Paul Gosar's death-threat video is no joke -- it's part of the Republican terror strategy
Paul Gosar's death-threat video is no joke it's part of the Republican terror strategy
When fascists threaten you with deadly violence, they're not kidding. Americans may learn that lesson the hard way
By CHAUNCEY DEVEGA
PUBLISHED DECEMBER 1, 2021 6:30AM
(
Salon) When someone threatens to kill you, believe them. It is not a joke or hyperbole or just "heated words." It is not mere partisanship, symbolism or a game.
Earlier this month, Rep. Paul Gosar, a far-right Republican from Arizona, shared a clip from a Japanese anime video on social media that had been edited to show a version of him, first killing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and then attacking President Biden. This is part of a larger pattern of violence in which Republican elected officials (and their voters) threaten Democrats with physical harm, or incite others to do so.
On Nov. 17, the House of Representatives voted to censure Gosar and strip him of his committee assignments. All Democrats supported this resolution. Only two House Republicans voted in support of it. Predictably, Republicans are claiming that Gosar's death threats are a matter of "free speech" and therefore should not be "censored."
Republicans also claimed that Ocasio-Cortez and the Democrats in general are too "sensitive" in their response to Gosar's supposed attempt at humor. This is the logic of abusers and terrorizers: The victim is somehow always to blame.
Rep. Ted Lieu, a California Democrat, correctly summarized Gosar's dangerous behavior and the near-unanimous Republican support by saying, "In any workplace in America, if a coworker made an anime video killing another coworker, that person would be fired." ...........(more)
https://www.salon.com/2021/12/01/paul-gosars-video-is-no-joke--its-part-of-the-terror-strategy/