As I witness all the hate that has come to the surface in America over the last year or so I am often left wondering what has to happen before the majority of the population takes it seriously. Clearly a shooting is not enough. When an elderly white supremacist opened fire in the Holocaust Memorial Museum killing a security guard there was an initial hope that perhaps now the hate and fear mongers would be shamed into silence, unfortunately they were not. Then again why should we be surprised? America is used to shooting; we nationalize a shooting story at least once a month.
When the abortion doctor George Tiller was assassinated there was brief media attention on the increased activity of right wing extremist groups in this country. Indeed after every incident of right wing violence we are reminded of the Homeland Security report which warned of the increase in recruiting activity among these groups. Such was the case in Pittsburgh when Richard Poplawski murdered three police officers, one of his friends said Poplawski feared that President Obama was going to take away his rights, specifically his guns. Another related but luckily non-violent incident involved a woman with an assault rifle casing a National Guard base which she believed was a concentration camp run by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. On her MySpace page she cited several conservative commentators and politicians as the source for her beliefs including Glenn Beck. Even before Obama was elected, political based violence occurred. In July of 2008 a man killed two people in a Tennessee church which he targeted for its "liberal views." The hate has always been there but now it is being whipped up into a frenzy.
Some of the latest fear and intimidation tactics have been the practice of bringing firearms to "town hall meetings." One of the originators of these "protesters" is William Kostric who showed up at a town hall meeting Obama held in New Hampshire. Yet it was not just Kostric’s gun that is worth mentioning but also his sign which read "It’s time to refresh the tree of liberty!" As many people know this is part of a quote by Thomas Jefferson, the rest of the quote is as follows "with the blood of patriots and tyrants." Therefore the complete picture is a man with a gun outside a building housing the president calling for blood to be spilled, that seems to go beyond any normal healthcare protesting or 2nd Amendment supporting behavior. The gun displaying in New Hampshire was quickly followed up by men toting assault weapons outside Obama’s meeting in Arizona.
Just a few days ago at a meeting held by Congressman Wally Herger an audience member stood up and announced "I am a proud right wing terrorist." Herger replied, "Amen, God bless you...There is a great American." Herger’s spokespeople have attempted to distance themselves from this by stating the man’s comment was made in jest but that is hard to believe when viewed in the context of the cumulative behavior of the extreme right wing. Just yesterday self-described "World War II vet" Tom Eisenhower told a crowd at a meeting held by Senator Chuck Grassley that, "The president of the United States, that’s who you should be concerned about. Because he’s acting like a little Hitler...I’d take a gun to Washington if enough of you would go with me." Police have detained people for holding signs reading "Death to Obama", or "Death to Michelle and her two stupid kids", where is law enforcement on the man at Herger’s meeting, or in regards to Mr. Eisenhower who is calling for an armed march on Washington D.C. at best (where carrying a gun is illegal) and open insurrection at worst. The secret service has reported that Obama receives around 30 death threats a day, a 400% increase from George Bush.
Again, what must happen? The logical answer is frightening, something much worse that what has happened in the past must occur. America is too used to the lone wolf sporadic shootings we have witnessed, particularly when the body count is in the single digits and when the violence appears more random. Now if hundreds of people were shot, or there was a planned assassination, then the public might take more notice. Or perhaps we are all numb to shootings. Bombings get a lot more publicity, particularly if it is on the scale of Oklahoma City, September 11th or beyond. The most vile and despicable part of all of this is that you know if one of these terrors were to occur, all the right wing venom spewing, hate mongering, fear spreading commentators and politicians would condemn the act, mourn the victims and wonder where the cause for this act ever originated. I hope none of the horrors described ever visits this country, but if it does let us make sure all those who fed the flames of fear, hate and ignorance are never allowed to forget the part they played in it and can never fully wash the blood from their hands.
(crossposted at http://debunkerhill.com/ )