Showing posts with label "Arizona Shooting". Show all posts
Showing posts with label "Arizona Shooting". Show all posts

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

You Can't Reason with a Rabid Dog... OR the Right Wing

The article below is clipped from Alternet... My thoughts on this article... I am shocked that the Right Wing Talking Heads are THIS crazy ...but then again I shouldn't be shocked at ALL. It would be akin to being shocked that a rabid dog couldn't be reasoned with.

The Tea Party Express sent an email to supporters this morning asking for money to fight against alleged liberal attacks in the wake of the shooting.

Since the mass shooting that killed 6 and left Rep. Gabrielle Giffords fighting for her life, people across the political spectrum have called on the American right to tone down the extremist rhetoric that paints liberals, progressives, Democrats and minority groups as enemies bent on destroying America.
In a wholly predictable development, tea party leaders and right-wing media stars have mainly responded by railing about a leftist plot to silence them. Last night, preempting Obama's upcoming speech honoring victims of the massacre, Sarah Palin released a slick video in which she glares at the camera and accuses opponents of "blood libel," a term that refers to anti-semitic myths historically used to instigate pogroms and other campaigns of violence against Jews. Rush Limbaugh actually accused liberals of literally rubbing their hands in glee at the prospect of using the shooting to censor conservatives -- or "shut 'em up and shut 'em down." Think Progress tracked an online forum discussion in which Tea Party Nation founder Judson Phillips warned that the Tucson tragedy is part of a "war" between liberals and the Tea Parties, and urged Tea Party supporters to spread the falsehood that Loughner was a "liberal lunatic."
It would seem that the Tea Party Express, one of the largest Tea Party groups, has found an even more direct way to capitalize on the grievance ideology that fuels so much of that movement. On Monday the group sent a letter requesting donations. In an email sent to supporters this morning, they ran down a litany of alleged injustices perpetrated against conservatives in the wake of the tragedy and pledged to fight back -- ideally, with donations from their supporters:
"Instead of prayers for the victims and their families, the Left was consumed with using this massacre to score political points by blaming the tea party movement, Gov. Sarah Palin and now Rush Limbaugh."
"Who do these people think they are? First they have the audacity to blame us for a mass murder, and now they try to tell us what we can or cannot say and/or do. They think they can dictate what kind of defense we are allowed to offer for ourselves after they falsely accuse us of being responsible for the wrongdoing of a mentally ill member of society."
Sorry, but we're not going to stand for that kind of treatment. We here in the tea party movement have done absolutely nothing wrong. And we are not going to be told to shut up and sit down, when this tragedy has nothing to do with the wonderful, patriotic and peaceful tea party movement.
If liberals think they can engage in such outrageous behavior than they need to realize it will backfire on them. No friends, we won't be silenced, instead we will show them that their attacks on us will only result in us being stronger.
END
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Nice .... Real brain trust the Tea Party has on their side...
My message to them... think again.

Monday, January 10, 2011

When Hate Speech Turns into Murder

It's hard not to want to blame the Right Wing Media for the event that took place in Arizona. I am struggling to remain calm but my grief over takes that emotion. Are they to blame for putting the seeds of violence in the mind of a clearly insane person? Maybe... maybe not.

Here is the thing to remember about all this.... when you speak and when you have a platform that reaches millions of people, you are going to put ideas into the minds of the people who are your audience... both sane and insane... therefore you have a responsibility as a human being.... to not say things that spark violence.

Hate speech, speech that incites and inflames may not be directly the cause for this event... but then again it might. And if people from the right wing think that their right to free speech gives them the right to incite the people who ingest their vile words ... think again. We need to stand up to people who incite this kind of violent behavior... whether it's some guy stomping on the head of a protester or a mentally ill person who opens fire on a crowded shopping mall parking lot... we need to hold the people who plant these seeds of violence responsible.
Here are some links for you to ponder...

Guns Don't Kill People: Cowards and Lobbyists Do | News & Politics | AlterNet

How the Right's Rhetoric Fueled the Actions of Arizona's Mass Murderer

Keith Olbermann article

Liberals Blame Sara Palin


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