"The Next Step" - Democratic Underground

H2O Man

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Sat Jan-08-11 06:29 PM
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"The Next Step"

“They're afraid they'll have to fight for their liberty in more Second Amendment kinds of ways? That's why I look at this as almost an imperative. If we don't win at the ballot box, what will be the next step?” – Sharon Angle; Tea Party Poster Child; from 2010 US Senate campaign.

I'd like to take a moment to discuss a few thoughts about today's act of terrorism in Tucson. And that is exactly what it was – terrorism. It differs only in scale from other terrorist attacks, from 9/11 to the murder of “abortion” doctors; from the on-going terrorist attacks against people based upon their skin color, ethnic identity, or sexuality, to the less frequent, massive violence of the Tim McVeighites. All of these situations involve an individual, tied to a shadowy group, that are intent upon making a statement of hatred, violence, and death.

I'm listening to the news as I write this. Hence, I am sure that the details of this vicious crime will be updated, or changed, by morning. “A very disturbed young man,” a journalist just called the gunman. Indeed. The same journalist just reported the gunman referred to himself as a “terrorist.”) I suspect that within 24 hours, the media will report a legend of a mentally ill loner. While hopefully everyone can agree that he is 100% responsible for all of his acts, I will never believe that he was alone responsible.

That “shadowy group” he belongs to may be limited to a segment of socially marginalized people who listen to the Sharon Angle and Glenn Beck types, who believes their lies and fear tactics, and who actually do act in near isolation. That is certainly a possibility. Even in this case, those who stir the pot of paranoia are still responsible for creating the atmosphere that gives these freaks license to act out publicly their brutality.

In fact, that is a basic tactic of the cowardly types, including the right-wing hate radio personalities, the loud-mouthed political shit-stirrers, and especially the fundamentalist religious types. They understand that while many might listen to and agree with their sick rants, they are most likely to influence young men to act upon delusional and immoral passions. This is why the military outfits of the world tend to recruit young men; few mature adults will submit to the authority of the gym coach/drill sergeant, and worry if their bed is made tight, and their shoes polished correctly.

Is this fellow mentally ill? Obviously, a person who thinks about committing such an act has issues. The person who commits such an act is not the picture of mental stability. This 22-year old may have some Axis 1 or Axis 2 illness. Perhaps equally important, he is invested in a more wide-spread social psychosis, a delusional system that has spread from the 'birthers” and other fringe-of-society groups, to a larger portion of the republican right.

In the dark and wormy corners they inhabit, they have fears which cause them to cling to their guns and bibles. Especially those guns. And their leadership, no matter if it is in person, on television, the radio, or the internet, has convinced them that their bible not only justifies their violence, but demands it. And without a doubt, there are young people willing and able to commit these acts of terrorism. That is always “the next step.”