Poll: Is it really that absurd to blame conservative wailing for the Arizona shooting?

[Foolishman1776]

First off, the guy was not conservative in any way, second there's no indication that this was politically motivated, and given what I have heard of the man's political/religious (communist/atheist) beliefs, the 'wacko conspiracies' that those 'right wing nutjobs' worry about, HE WOULD SUPPORT.

 

[antidonkey]

No one really knows what's going to set off the crazy people. The political climate certainly didn't help the situation but it certainly isn't to blame. Watch the Daily Show from Jan. 10th. John Stewart sums things up nicely.

 

[VaderMan92]

Also everyone remember that left wing wackjob that held up discovery channel headquarters with a gun and a bomb. I don't remember the right immediately jumping on the left for that little fiasco. All the left is doing in this case is to try and hurt the right because their administration is losing political capital and they lost the house. They realize that they are losing their hold on America so they are grabbing at any little thing they can use to get more support or take it away from the right.

I don't remember that scene but Fox News probably did try pinning it on the left. That's what they're trying to do with this. The only thing that would deter them is probably being called out on "calling the kettle black."
I don't even see the left leaning pundits and politicians pinning this on the right; they're actually being quite reasonable about it. They should be capitalizing on it like as you said, they're losing their grip and they never take opportunities like this. You have to admit the left is pretty useless even when it comes to themselves: they never burn the other side when the opportunity arises while the other side goes so far as to make up things to burn them over. The only public person I've seen pointing fingers at people like Palin is Bill Mahr and he's not left or right, he makes fun of everybody.
But as useless as the liberals are, at least they don't make up threats to people's lives and liberty (BS like death panels) in order to scare their constituents into line. I think the right wing scares their constituents too much and gets them paranoid about all sorts of imagined threats to the point where they feel the need to carry an assault rifle to a town hall meeting. How can that NOT end badly?

But then again, HL Mencken said that was the main point of politics.

"The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary."

Just curios if you actually watch the news or listen to the radio or read any online news blogs. Because the left was running around frantically blaming the right for this and using this to try and push through another 10 round ammo limit. Palin was also being directly blamed because the congresswoman who got shot was on one of we need to get her out of office lists.

 

[theevilsanta]

snip

You're gleefully jacking off at a tragedy while aiming your money shot at people you disagree with in regards to politics. I really don't see how it's more complicated than that.

 

[crimson5pheonix]

He's not just crazy, he's groundbreakingly crazy. Last I heard, he had a thing where people were being controlled by the use of proper or improper grammar.

This person was a militant grammar Nazi. Let that sink in for a moment.

 

[CyanideSandwich]

Yes, it is absurd to blame politics for the actions of someone who has total free will. It's the shooter's fault he shot people, simple as that. Although, to be honest, I don't know the guy, so he may or may not have been influenced by politics.
My point is: what's done is done, while yes, it is a tragedy, no amount of arguing about what caused it is going to bring back the dead. Let's just hope he pays for what he's done, and everyone else gets back on with their lives.

 

[Spade Lead]

I will come back with a serious reply when I have caught up on the thread, but in my opinion, defensiveness has always been a sign of guilt, so Fox News and Palin getting defensive is just a sign of guilt in my eyes. Whether they were REALLY responsible or not, they appear to FEEL responsible...

On second thought, I will just let that comment stand. I don't think he was politically motivated, I think he was nuts. I think Palin is batshit insane, and nothing we can do will ever change that. We just need to keep her out of political office and the public eye, and the country will be okay enough...

 

[370999]

If George Bush was assinated can I blame the left? As there was plenty of speech directed towards him that could be constructed as hate. Or should we simply say that some people are insane and bad things sometimes happen despite the ebst efforts of everyone?

 

[Purple Shrimp]

why does every american on the left side of the political spectrum seem to take it upon themselves to be incredibly rude and condescending about everyone who isn't? i agree with their ideology but that really bothers me

 

[BabyRaptor]

No. It's their fault. Listen to the way they lie and carry on. Listen to the violence they incite. Any person claiming that Beck, Palin, et al had no part in this is willfully deluding themselves.

These people have been portraying Obama as a scary, evil man trying to destroy America since the day he took the White House. They've done much the same to Democrats as a whole. They lie, stretch the truth, shift blame...Anything they can do to make the Other Side the bad guy. They've been doing it for years. Did they honestly expect people not to act on it?

No, they didn't. They were hoping someone would. Need proof? See Rand Paul's reaction to his cronies curb-stomping that lady in Tennessee. See Sarah PayMe's comments about the recent happenings, in light of her trying to sneakily remove the gun sight maps off her website. See Glenn Beck and Bill O'Reily's constant calls for the Democrat's destruction. Hell, O'Reily even said they should be sent to Gitmo and tortured.

They wanted this. They just don't want it pinned to them, because the people that vote for them are dying out. And nobody in the younger generation is going to vote for lying, backstabbing, racist, fear mongering violence-inciters.

Edit: I'm tired, I forgot the most obvious one. Sharon Angle and her promises of "Second Amendment Remedies" if she didn't get voted in. Did she actually do it? Not yet. Did she encourage it? Well...Is the sky blue?

 

[Purple Shrimp]

No. It's their fault. Listen to the way they lie and carry on. Listen to the violence they incite. Any person claiming that Beck, Palin, et al had no part in this is willfully deluding themselves.

These people have been portraying Obama as a scary, evil man trying to destroy America since the day he took the White House. They've done much the same to Democrats as a whole. They lie, stretch the truth, shift blame...Anything they can do to make the Other Side the bad guy. They've been doing it for years. Did they honestly expect people not to act on it?

No, they didn't. They were hoping someone would. Need proof? See Rand Paul's reaction to his cronies curb-stomping that lady in Tennessee. See Sarah PayMe's comments about the recent happenings, in light of her trying to sneakily remove the gun sight maps off her website. See Glenn Beck and Bill O'Reily's constant calls for the Democrat's destruction. Hell, O'Reily even said they should be sent to Gitmo and tortured.

They wanted this. They just don't want it pinned to them, because the people that vote for them are dying out. And nobody in the younger generation is going to vote for lying, backstabbing, racist, fear mongering violence-inciters.

Edit: I'm tired, I forgot the most obvious one. Sharon Angle and her promises of "Second Amendment Remedies" if she didn't get voted in. Did she actually do it? Not yet. Did she encourage it? Well...Is the sky blue?

please answer the post directly above yours, I am interested

 

[boholikeu]

why does every american on the left side of the political spectrum seem to take it upon themselves to be incredibly rude and condescending about everyone who isn't? i agree with their ideology but that really bothers me

To be fair, aren't both sides of the political spectrum guilty of this?

 

[GonzoGamer]

Also everyone remember that left wing wackjob that held up discovery channel headquarters with a gun and a bomb. I don't remember the right immediately jumping on the left for that little fiasco. All the left is doing in this case is to try and hurt the right because their administration is losing political capital and they lost the house. They realize that they are losing their hold on America so they are grabbing at any little thing they can use to get more support or take it away from the right.

I don't remember that scene but Fox News probably did try pinning it on the left. That's what they're trying to do with this. The only thing that would deter them is probably being called out on "calling the kettle black."
I don't even see the left leaning pundits and politicians pinning this on the right; they're actually being quite reasonable about it. They should be capitalizing on it like as you said, they're losing their grip and they never take opportunities like this. You have to admit the left is pretty useless even when it comes to themselves: they never burn the other side when the opportunity arises while the other side goes so far as to make up things to burn them over. The only public person I've seen pointing fingers at people like Palin is Bill Mahr and he's not left or right, he makes fun of everybody.
But as useless as the liberals are, at least they don't make up threats to people's lives and liberty (BS like death panels) in order to scare their constituents into line. I think the right wing scares their constituents too much and gets them paranoid about all sorts of imagined threats to the point where they feel the need to carry an assault rifle to a town hall meeting. How can that NOT end badly?

But then again, HL Mencken said that was the main point of politics.

"The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary."

Just curios if you actually watch the news or listen to the radio or read any online news blogs. Because the left was running around frantically blaming the right for this and using this to try and push through another 10 round ammo limit. Palin was also being directly blamed because the congresswoman who got shot was on one of we need to get her out of office lists.

Well. I don?t listen to talk radio if that?s what you?re asking? I don?t watch commercial (corporate sponsored news) news other than NY1, I prefer my news to come from publicly funded sources like Newshour. There?s a lot less BS in those places.
I can see how someone who primarily listens to talk radio or watches Fox News would think that my suspicions as outrageous.

snip

You're gleefully jacking off at a tragedy while aiming your money shot at people you disagree with in regards to politics. I really don't see how it's more complicated than that.

Not really, I hate it when this stuff happens. But I think it'll be a shame if nobody learns anything from this and it seems that?s what?s happening. People are just brushing this off. Sure this guy was crazy but saying that's the only reason he went to that place and shot those people is a bit dismissive don't you think?

No. It's their fault. Listen to the way they lie and carry on. Listen to the violence they incite. Any person claiming that Beck, Palin, et al had no part in this is willfully deluding themselves.

These people have been portraying Obama as a scary, evil man trying to destroy America since the day he took the White House. They've done much the same to Democrats as a whole. They lie, stretch the truth, shift blame...Anything they can do to make the Other Side the bad guy. They've been doing it for years. Did they honestly expect people not to act on it?

No, they didn't. They were hoping someone would. Need proof? See Rand Paul's reaction to his cronies curb-stomping that lady in Tennessee. See Sarah PayMe's comments about the recent happenings, in light of her trying to sneakily remove the gun sight maps off her website. See Glenn Beck and Bill O'Reily's constant calls for the Democrat's destruction. Hell, O'Reily even said they should be sent to Gitmo and tortured.

They wanted this. They just don't want it pinned to them, because the people that vote for them are dying out. And nobody in the younger generation is going to vote for lying, backstabbing, racist, fear mongering violence-inciters.

Edit: I'm tired, I forgot the most obvious one. Sharon Angle and her promises of "Second Amendment Remedies" if she didn't get voted in. Did she actually do it? Not yet. Did she encourage it? Well...Is the sky blue?

please answer the post directly above yours, I am interested

I think the reason that many people on the left (and in the center) look down on people on the right is because of all the BS: fake threats and phony outrage. Things like Death Panels and Glenn Beck (and the rest of Newscorp... Which is a hell of a lot of influence on its own) make people paranoid for their lives and freedoms. The politicians on the left are just useless: people look down on them too but, let?s face it, only because they feel sorry for them.

I just wish the right would embrace the virtues that made them worth voting for. They wouldn?t need all the BS, threats, and gaybashing if they were more concerned about cutting taxes for those who need it and shrinking the government?s influence on our lives. They really need to give reasonable people reason to vote for them. I know I?ll stop looking down on them if they would act like the ?grownups? they claim to be.

 

[WhatHityou]

I'm not going to blame them for this but you can usually assume it gave him an outlet for his targets. Let me explain.

Most people who wan't to kill people first need a reason in most cases. Something they can say in there own crazy way, to them that makes there cause just or "reasonable"

It's not far fetched that he is using the cause and was just something for him to latch on to, that he is just a remorseless psychopath. People just like to build conspiracy's to make some kind of sense of whats happening around them kind of like this post and very similar to some of some conservatives political beliefs. I actually think there is a video up on the escapist that may give insight into why.


Though no it wouldn't be far fetched at all that the man could have been swayed to do that via misguided political beliefs, I mean a certain political dictator did convince hundreds if not thousands of normal people to kill people who believe in the Jewish faith.

This video seems appropriate.
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/the-big-picture/2648-Conspiracy-Weary

 

[For.I.Am.Mad]

I blame the epidemic of Loseritis that's been spreading since Nov 4 2008. Loseritis is a serious condition and if not treated could lead some very bad consequences.

 

[Purple Shrimp]

why does every american on the left side of the political spectrum seem to take it upon themselves to be incredibly rude and condescending about everyone who isn't? i agree with their ideology but that really bothers me

To be fair, aren't both sides of the political spectrum guilty of this?

to an extent, but I see one a lot more than the other

 

[boholikeu]

why does every american on the left side of the political spectrum seem to take it upon themselves to be incredibly rude and condescending about everyone who isn't? i agree with their ideology but that really bothers me

To be fair, aren't both sides of the political spectrum guilty of this?

to an extent, but I see one a lot more than the other

I'd agree with you that the left is more likely to be condescending, but the right seems to be more likely to include veiled exhortations of violence.

When all is taken into account, both seem to be equally rude to the other side.