from fiction, her feelings are paramount, she calls names, jumps to conclusions, points fingers, rambles and many times is down right nonsensical.
MQ is probably harmless, yet if you look at the amount of vitriol she spews out on a daily basis it is not hard to see how someone who is slightly more unstable could take all that vitriol to a more violent level.
“Refudiation free zone here. 20 people are mowed down in a grocery store and Palin thinks she’s the victim? Typical. You don’t get to spend 3 years blowing a dog whistle and yelling fire in a theater then get to wash your hands of it when it goes bad,” -from a commenter on Politico.
For MQ,
Another Ohio Democrat, Steve Driehaus, clashed repeatedly with Boehner before losing his seat in the midterm elections. After Boehner suggested that by voting for Obamacare, Driehaus “may be a dead man” and “can’t go home to the west side of Cincinnati” because “the Catholics will run him out of town,” Driehaus began receiving death threats, and a right-wing website published directions to his house.
Driehaus says he approached Boehner on the floor and confronted him.
“I didn’t think it was funny at all,” Driehaus says. “I’ve got three little kids and a wife. I said to him, ‘John, this is bullshit, and way out of bounds. For you to say something like that is wildly irresponsible.'”
Driehaus is quick to point out that he doesn’t think Boehner meant to urge anyone to violence. “But it’s not about what he intended — it’s about how the least rational person in my district takes it. We run into some crazy people in this line of work.”
Driehaus says Boehner was “taken aback” when confronted on the floor, but never actually said he was sorry: “He said something along the lines of, ‘You know that’s not what I meant.’ But he didn’t apologize.”
MQ, see that word “dead” that Boehner used? You just said you don’t advocate for violence or death…do you “refudiate” Boehner’s remark?
I have lived in this country for 22years and in those 22years have made an observation as an outsider that the left in this country can be very dangerous! The left in this country remind’s me of the people I was surround by as a child! I am not a very emotional person and reason is something that is very important to me.
Boehner to me seems over emotional and he I am sure might be irrational now and again. The left are all about emotions and that is dangerous!
And yes, I very much repudiate his remarks and would remind him that he is a conservative and therefore must control his liberal irrational side!
Now you’re saying that liberals are emotional and conservatives are unemotional? LOL. Mmmm, yeah, Glenn Beck is unemotional. OMG, do you have any idea how ridiculous that is?
You just keep digging the hole deeper and deeper, dontcha?
I cry when I watch King Kong, the 1920’s version! But I don’t use my emotions to form conclusion’s!
Glenn Beck loves his country, but unlike Nanny P he would not feed the masses because he he/she believe’s the masses to be stupid!
Conservatives believe in giving the man seed to grow his crop, were as liberals believe they should feed the man because they don’t trust in him to feed himself!
I would hope that conservatives are emotional at the appropriate time and when it is required!
Did I dig myself out of the wee hole!
Not even close.
The truth never needs to be dug out of!
If a male is going to display paranoid schitzophrenic symptoms and behavior it tends to appear in their early 20’s – college age, so to speak. Seems to fit.
“subscribed to a bizarre set of conspiracy theories that inspired his actions”……. Hmmmm
Sounds like you Gabriel San Roman, especially when you mixed in Sarah Pac.
All your posts are remarkably similar to his.
“subscribed to a bizarre set of conspiracy theories that inspired his actions”……. Hmmmm
Sounds like you Gabriel San Roman, especially when you mixed in Sarah Pac.
All your posts are remarkably similar to his.
nonsense!
Now get back to checking those skies for chemtrails!
http://www.sxc.hu/pic/m/k/ka/kaylaliz/416202_sky_writing_happy_face.jpg
Exactly!
The likes of Theo,Naui and the rest of the nut cases especially the nut cases at that De. Mexico center in Santa Ana…Are exactly the same sort of retoric and paranoia!
The only difference is, I hope, these are harmless nut cases while this kid was the real deal!
Just in time you are exactly right!
Tonight I am going to mass to say a novena for her and her family and for the people that lost their lives! I really hope she pulls through and I hope the families of the people who died have some peace in their hearts!
The kid is an example of money being poured down the drain to serve the underserved and the vulnerable and kids like this who are in real need of social help with mental illness are not even on the radar!
Sad, all the way around!
[update] The second person sought was a taxi driver and has been cleared of involvement in the shooting.
http://blogs.wsj.com/dispatch/2011/01/09/second-person-sought-in-tucson-shootings-cleared-by-authorities/
We’ll have to see if the American Renaissance hate group lead turns out to be substantive or not…
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110110/ap_on_re_us/us_congresswoman_shot_gunman_11
This is a real good article about the kid who is obviously in real need of help!
Our young crazy kid was a registered democrat! Did it matter though? If he had been an independent or a republican… She was his target because he knew her and was close to her and he targeted her because he was a paranoid and deranged kid who instead of getting help from the people around him was shunned and now people are dead!
I hope the one thing learned from this, is when you know someone needs help, you do it at all cost to protect him/her and the people around them!
“I hope the one thing learned from this, is when you know someone needs help, you do it at all cost to protect him/her and the people around them!”…….. Hmmmm
I suspect that he did got help MQ!
If you will dig deeply into it, he was forced by the socialists and teachers’ union to take Ritalin (methylphenidate) which is used to treat attention deficit disorder (ADD) and narcolepsy in children.
That is what you get from Obama’s nutcase medicine.
“I hope the one thing learned from this, is when you know someone needs help, you do it at all cost to protect him/her and the people around them!”…….. Hmmmm
I suspect that he did got help MQ!
If you will dig deeply into it, he was forced by the socialists and teachers’ union to take Ritalin (methylphenidate) which is used to treat attention deficit disorder (ADD) and narcolepsy in children.
That is what you get from Obama’s nutcase medicine.
MQ: Please provide a credible news source that notes that Jared Lee Loughner was a registered Democrat.
Orange Juice disallows for unsubstantiated claims!
Art:)
According to the Arizona Star, he registered as an independent in 2006 and last voted in 2008.
Newbie, thank you for your clarification. I indeed checked the claim and it pans out from that reputable news source. Everyone can check the link below:
http://azstarnet.com/news/local/crime/article_78272a23-fe75-5bee-ba38-f8171cda3fb7.html
Now MQ can stop with the baseless claim that Loughner was a registered Democrat (that is if she has any regard for the facts of the matter, or just prefers to bash Liberals without any thought to the validity of her claims)
I knew he was a register independent, before you did. I just like watching you sweat!!!!
Class mates say he was a left wing pot head! Some say he hated the government and some say he was an atheist!
Who the heck knows!! What we do know is he was mentally ill and untreated!
I’m not a Democrat. Why would I sweat it? Sorry, you are ascribing too much importance to yourself again. Plus your very first post screamed he was a Liberal.
He is most certainly an unstable person, but as Potok and Berlet note, his disjointed political ramblings match some of the ideas that float around the extreme right-wing fringe of the political spectrum.
The Fed
First of all, shooting innocent people is insane, but being skeptical of the Fed is not insane.
President Andrew Jackson was not insane, as he was President for two terms, and he was very very skeptical of the Fed, so skeptical in fact that he abolished it, yes this is a fact in any encyclopedia.
This Fed we have now was introduced in 1913, some 70 years after President Jackson had abolished the first one.
Even George Washington was against a Fed, saying that elected representatives were more than capable of controlling U.S. currency, maybe we should revisit the thinking of the founding fathers, as the whole world is now in debt to usury, banking. Making money out of nothing.
Pete
Actually, Washington was torn about establishing the Fed, but ended up siding with Hamilton for its establishment. Jefferson and Madison were the main proponents against.
Which means that your case for revisiting “the thinking of the founding fathers” is quite ludicrous, since they were divided on the issue from the very beginning.
This was Sarah Palin’s response to criticism of her ” target” list;
“Warning: Subject to New Politically Correct Language Police Censorship
by Sarah Palin on Sunday, March 28, 2010
Gear up! In the battle, set your sights on next season’s targets! From the shot across the bow – the first second’s tip-off – your leaders will be in the enemy’s crosshairs, so you must execute strong defensive tactics. You won’t win only playing defense, so get on offense! The crossfire is intense, so penetrate through enemy territory by bombing through the press, and use your strong weapons – your Big Guns – to drive to the hole. Shoot with accuracy; aim high and remember it takes blood, sweat and tears to win.
Every possession is a battle; you’ll only win the war if you’ve picked your battles wisely. No matter how tough it gets, never retreat, instead RELOAD!”
*****************
Sure sounds like “surveyor” language to me.
Mark Potok of the Southern Poverty Law Center – another expert on extremists in the U.S. wrote a new article asking “Who is Jared Lee Loughner.” Like Chip Berlet’s thoughts, it’s definitely worth a read and is valuable to assessing the question:
http://www.splcenter.org/blog/2011/01/09/who-is-jared-lee-loughner/
The “you know that’s not what I meant” excuse is a close relative of the “oh it was just a joke” excuse commonly seen in the blogosphere. Lame.
I didn’t jump to blame this on the intemperate, violent rhetoric of Palin, Angle & other righties (although it’s probably a good idea for them to tone that down for a year or ten) And now I’m not surprised that righties are all jumping on the reports that this loon was a registered Democrat, and pretending that proves something bad about us.
What I hate to see is people using this pointless crime to try to discourage criticism of our elected leaders. If we allow this to make us more timid about exercising our political speech, that would be an even bigger tragedy/loss than what happened Saturday.
We’re even seeing that in both our sister blogs – see http://www.fullertonsfuture.org/2011/hey-wait-a-minute/ and http://newsantaana.com/2011/01/09/anti-government-rhetoric-fed-arizona-shooter-could-that-happen-in-santa-ana/
Sadly, in the latter case, it’s coming from the blog itself.
Wow, and then he uses common sense!
He was not a democrat; he was a registered independent and he was a very disturb young man, who like most, was not given the help he should have received!
The money that is wasted on this country for welfare for able-bodied single mothers and losers in general is awful and the mentally ill and the elderly live in awful conditions!
I hope this tragedy will bring about a discussion in this nation about the mentally ill and how the nation can use it resources to really help the true undeserved and vulnerable!
Now you admit yourself to have been wrong with your prior claim of the shooter being Liberal and a registered Democrat without skipping a beat!
You’re something else MQ!!!
You’re something else MQ!!!
MQ says:
Yes, I am!
Well said Vern….
Art Pedroza said:
“Considering all the violence and crime in Mexico, Pulido will feel right at home! Moreover, it is likely that at some point he will be kidnapped or whacked while serving in Mexico. Perfect! We will be rid of him in Santa Ana, and he will be taken care of by criminals in Mexico. It doesn’t get any better than that.”
Sarcasm: Who said that you can’t be reborn?
Vern,
I don’t know if you caught Rachel Maddow last night, but she points out that some of the gun talk was NOT RHETORICAL. Sharon Angle’s “second amendment remedies” was literal, as well as Michelle Bachman saying she wants her constituents “armed and dangerous”, here’s a link (go to video, facts matter);
http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/
“It appears now that Jared Lee Loughner, the deranged 22 year old shooter in Tucson who killed six people on Saturday, was a Democrat. But what drove him was not partisan politics, but rather anti-government rhetoric. That sure sounds familiar here in Santa Ana, a city dominated by Democrats.”
MQ says:
I got it from Art’s post! where did he get his info from?
Perhaps your mistake will help you discern between reliable news sources and unreliable news sources in the future. Art ain’t one of the former.
Anon are you sure it’s not anal?
No kidding, Einstein!
Gabriel San Roman, today was nice day to see chem-trails! Especially during the sunset.
So unless you are total retard you must ask yourself what are these zig-zag lines on the sky and why are they changing into the clouds.
If you have no such capacity then get back to your dog food snack.
i fell of my chair when i heard hater anoster said fox news distorts the news =memo please turn off msnbc or mshatebc . they are real truth tellers zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Kill your TV…..really!
the guy was a nut, like keith olbermann, a hater. we need more mental health help for these people, especially the ones who always “smirk” when they talk (olberman, maddow, etc.). If we deported the illegals we could use the money saved to help these folk go thru some therapy.
The “guy” was an anti-government nut, does that sound like the big government loving-liberals or the new conservatives, the tea-party types who hate government AND government officials/workers.
In MQ’s immortal words,refering to all government workers;
“.. there all crap!!”
You’re right Anonster. Why believe what his friends say (that he was a liberal) over you’re spot on analysis. The truth seems to be that he is a lunatic that does not have any particular bent towards politics. Sadly, that hasn’t stopped the MSM or liberals on here and all over the blogosphere from spreading unsupported lies (just read Beth Krom’s disgusting letter in today’s OC Register for all the proof I need for my point).
“If we deported the illegals we could use the money saved to help these folk go thru some therapy.”
If we ended our wars and occupations abroad we could become a sane society and take care of our own.
In the meantime, budget cuts come back to haunt as people exclaim ‘we don’t have the money!’ and hassle working class government employees about their pensions/benefits
Yeah right, the solution to everything. We’d save so much by putting in the titanic resources it would cost to deport every single “illegal” who works for cheap, pays taxes and social security and doesn’t get a lot of that back.
I give this deadwhitemale a break though – he’s a contractor who’s in a hard spot competing with cheap undocumented labor. I don’t have any easy answers for him. Except that this story sure doesn’t seem the place to bring all that up.
Is it my imagination, or is everybody using this bloodbath for everything?
“If we ended our wars and occupations abroad we could become a sane society and take care of our own. ”
Gabriel:
While I do agree with you on that point, I also believe that we have created a society that is dependent on war and occupation for its livelihood and survival. Whether that war and occupation is performed abroad in places like the Middle East or domestically in places like Gary, Indiana, Santa Ana or a place that hits very close to home and heart for me….Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, South Dakota, aka The Palestine of the United States of America. Look beyond the current events of the day and there you will find the elephant in the room. The elephant that no one of Republican or Democratic stripes wants to talk about. Yet, these same types are content to either call us whiners or tell us to shut up and accept the crumbs that we give to you. To which I reply, “whose land was this anyway?”
There was a time where people of this land took care of their own and cared for this environment. A autonomous, voluntaryist society where we realized that this land was a gift given to us by the Great Spirit and was to be taken care of for our children’s future. Unfortunately, these people and their culture have been relegated to places like Pine Ridge and left to die in poverty and squalor while the land that they once inhabited is exploited by the corporatists and their aiding and abetting colleagues in the government. (My next blog post in three parts deals with this)
On an unrelated note. What was the Santa Ana organization that did the anti-Columbus Day teach in? I’d like to talk to someone there about a proposed program that I am planning featuring Russell Means, former leader of the American Indian Movement. Or I can get your email from Vern.
Newbie,
This guy had a conversion, when he was a liberal he had friends, when he became an anti-government nut case was when he became a violent assassin.
“The truth seems to be that he is a lunatic that does not have any particular bent towards politics.”
He put a gun to a congress person’s head and shot her point-blank, he called himself “an assassin”, THAT’S POLITICAL!
” Violent imagery in, violent results out.”
01/11/2011
Was Jared Loughner’s Act Political?
posted by Cenk Uyger
Was Jared Loughner’s act in shooting Rep. Giffords political? Apparently this is what’s being debated with a straight face now. Is this a joke? He shot a politician in the head. He called it an “assassination.” What part of that was unclear?
He didn’t shoot Gabrielle Giffords randomly and it turned out she just happened to be a politician. He sought her out, targeted her and then tried to kill her based on the fact that she was a politician. He thought the government was the problem and it was unresponsive to his psychotic demands on grammar and currency.
So, is Loughner a psycho? Obviously. And that’s not just because he shot all of those innocent people, but also because it is abundantly clear from his writings and videos that he has significant mental issues.
But why does the act have to be either psychotic or political? It’s obviously both. It was a psychotic act driven by his political beliefs. What’s so hard to understand about that?
Then, the next question is whether both sides are equally at fault. Again, I’m confused by this question. What the hell did the Democrats or liberals do here? Nothing, except get shot. How can the media possibly attach false equivalency to this? Are the Democrats equally culpable for getting shot as the conservatives are for shooting them?
Loughner shot a Democrat. Gee, I wonder which side he was on? He hated the government and thought they were out to get us. Gee, I wonder which side he was on?
I thought conservatives said liberals love big government. But now some have the audacity to claim Loughner was a liberal . But if one thing is obvious from Loughner’s political writings, it was that he hated the government. So, which one is it — do liberals love or hate the government?
Come on, this is all a smoke screen to make sure people don’t see what’s going on here. In the last two years, there have been dozens of attacks and shootings aimed at government officials and political organizations. Every single one of them was directed at liberals, Democrats or the government. Now we’re to believe that’s the world’s largest coincidence?
The conservative hate-mongers don’t create psychos. We get that there will always be disturbed individuals out there. But the right-wing directs these lunatics to a source. They channel their fear, anger and paranoia — and they point them toward the Democrats. They use them as hate seeking missiles.
They load them up them up with violent imagery, whether it’s talk of cross-hairs or second amendment remedies or the tree of liberty being refreshed with blood. Then when they get a violent reaction they pretend to be surprised and outraged that anyone would suggest they were the least bit culpable. The reality is that it is a simple formula — violence in, violence out. Violent imagery in, violent results out.
If pretending this isn’t political or that somehow it is somehow both-sided doesn’t work (which they shouldn’t worry about because so far it has worked perfectly in white-washing their culpability in the media), then they say it’s political exploitation to point out what they have done.
How the hell are we supposed to point out the problem if we can’t mention the issue for fear of being charged with political exploitation? Would it be exploiting the tragedy of the BP oil spill to point out that maybe we should be a little careful about oil drilling? Or are we not supposed to make the most obvious points so that we don’t offend the other political side’s delicate sensibilities?
You know who exploited a tragedy for political gain? George W. Bush and the entire Republican Party. They used 9/11 as a gimmick to get re-elected. Then they exploited it to attack a random country that had nothing to do with 9/11. It is nearly impossible to exploit a tragedy anymore than they did with 9/11. And maybe that’s why they level the charge against us now, because they know that’s the first thing they’d do.
But pointing out that conservative commentators and politicians have been inciting their followers isn’t done to get anyone elected. I don’t even know whose election this would theoretically effect. This isn’t done to press some policy agenda (again, outside of gun control, I can’t even think of what agenda we are supposed to theoretically be pushing for). This is to point out an obvious fact that is getting people killed — if you incite violence, you get violence.
To pretend that isn’t happening all across the country everyday on talk radio, etc. is to be willfully blind to reality — and to allow it to happen again. And trust me, next time they’ll also say no one could have seen it coming and that whatever we do we mustn’t talk about it. Preventing another tragedy like this would be such terrible exploitation. Better to be quiet and let them do it again.
Those taking both sides on this blog are the problem. No solutions, just finger pointing. Grow up. Man up and realize you have been taken in by what ever side you are supporting. Everyone on this blog needs to start thinking for your self.