Thomas Lindaman writes:
To put it mildly, the Left seems to have it in for Bill O'Reilly, Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, and anyone to the right of Joe Lieberman. (Heck, Lieberman's often included in the list of the maligned for being "too conservative" for Leftist tastes.)
Considering everyone to the left of extreme right-wing is a "liberal" to you guys, that's hilarious. In every other country but the USA, every Democrat in the three branches would be considered moderate to extreme right-wing. With the possible exception of Dennis Kucinich. You guys are the ones changing the standard.
But occasionally, even the Left says or does something that puts them at risk of being seen as completely loony. People from Arianna Huffington to the drooling minions who inhabit her website, Huffington Post, as well as other websites like DemocraticUnderground and DailyKos have said conservative talk radio hosts "incite violence."
Well, some of them do. They may not INITIATE it, but they can sure egg it on.
The Left points to situations such as the death of Bill Sparkman, a census worker in Kentucky, as proof that conservative talk radio, and Beck in particular, have created such an environment of hate that leads to violence. This sentiment was echoed in a recent episode of "Law and Order: SUV" by a character portrayed by John Larroquette: "Limbaugh, Beck, O'Reilly, all of 'em, they are like a cancer spreading ignorance and hate...They've convinced folks that immigrants are the problem, not corporations that fail to pay a living wage or a broken health care system... "
Aaaaand, how does Larroquette's character's quote say that they "incite violence"? He's just saying they spread ignorance and hate. Hate and violence are two different things. Of course, hate can LEAD to violence in many cases. But just encouraging people to hate something isn't the same as encouraging them to initiate violence against that something. I hate broccoli, but I don't blow up broccoli factories.
Now, here's the funny part. As yet, there has never been a violent act definitively linked to talk radio. The Oklahoma City Bombing? Nope. Sparkman's death? Oooh, sor-ray. Recent shootings at church? Aw, so close and yet so far.
Don't forget the abortion doctors!
"Phew, they can't definitively prove it. So no responsibility on my part!"
There are incidents that have been attributed to talk radio, but there are always other mitigating factors (such as...oh I don't know...the nutballs committing the crimes being crazy) that make it less and less likely that talk radio was the genesis of the crimes.
Of course they're crazy. But apparently you think crazy people can't be triggered by an outside influence.
Yet, in spite of the evidence, or more precisely the lack thereof, it's taken as an article of faith by the Left that talk radio inspires people to take violent acts. You know how many arrests there were at the TEA Party protests this year? Zero.
Uh... that means "lefties" weren't violent at those rallies, either. What's your point with that?
In fact, the only violence being committed seems to be initiated by...the Left. And I doubt their violence is being caused by listening to people like Glenn Beck.
Oooo... can't wait to hear these sources!
Let's not forget, it was President Obama who said "I want you to get in their faces" when talking about how to deal with the protesters at health care town halls.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCMDur9CDZ4 "I need you to go out and talk to your friends and talk to your neighbors. I want you to talk to them whether they are independent or whether they are Republican. I want you to argue with them and get in their face," Obama said. "And if they tell you that, 'Well, we're not sure where he stands on guns.' I want you to say, 'He believes in the Second Amendment.' If they tell you, 'Well, he's going to raise your taxes,' you say, 'No, he's not, he's going lower them.' You are my ambassadors. You guys are the ones who can make the case."
Sure sounds like inciting violence to me! You mean you don't argue with your friends on political matters sometimes? Or are your friends (or more accurately, people that have to deal with you) that limited?
Oh, and where in that video is Obama talking about health care town hall protesters? Are you hoping to weasel out by saying "Obama meant everyone. Thus it includes the town hall protesters. :-) :-)" That's not how you're wording it above. You're trying to make it sound like he was speaking SPECIFICALLY about town hall protesters. Because then it makes the following sound less like a non sequitur:
And, sure enough, SEIU did, injuring a man in St. Louis.
And who started the fight? The police don't even know. That "man" (Mr. Ken Hamidi) has already been dragged out of meetings before for being an asshole. And he's a proven liar:
Another protest saw a health care reform advocate cross a street and bite the ear off an elderly protester. (No word on whether Mike Tyson is suing for copyright infringement.)
Are you talking about that Rice guy that got the tip of his pinkie finger bit off? He was bitten AFTER he punched somebody twice. Even he admits that. He walked over and taunted demonstrators, then he hit someone, then hit him again in the mouth. THEN he got his pinkie bit off. Again, who turned it into something physical? In this case, we have the answer: It was him.
Oh, and Medicare covered him. lol
In fact, you can just Google "SEIU violence" and come up with a number of examples. I know it's shocking to think a labor union would resort to violence to get its way, but you must be strong and find the evidence for yourselves.
"Find it yourself!"
And are you bringing up the Gladney situation? Did you actually see the footage of the Gladney "beating"? Here's the footage from a Conservative website. The footage starts with a union man already on the ground, and apparentely a friend of his standing guard. Gladney (a bit obscured in the video) appears to stand forward close to the man on the ground before being pulled down by a union guy that rushed over, and they both fall. Then they get back up just as quick (including Gladney). Gladney proceeds to ask for cops and speak to a reporter. Then Gladney later is seen in a wheelchair covered in bandages?? Come on. Was there not already a union guy on the ground, shown later walking towards the camera holding his shoulder? Does this depict a "vicious attack" on Gladney, or a stupid scuffle? Funny, there were no convictions either. lol
So, why does the Left say talk radio incites violence when it doesn't? It does. Simple. Because the Left incites violence
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
What's funniest is that you couldn't even find one source to support that!
and wants to normalize it by accusing the Right of doing it. The Left cannot deal with its own personal issues, so they seek to create an environment where everyone does it, thus it "justifies" their actions, no matter how perverse. Also, it gives them a chance to take the moral high ground by attacking violence and those who incite it, but only if it's done by conservatives. But if conservatives don't incite or commit violent acts, the Left doesn't care. They'll say they do anyway, thus preserving their article of faith.
What's funny is that your post is doing the very thing you're lying about the Left doing.
Even funnier: If you replace references to "the Left" with references to "the Right", and vice-versa, in that above paragraph of yours, it wouldn't sound stupid. In fact, it would simply be a rather obvious statement that even right-wingers would yawn about.
This is the most blatant form of projection I've ever seen. What's next, are you going to claim McVeigh was a left-winger?
At the end of the day, though, all they have to back it up is their faith that it's true.
Yeah, tell that to Francisco Duran. But he was crazy too, so that doesn't count. Right?
"Right-wing talk radio doesn't incite violence, because there's no proof that it does. And when it does, it doesn't."
And it's hysterical how you keep using the word "faith." Funny how you don't apply your twisted logic to your own real-life religion, which HAS been proven to be bullshit.
If you want to speculate that right-wing talk radio condoning and encouraging violence, has absolutely no influence on ACTUAL right-wing violence, fine. But don't say it's a fact. And don't try to use it as a subtle way to pretend that the modern extreme right (abortion doctor killers, clinic bombers, the Ku Klux Klan, neo-nazis, Timothy McVeigh) is somehow less violent or equal to the violence of the extreme left. Because that's a load of bullshit even Glenn Beck wouldn't be able to swallow.
If you're going to use strawmen, the cliches have to be on both sides: We're the dirty peace-loving hippies with unicorns and rainbows, and you're the hatemongers. Hate is hate.
But then, what would one expect from someone who says to Annise Parker, the first openly gay Mayor of Houston, to " not be vengeful " with gay legislation? As if the fact she was gay was automatically a cause for "concern." WTF are you guys expecting, legislation that allows public buttsex? Sheesh.
Beck, Hannity, Limbaugh, Savage, and O'Reilly ALL incite ignorance and hate. Do right-wing mouthpieces incite violence? Not nearly as much, but some of them do. Do they INITIATE violence? No. The real question here should simply be: Does inciting violence actually lead to REAL violence? There's no definitive proof of that, as you say. But use your common sense. If a right-wing survivalist hick in Alabama is ignorant and mentally imbalanced, and some pundit that he loves says "Assassinate this judge." You think there's absolutely no chance he's going to do what he says?
I remember many years ago, there was a preacher who said on TV that committing suicide was a way to let God know that you're coming home. A very stupid thing to say. And some listeners did indeed commit (or attempt) suicide as a result of it. Obviously they had some mental issues to begin with, but you don't think hearing what that preacher said didn't have anything to do with it? Don't pretend it has no effect whatsoever.
Hate breeds hate. And hate can lead to violence. So when shit happens as a result of that, if you right-wingers are not going to wise up and stop preaching hate, at the very least take a little goddamn responsibility. Taking responsibility for your actions is something you bootstrappy right-wingers love to pretend is your philosophy, after all.
