Trump & 2nd Amendment People: Stop The Violent Rhetoric
by Spocko
Many many people have said that Donald Trump talks like a right wing talk radio host. His comments appeal to people’s anger and fear. As Janeane Garofalo used to say about the RWNJ radio hosts, “They talk to people’s inner Archie Bunker.” or put less politely, their inner asshole.
These radio hosts can also be funny, they call themselves “entertainers.” This combo gets good ratings for a certain audience. If they say something that goes too far and get called out on it, they can use the “It’s just a joke!” line.
(My favorite response to this dodge came from Ted Rall at EschaCon 08 in Philadelphia. “If an actual joke had happened, laughter would ensue.”)
But death threats aren’t funny.
As Digby pointed out today,
“we have a Republican presidential nominee whose message encourages paranoia, violence and anger among his followers directed generally at various “others” and specifically toward his opponent who he characterizes as a criminal and an illegitimate tyrant who plans to abolish the Second Amendment.
What could go wrong?”
Oh, I don’t know, the Rwandan genocide?
Of course what happened in Rwandan could never happen here. People don’t make decisions about an entire group of people from listening to media!
The media regularly allow political figures chances to “walk the statement back” The clever politician will call it “hyperbole, out of context, misunderstood, not intended. misspoke, etc.” They even give themselves the same out when they are busted.
Americans certainly aren’t going to listen to a old white man who goes on radio to identify a specific person, gives them a nickname and just wonders what some people would do. Not that Bill would do anything. He’s just sayin..
“In fact, O’Reilly himself repeatedly referred to Dr. Tiller in his own words as “Tiller the baby killer,” and as “Dr. Killer,” a fact he later denied. In a 2006 anti-Tiller rant on his radio show, O’Reilly said, “And if I could get my hands on Tiller — well, you know. Can’t be vigilantes. Can’t do that. It’s just a figure of speech. But despicable? Oh, my God. Oh, it doesn’t get worse.”
These kind of comments get through to the intended audience. Message received. And, when there are no consequences for the speakers, they keep saying them. The people who watch the speakers get away with this kind of talk are then “emboldened” (like we used to say about the terrorists) and engage in it themselves.
These people might bring up the 1st Amendment as a shield for the horrible things they say, so I remind them, threatening speech is not protected speech.
This isn’t Rwanda. Stop the violent rhetoric.