Steve Benen of the Washington Monthly on the latest moronic shoot-out guy Byron Williams: (my bold)
Remarkably, no one was killed, though Williams was firing a rifle with ammunition that "could penetrate ballistic body armor and vehicles, police said." He was in court yesterday, and will face all kinds of criminal charges, including the attempted murder of four police officers.Not to be cynical, but I'm sure the manipulators of the teabaggers and those who rant against the liberals really do want a shoot-out. Then they could yell about law and order and how the shooter was obviously a islamofascist socialist or dirty fucking hippie and only Republicans will bring peace and contentment back to America.....
But stepping back, every time there's violence like this, I'm reminded of the concerns raised by the Department of Homeland Security last year, about potentially violent anti-government extremists -- concerns that appear increasingly prescient.
These examples of politically-motivated attacks seem to keep piling up. Just this year, John Patrick Bedell opened fire at the Pentagon; Joe Stack flew an airplane into a building; Jerry Kane Jr. and his son killed two police officers in Arkansas; and the Hutaree Militia terrorist plot was uncovered. Last year, James von Brunn opened fire at the Holocaust memorial museum; Richard Poplawski gunned down three police officers in Pittsburgh, in part because he feared the non-existent "Obama gun ban"; and Dr. George Tiller was assassinated. In 2008, Jim David Adkisson opened fire in a Unitarian church in Tennessee, in part because of his "hatred of the liberal movement."
Let there be no doubt: deranged madmen are responsible for their own violent actions. But in the wake of these attacks, I don't think it's unreasonable to wish that some of the leading far-right voices would lower the rhetorical temperature a bit, helping to cool the tempers of those who might be inclined to hurt others.
We've been here before.
5 comments:
"In 2008, Jim David Adkisson opened fire in a Unitarian church in Tennessee, in part because of his "hatred of the liberal movement."
Oh, irony. There was a time, within my span as a UU, in which UUs were well-distributed between liberal and conservative (in the old use of the word). Then the Right started shooting at us, burning our churches, etc., etc. It is difficult to retain one's sense of political balance in the face of an all-out violent attack.
I've always been a liberal. But I have certainly known conservative UUs, as recently as the previous generation to my own. No more. There's just something about being firebombed...
Your church above all others should be celebrated for the true Christian values of tolerance and loving thy neighbor.
So rightwing religious extremists hate you....
"... Christian values of tolerance..."
More irony. For all the values we share with true Christians, UUs are not Christian. In that respect, it's sort of like being Muslim... oh... now I understand why they're shooting at us: they hold the "Christian" value of blowing away everyone not just like them...
UUs are not Christian!!1!
Sorry... I was blathering. Reminds me of that wonderful (paraphrased and possibly apocryphal) quote by a politician discussing the Mid-East crisis: Bring Israel and Palestine together in a true sense of Christian brotherhood...
And speaking to those who claim to be Christians: tolerance and loving thy neighbor is supposedly high on the list of Christian values no matter who is expressing them.
So the religious extremists have to somehow muddy the waters when Muslims or atheists show such 'Christian' tendencies... These qualities are good ONLY when your SPECIFIC church members use them on other church members.
So, agreeing with your conclusion, Steve: Everyone else is a lying sack of crap and needs to be shot.
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