The Roots of Domestic Terrorism

by Pa Rock
Social Crusader

While our country seems to be all about finding and fighting foreign terrorism, particularly if it can be tied to Muslims or Mexicans, as often as not we completely ignore, or try to ignore, a far more brutal and insidious variant of extremism: domestic terrorism.

America is awash in hate groups. They burn clinics, kill doctors, protest at funerals, terrorize immigrants, disparage non-Christian religions, and vilify racial and ethnic minorities, gays, and independent women. These people often believe that their government is corrupt, voting is inconsequential, and the possession of guns is the only sure way of maintaining their freedom.

The past two weeks have witnessed two classic examples of hate crimes, both carried out by “lone wolf” extremists – people who participate in the fiery hate rhetoric but commit acts of violence on their own.

Scott Roeder, an anti-abortion activist, killed Dr. George Tiller in church on Sunday morning two weeks ago. This past week James Von Brunn, described by an ex-wife as being a “racist alcoholic,” killed Stephen Tyrone Johns, a black security guard at the Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC. Both were senseless acts committed by people whose minds had long ago succumbed to the deleterious effects of prolonged and bitter hatred.

People don’t arrive in this world imbued with hatred, they acquire it through a learning process – the same way that others learn how to become accepting and to love. The haters are patiently and painstakingly trained by social critics and master haters who fan the flames of ignorance and then run for cover whenever one of their creatures explode.

Bill O’Reilly, a socially irresponsible entertainer on Fox News, referred to Dr. Tiller dozens of times on the air as “Tiller the Baby Killer,” yet when Scott Roeder went over the edge and murdered the physician, O’Reilly proclaimed sanctimoniously that he hadn’t pulled the trigger. He didn’t murder Dr. Tiller.

Perhaps not, but he was most certainly an accessory. O’Reilly's hateful sputum was sprayed on the masses for a reason, and Scott Roeder was the stupid and willing pawn who finally acted on it.

The very day that 88-year-old James Von Brunn stormed into the Holocaust Museum and killed a black security guard, Rush Limbaugh had been on the radio saying that all Barack Obama and God had in common was that neither had a birth certificate. In addition to being a loud and proud racist, Mr. Von Brunn was also a “birther,” one of the many who subscribe to the fiction that Barack Obama was born outside of the United States and therefore ineligible to be President. (Factoid: One of the 2008 Presidential candidates actually was born outside of the United States – John McCain was born in Panama.)

Rush Limbaugh didn’t kill Stephen Tyrone Johns, but his malarkey certainly helped to keep a mental deficient like James Von Brunn stirred up.

Last July (2008) a fellow named Jim David Adkisson entered the Unitarian Universalist Church in Knoxville, Tennessee, and opened fire with a shotgun killing two people and wounding others. He chose his target for the indiscriminate attack because of its association with liberalism, noting that he hated liberals, gays, and democrats. When police searched his home they found the following three books: Liberalism is a Mental Disorder by radio talk show host Michael Savage, Let Freedom Ring: Winning the War of Liberty Over Liberalism by Sean Hannity, and The O’Reilly Factor: The Good, the Bad, and the Completely Ridiculous in American Life by Bill O’Reilly.

Savage (whose real name is “Weiner”), Hannity, and O’Reilly didn’t carry a weapon into a church in Knoxville and open fire, but the bile flowing from their pens helped to motivate Adkisson to commit his horrid crime.

America is armed and dangerous. It is a house on fire with a basement full of powder kegs. Hate speech fans the flames, and when one of the kegs explodes – as it is bound to do – the bigoted bastard who lit the fuse rushes out to face the cameras and deny any responsibility.

Domestic terrorists are our worst enemies, a far greater threat to the survival of this nation than any danger from abroad. It is well past time that the "good" and "Christian" Americans who commit these atrocities are recognized for what they truly are: terrorist scum. It is also well past time that their cheerleaders and enablers accept a fair share of responsibility for the part that they play in these crimes against America.

And it is certainly well past time that all of these criminal bastards get the treatment they so richly deserve.

Waterboarding, anyone?

The Savage Weiner

by Pa Rock
Amused American

Yesterday the United Kingdom's Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, made news by announcing the names of sixteen individuals who have been banned from entering the United Kingdom. The ban went into effect last October when, supposedly, the selected individuals were informed that they were not welcome to enter the British Isles. Ms. Smith, in making the list public yesterday said, "I think it's important that people understand the sorts of values and sorts of standards that we have here. It's a privilege to come to this country. There are certain behaviors that mean you forfeit that privilege."

Apparently those behaviors include terrorism, racism, gay-bashing, and stupidity.

The majority of those named were political extremists from the Middle East, but a few notable Americans also made the list. Stephen Donald Black, a former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard was on the list of banned individuals, as was neo-Nazi Erich Gliebe. Topeka's favorite homophobe and all-around idiot, Fred Phelps, can no longer enter the United Kingdom, and neither can his daughter, Shirley Phelps-Roper. (The Phelps' Klan makes the news on a fairly regular basis with their protests at funerals of American service men and women. Their contention is that our government supports a gay agenda, and hence our service members are somehow helping to promote a gay lifestyle. - You can't get much stupider than that!)

But the highlight of the list of people now banned from entering the United Kingdom was American right-wing radio personality Michael Savage. Savage is known for his bizarre racist rants, and has spent a lot of air time hollering about the need to keep Mexicans out of the United States. Now he is in a major snit because somebody wants to keep him out of their country. I was listening to Savage yesterday being interviewed by NPR over the phone. He became angry over a question that another caller asked, and threatened to hang up. The host calmly replied, "Go ahead, then." And he did!

Michael Savage was born Michael Weiner. Apparently "Weiner" did not fit the image of a seriously rabid shock jock, so he changed it to the much more macho "Savage." I wonder if he ever thought about splitting the difference between Weiner and Savage and going with "Sausage?"

Probably not.

The Power of Hate Speech

by Pa Rock

Yesterday I commented on the shooting at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Knoxville. Police officers who searched the home of shooter David Adkisson after the crime found that he had engaged in some interesting reading. Books in Adkisson's home included The O'Reilly Factor by Bill O'Reilly, Let Freedom Ring by Sean Hannity, and Liberalism is a Mental Disorder by right-wing,radio nut-job Michael Savage.

Does garbage in automatically equate to violence out? No, of course not, if the person doing the reading is of sound mind. Unfortunately, however, a substantial portion of the people who listen to these hate mongers are low functioning individuals who are predisposed to believe that the government is their enemy and that gays are just lying in wait to jump on their slovenly carcasses.

As much as these people profess to abhor what they see America as becoming, they still savor their freedom of the press even if it incites illegal or deadly behavior, and they vehemently defend their right to own as many guns as they damned well please!

Pogo was right: "We have met the enemy and he is us."