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Culture War Scares the Hell out of Me
Hand it to McCain and Friends for very easily co-opting the population's anger towards the economy, it's fear of terrorism, and questions about "that one" and turning it into an angry mob. I think it has less to do with racism than it does to do with bull-baiting, and one should take a good look at Rush Limbaugh's latest When Do We Get to To Riot segment to understand where this is going. Should they lose the battle, they'll wage the war.
It's sad that while at the end of the Clinton era, people like me who were pissed at Clinton's policies took to protesting Clinton and not George W., the conservative crowd look at the situation they got themselves into are venting their rage onto some other tangible threat that deflects fault. It's usually a "scary person" because in their world of pseudo-Christian values, it's just easier to think of people as bad, not concepts cleverly hidden in books.
I see the attack on ACORN as being the nexus between their anger at the economy and their coming anger at losing this election, and that fills me with fear. This group just isn't going to go softly. People forget that prior to 9/11, terrorists drove pickup trucks and had NRA cards. They believed a Democratic government was fascism, and that it was God's will to have them fight at Waco, in Oklahoma City, at the Olympics, and at a number of other attacks which received less attention. I thought the days of the "Creativity Movement" had passed. The Reverend Matt Hale, who ran the Church of the Creator during its height of violence in the 1990's, was sentenced to 40 years in prison back in 2005, at a time when we were all focused on Osama Bin Laden. But where did his followers go?
Across America, it would seem as though this same group of nutjobs are dusting off their copies of The Turner Diaries and Hunter and re-engaging in talk about defeating Socialism, Marxism, Arabs, Jews, and everyone else which "impure" the waters of their perceived American Exceptionalism. I don't think I can stress enough how dangerous this ideology is.
I find it ironic that should anything happen as a result of this angry mob, it may possibly be the very anti-terrorism initiatives that Bush and his buddies enacted, which the neocon movement overwhelmingly supported which would be used against them. It's a terrifying prospect because at a time when the door has been cracked open for this kind of intrusive government, a homegrown domestic act, even small and blown up out of context, would be all any government would need to take those external policies and make them internal. And there are few leaders, of any party, who I believe could resist that temptation.
If this all sounds ridiculous I want you to imagine a scenario. Somewhere in America, there is a guy who just lost his job, who just lost his house, who may be going through a divorce, who may have outstanding bills, who may be anry, who may be extremely desperate and unstable, who is deeply religious, and who is horrified at the prospect that the government just gave close to a trillion dollars to Wall Street while he's suffering. And this man has been listening to radical talking points on the radio, on the television, and in print obsessively. And the message that he keeps hearing is "He's a terrorist," "It was his fault", "He's going to take away your rights", and then "God doesn't want this man to win this election." Now throw in the message this past week about waking up after election day to see this snooty, uppity black man winning the election, and that you'd wish you could have done something to stop him. I want you to picture this guy because he exists, and there are thousands more like him. Now give him a gun.
I don't think people are as afraid of this kind of negative rhetoric enough. You have a right-wing talk show host like Rush Limbaugh, who commands a huge audience, baiting his audience with a fantasy about rioting should Obama win this election. I'm not trying to overstate this, I don't believe that these people are Al-Qaeda, certainly not by means of structure or ability, but I do think there should be a level of caution because people could get hurt.
It's sad that while at the end of the Clinton era, people like me who were pissed at Clinton's policies took to protesting Clinton and not George W., the conservative crowd look at the situation they got themselves into are venting their rage onto some other tangible threat that deflects fault. It's usually a "scary person" because in their world of pseudo-Christian values, it's just easier to think of people as bad, not concepts cleverly hidden in books.
I see the attack on ACORN as being the nexus between their anger at the economy and their coming anger at losing this election, and that fills me with fear. This group just isn't going to go softly. People forget that prior to 9/11, terrorists drove pickup trucks and had NRA cards. They believed a Democratic government was fascism, and that it was God's will to have them fight at Waco, in Oklahoma City, at the Olympics, and at a number of other attacks which received less attention. I thought the days of the "Creativity Movement" had passed. The Reverend Matt Hale, who ran the Church of the Creator during its height of violence in the 1990's, was sentenced to 40 years in prison back in 2005, at a time when we were all focused on Osama Bin Laden. But where did his followers go?
Across America, it would seem as though this same group of nutjobs are dusting off their copies of The Turner Diaries and Hunter and re-engaging in talk about defeating Socialism, Marxism, Arabs, Jews, and everyone else which "impure" the waters of their perceived American Exceptionalism. I don't think I can stress enough how dangerous this ideology is.
I find it ironic that should anything happen as a result of this angry mob, it may possibly be the very anti-terrorism initiatives that Bush and his buddies enacted, which the neocon movement overwhelmingly supported which would be used against them. It's a terrifying prospect because at a time when the door has been cracked open for this kind of intrusive government, a homegrown domestic act, even small and blown up out of context, would be all any government would need to take those external policies and make them internal. And there are few leaders, of any party, who I believe could resist that temptation.
If this all sounds ridiculous I want you to imagine a scenario. Somewhere in America, there is a guy who just lost his job, who just lost his house, who may be going through a divorce, who may have outstanding bills, who may be anry, who may be extremely desperate and unstable, who is deeply religious, and who is horrified at the prospect that the government just gave close to a trillion dollars to Wall Street while he's suffering. And this man has been listening to radical talking points on the radio, on the television, and in print obsessively. And the message that he keeps hearing is "He's a terrorist," "It was his fault", "He's going to take away your rights", and then "God doesn't want this man to win this election." Now throw in the message this past week about waking up after election day to see this snooty, uppity black man winning the election, and that you'd wish you could have done something to stop him. I want you to picture this guy because he exists, and there are thousands more like him. Now give him a gun.
I don't think people are as afraid of this kind of negative rhetoric enough. You have a right-wing talk show host like Rush Limbaugh, who commands a huge audience, baiting his audience with a fantasy about rioting should Obama win this election. I'm not trying to overstate this, I don't believe that these people are Al-Qaeda, certainly not by means of structure or ability, but I do think there should be a level of caution because people could get hurt.
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I live along the edge of the Adirondacks. I know
any number of people getting stoked up by the Rights zeal. I sense that some are just waiting for something to happen.
In a county that is 98% white it can be heard that minorities are the cause of this current mess.
How good people, who have done the right things,
are now forced to pay for these others and their
abhorrent ways. Of course politicians receive lots of invective.
A line is lightly marked in the sand. Not everyone
knows the line is there. Its been drawn none the less. Those to whom it matters are quick to notice and align. Soon the line is gone. Most continue unaware.
We need to take a hard look and shine a bright light on at the leaders and the followers of these ideas turned feet on the street.
I don't mean to sound paranoid but these ideas are gaining some traction. I'm in no mood to sit quietly as this junk spreads. I'm just not sure
how its going to turn out.
October 12, 2008 5:08 AM | Reply | Permalink
Michelle Goldberg, who wrote about Christian Nationalism, says it's hardly gone, just a bit quieter, witness Sarah Palin.
It's some some of tribalism, that evokes both religious exclusion, and cultural. It maintains its insularity by blaming problems on the outsider. If it feels existentially threatened, it would be expected fo it to act violently.
So it's tricky to find a way to defuse this fear, to take away its power without stoking it. Surely the wrong way was the FBI's seige of the Branch Davidians. But the right way is not obvious to me.
For now, violence seems to be due to individuals more than movements, more Eric Rudolph or Timothy McVeigh than Matt Hale. If it stayed there it would be a manageable risk for a society.
October 12, 2008 10:21 AM | Reply | Permalink