Jim David Adkisson and the threat to reason

[ulysses]

It finally happened. Years of demonization and over-the-top comments from Limbaugh and Coulter suggesting the killing of liberals has, indirectly at the very least, resulted in one poor slob loading his 12-gauge and taking the lives of some of those he sought to blame for his lot in life.

This didn't happen in a vacuum. I'm told by a friend who lives and works in Turkey that people there view the Bush years as a long retreat from Enlightenment values in America. That much is obviously true, but even given the recent positive changes visible in society - a black man is poised to be our next President, after all - it's not as if we've been all that enlightened for some decades. Purveyors of conservative hate radio are only among the most obvious causes and effects: 83 years after the Scopes trial, Kentucky's Creationism Museum is a going concern; more than five years into the Iraq War, millions of Americans still believe that Saddam Hussein's secular regime had something to do with the Islamic extremists who carried out the 9/11 attacks; and even as Senator Obama puts Georgia in play, a business only miles from my home displays a sign equating him with a monkey.

Enlightenment has never been an easy sell in the US. It took generations of workers decades of fighting to achieve even minimal workplace protections. It was the work of a hundred years for African-Americans to achieve the right to vote nationwide even after the end of slavery. Fear of the Other has always been potent here, visible now in the form of a wall being erected along our southern border with Mexico. Visible now in the form of a man taking a shotgun into a church because the people there welcome other people who happen to be gay.

How many more Jim Adkissons are out there, reaching for another shell every time the phrase "kill the liberals" rings in their heads? Impossible to know and not worth worrying about, but worth considering. Be safe, but do not be fearful because fear breeds silence, and our children will judge us harshly if we are silent in the face of the threats to reason.

[TheCowsCameHome]

1. Limbaugh, Coulter, Hannity et al stoke the fires, then run away like cowards

after they're whipped their brain-dead minions into a frenzy of hate and intolerance.

They are as phony as three dollar bills, but far more dangerous.

[SammyWinstonJack]

6. Actually they laugh all the way to the bank and thank *God* for their brain-dead minions

for making them millionaires many times over. Sad, really.

[ColbertWatcher]

2. Something like this has happened before...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_1999_Los_Angeles_Jewish_Community_Center_shooting

[Chris Miller]

13. What is the connection?

The only connection I see is that they are both hate crimes. Jim David Adkisson was a mentally unstable person who blamed all his problems on liberals and democrats. The other guy hated Jews. I don't see the connection other than the fact that they were both mentally unstable and needed to blame their problems on a "group".

[ColbertWatcher]

14. The connection is...

...their beliefs were fueled by extremist right-wing ideology that encouraged violent behavior against others.

[gatorboy]

17. "Jim David Adkisson was a mentally unstable person "

That goes without saying if you're a conservative. Am I right, Chris? *nudge nudge*

[gatorboy]

16. Eric Rudolph also comes to mind.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Rudolph

[AllieB]

3. Hate radio and TV whipped up genocides in Rwanda and Bosnia

There are probably many more Jim Adkissons out there, who have been brainwashed by years of fascist radio. I fear that they will act out more now with an African-American presidential candidate.

[DemoTex]

4. Retreat from Enlightenment: The New Millennium Under a Puling, Un-elected Throwback

When you have plenty of good strong hating you don't need hope because the hating will be enough to nourish you.

William Faulkner, Absalom, Absalom!

[BlooInBloo]

7. Nice quote.

[SammyWinstonJack]

5. K&R

[KG]

8. the retreat started in 1980 with the reagan 'de-evolution'.

why so many americans prefer to be willfully ignorant sheep in a land teeming with opportunities to learn and grow just boggles the the mind.

[KharmaTrain]

9. Very Well Written

Hate radio didn't tell him to pull the trigger, I'm sure we'll find he had many other demons inside. But this post does hit on a very important background on the machine of hate that had flourished on the dead AM band for nearly 20 years now. It's gotten worse in recent years as consolidation and technology left the AM band as a broadcast wasteland...music formats were dead and its corporate owners saw the way to profits with mass produced satellite-delivered talk formats and several right wing production companies were right there with the cheap programming. It wasn't ratings but the number of stations carried that makes the money...saturation of both right wing "thought" and through it, hate. It drove away many, and those who remained have been a loyal core who are...for the most part, white, middle-aged white males.

The story worth looking into here is the inner workings of the hate radio world. It's very competitive and has led to an acceleration of rhetoric this year based on both the falling fortunes of the GOOP and the excelent chance that a black will be elected President. Here's a hope that this tragedy won't be forgotten and will start a dialogue on what goes on with hate radio...and how it can and does divide and polarize for its own profit.

The game isn't to shut it down through censorship or "Fairness Doctrine", but to expose it for its exploitive nature and discredit it...make it a risky proposition for anyone to advertise on.

Cheers...

[kwolf68]

18. Agree.

Good post.

[ulysses]

10. thanks for the comments and recs, everyone.

I'm getting ready for school this week and won't be able to keep up w/ the thread like I'd like to, but I'll be back.

[raccoon]

11. GReat post. Rec'd. nt

[ulysses]

12. ok, an afternoon

:kick:

[redqueen]

15. Thanks!

I might've missed this.

[Chris Miller]

19. Mentally unstable people

Anyone who the has phrase "kill anyone" ringing in their heads needs to be reported. There are a lot of people that I suspect are ready to go off at a moments notice. This incident should be a wake up call to all the talk radio personalities who want to demonize democrats or conservatives. All it does is attract people like Jim David Adkisson to place blame on some group instead of looking in the mirror and taking accountability for their problems. In fact, all this democrat hate and republican hate is simply designed to attract these types of people - just as Hitler managed to get an entire nation to blame the Jews for all the economic problems. People love to be able to simplify their problems by saying that it is the fault of a single party or a single group. It is so much easier to believe that all you have to do is vote and all your problems will go away. It is so much easier than really taking responsibility for yourself and making the necessary improvements to be a better person, educate yourself, or to simply work harder. The entire "party hatred" epidemic in this country is currently one of this country's major downfalls. How many more times do we need an incident like this before people, like many of the people in this blog, wake up, take responsibility and stop looking for someone to hate and blame. This country is great. It is not "on the decline" as Jim David Adkisson stated to the police. We should all be thankful for what we have and work together to make it better - but most importantly, we should respect the beliefs and opinions of other people in this great country because that is what makes this country great. Anyone who demonizes another political group is simply a fascist. Is there anyone else here who finds responding to this dreadful incident with hateful words and gross generalizations towards all Republicans a little contradictory?

[gatorboy]

20. There are Democrats promoting the same behavior?

Quick, we need names!

[AllieB]

23. I think he meant DemonRats.

:crazy:

[ulysses]

25. "hateful words and gross generalizations"

Where? Let's go get 'em!

[OneBlueSky]

21. it's the American way . . . when faced with a problem, the first reaction is often . . .

"Let's kill someone -- or some thing." . . .

brown people in the Middle East causing a problem? . . . let's kill 'em . . .

too many wolves out west? . . . kill 'em . . .

same mentality across the board . . . if it's in the way, kill it . . . if it even appears to be in the way, kill it . . . if it violates your prejudices, kill it . . .

it the American way . .

[malaise]

22. Excellent post

The assault on reason has consequences

[RB TexLa]

24. There are millions upon millions of them out there