Talk Radio makes you murder people 2.0...

By now we have all heard of the senseless tragedy that struck the Arkansas Democratic Headquarters in Little Rock. I anxiously await the same stuff we heard when the Tennessee nutjob shot up a church in Knoxville.

We will hear this whether or not the guy is a conservative, a talk radio fan or a reader of the books of Michael Savage, Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly.

I believe a shooting at a political HQ could very easily be the politically motivated actions of a mad man. But he is just that, a mad man, a monster and someone who we are better off not sharing the planet with. He may have been politically motivated and if he was that is a horrible thing, that anyone with any sense would denounce instantly.

I bring this up to remind you when you hear this charge that "the vile conservative commentators led to this" you need to ask whoever says that to reference a point where those commentators even attempted to justify or advocate behavior like this.

Ask them the following question:

Can you point to one host anywhere advocating violence? What exactly do they say that led to this?

Chances are you will hear a couple of different responses:

This...

Hate talk on the radio is no different than some hate rappers who espouse
violence in their songs. It all has the same impact on someone as weak-minded as
this shooter was. Republicans are quick to rail against the rapper but I'm sure
you'll never hear a peep out of them about this person's reading habits. Of
course, I'm sure Rush Limbaugh will be quick to point the finger of blame on
liberals.... "My friend, if liberals didn't hate this country so much, ordinary
people such as this man wouldn't feel the need to take action. It isn't it fault
that our government hasn't altogether outlawed liberalism. I'll bet you they
wouldn't be able to run down our president and our government overseas." (meaning: "They may not be saying "be violent," but they mean it")

This...

Why is it that someone can mass murder or commit an assassination and if their
reading material is of a more liberal matter, it's automatically reported by the
conservative media that he was "brainwashed", without so much as a psychological
exam but if it's someone who reads right wing hate books and talks about killing
liberals, his reading material had nothing to do with it and we need to show
proof if we think differently. (meaning: "But... but... but.. if it was
a liberal the right-wingers would be all over it." Probably, but they would be wrong and I would ask for a reference showing someone inciting violence.)

and This... (my favorite)

No actual facts that we produce for him are going to change his rant. No
direct quotes matter. No proof that his allegations are indeed, to use his
own words, "bull shit" will make any impression. (meaning: "We are talking out our asses and we can not find anything to back up our asinine positions." This is the position of intellectually dishonest cowards who will not acknowledge they are making things up to fit their political agenda.

The point is the argument "that conservative commentators are to blame for this" can not be backed up because none of them have advocated or excused political violence. None, not one.

But that will not dishonest politically motivated people from trying to use it.

Check back tomorrow and see if I am wrong. I hope I am.

UPDATE: I was not wrong.

Here.

I was thinking more of copycats. I do hope that talk radio handles this in a very circumspect manner. Too many guys in the south with beer, radios, trucks and guns.

Here.

I will be looking to see if shooter is/was talk radio rightwing nut.

This is my current "default option" for "why did this happen" to people in the way of the GOP.

Sue me for thinking this - It's become a pattern and these rats are against a wall.

I expect MORE of this because I think this is what rightwing talk radio is supposed to accomplish.

Here.

My gut guess was lost job - blamed democrats

because talk radio encourages this.

But I am quite open to learning what really happened.

I just have a sneaky suspicion about talk radio's intentions being more malicious than most people would care to imagine.