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Turning Insanity Into Politics
COMMENTARY
This article originally appeared in The Daily Capitalist.
Like most of us I was shocked by the murders in Tucson and I hope for a speedy recovery for Gabrielle Giffords.
When our politicians are targeted it disturbs our sense of security and we question what kind of a society we are. That's only natural. Next to 911, the most shocking public event in my life was the assassination of John Kennedy. Like 911 the memories are vivid.
But, not every insane act by a "lone wolf" is a political event. A tragedy to be sure, but in this case even if Jared Lee Loughner thought he was making a political statement, it is not a political event. It is an insane event. All you need to do is check out Mr. Loughner's Youtube postings.
If had he been slightly insane and believed that violence would achieve a defined political end for a known political movement, then it would have been political. I would put most terrorist bombers in this category. I mean Unabomber Ted Kaczynski had political ends and was a terrorist, but could you say it was a political act? No. It was an insane act.
Yet the topic of the day on the media has been "What does this say about politics in America?" "Yes, yes, we know the guy was insane but what about the politics of hate." "What about hate mongering on talk radio?" Generally the words "Tea Party" usually came up. In almost all comments on radio and TV the folks that I would say were on the left were the ones raising these issues.
In other countries there are defined movements that use terrorism to achieve political goals. It seems to be a way of life in Iraq, Pakistan, and some other Muslim countries. Even in Europe, the Basque separatists, ETA, and the Irish Republican Army in Northern Ireland have used political assassination for years. You could say that anyone who would assassinate a politician had to be "crazy" but that is not always the case in cultures of violence.
In the U.S. (correct me if I'm wrong) all of the political murders have been committed by insane persons. Conspiracy theorists can argue the point, but I don't buy into those ideas. Conspiracies have a way of unwinding and so far no great conspiracies have been uncovered behind Lee Harvey Oswald, James Early Ray, and Sirhan Sirhan. All of these men had political ends, but not even Malcolm X's murderers, arguably acting with political motives, have been tied to a secret underground political movement. You would say they were deranged.
Tom Ashcroft on NPR Monday morning asked the question first off in his pandering manner: "What does this say about politics in America?" Well, Tom, I'll tell you: it means nothing. In fact Tom, compared to the 1960s, the level of "political" violence has gone way, way down in this country.
In a few short years of the 60s we had the murders of John Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Bobby Kennedy, and Malcolm X. We had the Watts Riots sung to the tune of Barry McGuire's "Eve of Destruction." We had a nasty war in Vietnam that gave rise to large protests and riots on campuses across the country as the military draft was taking 50,000 men per month. We had violence from the Civil Rights movements as "agitators" were murdered (James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner) and beaten. Not to mention the Birmingham bombings of little girls. I recall the Black Panther shootout in Oakland quite vividly. The Cuban Missile Crisis and The Bomb was the backdrop.
I would say that despite the complaints by talking heads, the level of political discourse in America has gotten better, not worse. And, dear reader, I would say that the discourse on the blogosphere has done much to raise it. Every medium is a mixed bag but blogs rise above the 30 second sound bite.
Assassinations, murder, and violence are a part of every society, including ours. But don't confuse insanity with politics.
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I used to think armageddon would be a great shorting opportunity, but given the performance of the markets in light of recent bad news, I'm not so sure anymore.
....yep...then it'll be a steroidized POMO...it won't be old helicopter Ben...he'll be using every available B-52....so you'll want to be very long call options on the most over valued stocks...I would suggest ones the furthest out of the money to permit max leverage on your funds.
In his mind, based on the nonsense he posted online, the shooter believed it was political. He couldn't get through an algebra class at Pima College becasue his constitutional rights were under attack. If he'd been wearing a red and white headscarf and his name had been Mohammed, you'd be hard pressed to find a conversation that didn't KNOW this was political.
You got this 100% right!
Shit the MSM will probably view armeggedon as being a political event! Thankfully there will be precious few politicians or MSM representatives in heaven! In fact there will probably be more lawyers than either of those two groups combined!
Everything is political now. Even natural disasters are political.
How many times do you see a post on ZH completely unrelated to politics, and the first comment is "Well, you can blame (Obama)/(Bush) for that!"
Party politics is the only lens that many people have to look through at any event.
Good point Chet. Sad, but true.
@porkchop
Excellent point!
I often ask myself; If America is such a great place to live, why are so many people on anti-depressants?
Watch MSM T.V., and you already know the fiscal situation, why would you NOT be on Anti Depressants?.
Because they have freakishly-unrealistic, media-generated, super-idealized notions of what 'normal' life is like, of what they deserve for simply showing up in America. When they slam into non-Hollywood reality - middling grades, career difficulties, relationship troubles, loss, illness, financial problems, unhealthy diet, it clashes with the stupid expectations and produces depression.
They might feel fortunate to have a roof overhead, heat, easy food and water, fortunate to not be enslaved, to not have to fight for survival, to not have to get around on foot, to be better off than nearly everyone in history, but no.
Because Tony Soprano made it OK to be on anti-depressants???
Is this a tragedy? Yes. But it's no greater tragedy than when some homeless guys are killed in the Bowery. The big hullabaloo has occurred because, in addition to some regular folks, this is a case of the powerful being killed.
Very true TJW - very next day there were 2 people murdered here in Chicago, but <yawn>, it's just business as usual.
When doesn't the MSM turn an issue that isn't political into an issue that is?
Small wonder why every issue the mainstream media "reports" on is pre-baked and spoon-fed to jane and joe sixpack. Keep the little ping pong ball in their head bouncing back and forth between a right/left paradigm, and they will never stop to notice the bottom line*.
*the bottom line: the only thing keeping this country solvent is accounting gimmiks and a printing press.
The attempted assassination of a politician is inherently political.
Depends, maybe you just dont like the son of a bitch.(Ted Kennedy,and drowning innocents, and saving his ass, and being made a fkin hero?,when he should have been a ex con?).
You mean that KIND?.
No, that would be the kind that launches an unprovoked war against a country killing thousands and the fascists that supported them.
speaking of fevered wet dreams.........
What's odd to me is that people consider this act to be unusual or unprecedented.
The only thing unusual about it is that it occurred in a place like Tuscon, where it was not expected.
In the Washington, D.C. area at least one nut job shows up with a gun and starts shooting every year. At the Capitol, outside the White House, at the Holocaust Museum and near the Pentagon are some recent venues. And that does not include the so-called "DC Sniper" who targeted random people in parking lots and bus stops.
Don't get me wrong -- its a terrible and horrible thing wherever it happens. But this is not the beginning or ending or anything.
D.C. is such a target-rich environment...
You have no idea what the political climate has been like here in Arizona since the McCain/Palin rallies in 2008. While I would have guessed Phoenix rather than Tucson for real violence, I am not at all surprised by this.
We have huge numbers of radical right wing groups here-the white supremacists, KKK, the Minutemen, anti immigration groups, the radical gun rights people, the Christianists and the right to life people (who have some blood on their hands already from assassination of doctors). The Minutemen already killed a child in a border home invasion last year.
These are the people that worship Sarah Palin and fetishize her to a great extent. You cannot criticize Palin to any in this group or you will be banned forever. I knew when John McCain refused to condemn her 'target' poster that these groups gained great power and violence was inevitable. This is what the Sheriff of Pima County was talking about. These people are violent!
If you had watched any television here and seen the terrifying commercials last fall, hundreds of them running non stop 24/7 with horrifying graphics and music and ominous words. Add to that our regular daily dose of hate speech on talk radio, cable and the right wing blogs. Then mix in violent video games, music and movies.
This place was a toxic soup just waiting for some insane person to consume.
What the fuck? The sheriff is scared shitless, trying to point the finger elsewhere-they knew this guy was a problem for some time, but since mum works for the fucking parks dept kept it hush hush.
As for your other points, care to talk about vitriol?
I am interested in this story, but am waiting for more evidence.
The Sheriff has been very well spoken throughout. You have got to be a terrificly brave person to be in law enforcement in one of the border counties. He could still beat your ass at 75 year old.
You also need to see whats in your water.........your eating the same shit as the MSM.
This place was a toxic soup just waiting for some insane person to consume.
Scroll up to my post on Mr. Jared, and exactly who he was in bed with............then coe back,and see if you view it a tad differently.
He had a lot of influences. He read Ayn Rand. Much of his stuff sounds exactly like Glenn Beck to me. He followed some sobscure guy who talked about language control and he followed UFO groups. But when you add the toxic political atmosphere here to his violent video gaming, music, the media with all the terrifying commercials. Just watching Glenn Beck alone could drive one mad if they were already unstable.
The kid should have gotten mental health help but the services in Arizona are all non existant. We have the most lax gun laws in the nation in a hot bed of radical right groups. It was not a matter of if, but when something like this happened.
If a conservative doesn't like guns, he doesn't buy one. If a liberal doesn't
like guns, he wants all guns outlawed. If a conservative is a vegetarian, he
doesn`t eat meat. If a liberal is a vegetarian, he wants all meat products banned for everyone. If a conservative is a non-believer, he doesn't go to church. A liberal non-believer wants any mention of God and religion silenced. (Unless it's a foreign religion, of course!)
I think perhaps you'd be happier in another state, like CA for instance (just ignore those crazies shooting up day-cares, Jewish Community centers, and McDonalds with their AK's)
This is not true. This is just 'conservatives' giving up on solving real problems the nation has by stereotyping people who want to solve problems. No liberal wants all guns outlawed, this is a lie. An absolute lie that is told over and over by the right wing echo chamber. They believe it.
But they really are just shirking their duty as citizens to add to the discussion and try to solve problems. Do you really think insane people should have a semi automatic gun? Do you? And if you do not, how does one restrict their access to the crazy people without infringing on the right of others?
This is too hard for a 'conservative'. It means working with shades of gray instead of calling for all out war on the enemy-which is always liberals. They know nothing about liberals!
"This is just 'conservatives' giving up on solving real problems the nation has by stereotyping people who want to solve problems."
You better re-read some of your posts.
He also had a nice alter in his backyard...complete with a skull.
Completely normal for the sheriff to disregard his past abnormal behavior when informed about said behavior.
Yes, just call the authoitahs...they'll take care of you...LOL.
++
Excellent comment... thanks for the local color ... I suspected Az was a hotbed of this sort and no reasonable person can deny that violent language and symbols encourage, perhaps in the case, suggested the target of violence. Dozens of studies show that moddelling violence encourages violence. That is not to say, of course, that it is the sole cause. To deny this is to deny the obvious. Some say that it will hurt Palin´s chances having used the gunsight or target symbol. I suspect it will not. I would not be surprised if the elite owners of the US select her ... she is dumb enough and cam be used to direct attention from the real issues.
Arizona has always been a home to the John Birch Society. One of Palins early influences. Fringe radical right group. Radical right.
"I would not be surprised if the elite owners of the US select her..."
You mean like Barry & Biden?
"she is dumb enough"
You mean like Barry & Biden?
The lefts obsession with Palin will be their undoing...the right is pretty much sitting back and letting you guys hang yourselves.
Barry's gonna look like a complete fool when he goes to Az. to take political advantage of what this nutcase did.
“If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun,” Obama said at a Philadelphia fundraiser Friday night. “Because from what I understand folks in Philly like a good brawl. I’ve seen Eagles fans.”
Good luck with that.
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/06/14/obama-if-they-bring-a-knife-to-the-fight-we-bring-a-gun/tab/article/
You are an idiot and a bigot.
Project much?
Target much?
http://www.verumserum.com/?p=20406
Note weiniedog...Palins chart is covered by POB's...the democrats targets are bullseyes, that is, commonly associated with guns.
Next.
YOU LIE!
No, actually you lie douchebag. Go troll somewhere else...
What I said was true wasn't it.
Click the link you weinie.
And while your there, check out the language used by the DCCC & DLC accompanying their charts.
You're the liar you leftist twit...click the link...I double dog dare you...LOL.
Metaphors != Reality (unless you're a Socialist/Progressive with an inflated notion of your own thought processes' worth!)
He cannot provide any proof I'm wrong (because I'm not)...weinie seems to think he's a NYT editor...LOL...where all he has to do is make a declarative statement in order to create reality.
It's a type of psychosis...fortunately there is only about 18-20% of the people afflicted with it.
That is a good way to elevate the conversation!
How am I a bigot or an idiot?
You know nothing about me. You might try addressing my post.
the minutemen didn't kill anyone. that's simply a lie.
how about coming back and telling the truth and not lies.
you can start by explaining why it is a lie to say "white people" shot giffords and killed others.
once you understand that lie, you'll understand your own lie.
Show some evidence to support your point. Nowhere does he reference talk radio, sarah palin, or tea parties. In his Youtube rants he seemed to be focused on grammar. Maybe he got pissed off seeing a hooked on phonics ad one too many times during "the view".
This guy was a paranoid schizophenic. Look at the themes of his videos - mind control, paranoia, completely illogical reasoning. He was in his own world with his own reality. If he was really out to kill the house rep, why did he go after the others in the crowd? If he wanted to make a political statement, why did he not empty the entire magazine into her alone. I will tell you why. The voices told him what to do. They were not the voices on the radio or tv either. They were the ones in his sick mind. The same ones that whispered to Ted Kazinski, Jack the Ripper, Mark Chapman or John Hinckley. It is the voice of mayhem, anarchy or if you want to believe, the devil. It is not rational or reasoned, just the distilled essence of senselessness.
What color is the sky in your world? The dying mass media are doing what they always do, reducing the two week news cycle to endless gossip, speculation, and bull shit for the 24/7 consumption of the fattest housewives and the dumbest teenagers. Why would you expect anything beyond he said/she said manufactured drama and sleaze?
The real question is why the constant violence, intimidation, and extortion of the left are never reported on in POLITICAL TERMS or seen in the long run context of a fraudulent Stalinist agenda. Other than that, the article was shallow and sucked. What sort of idiot watches the boob toob?
Name one violent event or attempt by the left this past decade. Just one.
You have to go back to the Vietnam War to find anything comparable to the hate speech and deeds of the radical right wing for the past decade.
At least the left had a real grievance about being sent off to and killed in a war by the draft. maybe we should bring back the draft and then we will see some real bipartisanship among the citizens.
Ted Kaczynski -- the Unabomber
Dude, turn on the T.V.,watch the View, watch the Democratic Congressional speakers, the amount of hate speech coming from this group makes the Conservative programs content pale in comparison.
You need to get out more, and quit drinking their Koolaid.Cause they are fucked.