I have to say that more so than ever in the past several decades have I seen the use of death threats by right wing extremists on various political and social issues. In addition to covert death threats, we have seen a rise in the overt display of firearms as a form of political expression. This rise in extremism coincides with the growth of Fox News, as right wing hosts attempt to outdo each other in incediary rhetoric. Afterall, if right wing hosts are able to use violent imagery and threats on mainstream television shows that are watched by millions, why should we be surprised if those who listen to such hate are not similarly inspired to use such language or, worse, apply action to these words.
The question, of course, is how Democrats, liberals, progressives, sane people, will respond to these violent threats? In other words, if this violent rhetoric has the affect of mobilizing and energizing the right, what affect does it have on the left? Will those on the left be intimidated? Demoralized? Hopefull, no one is provoked to respond in kind. Sadly, Republicans have chose not to condemn such rhetoric on the right, but have instead justified it, or worse simply allege that the left does it all the time, which only serves to provoke right wing extremists further.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/14/AR2010041403560.html?hpid=opinionsbox1
You might imagine that if a terrorist attack killed an American public servant and threatened the lives of 200 people, it would have been big news for weeks and an enduring symbol of the risks taken by those who serve their country
Yet when an American named Joseph Stack flew a plane into an office building in Austin in February, killing Vernon Hunter, a 68-year-old Vietnam veteran, the news reports were remarkably muted, and the story quickly disappeared.
Hunter worked for the Internal Revenue Service, which was housed in the Austin building, and according to Stack's suicide note, the IRS was his target.
On or about April 15, the Web and the commentary pages overflow with assaults on the IRS that cast its employees as jackbooted thugs, to use an old phrase, and our tax system as a form of oppression comparable to the exertions of the worst Russian czars and the most fiendish modern totalitarian dictators.
We rightly denounce those who offer rationalizations for terrorism. But shortly after Hunter died, here is what Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) said of Joseph Stack at the Conservative Political Action Conference: "I think if we had abolished the IRS back when I first advocated it, he wouldn't have had a target for his airplane. . . . It's sad that the incident happened down in Texas, but by the same token, the IRS is an agency that's unnecessary."
Shame on King and shame on those who demagogue the work of the IRS. Vernon Hunter was a patriot who died serving his country. We should be grateful to him and to those who carry on his work.
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