The Myth That Political Rhetoric Is Harmless

Sarah Palin opines, in her most recent video from an undisclosed location,

There are those who claim political rhetoric is to blame for the despicable act of this deranged, apparently apolitical criminal. And they claim political debate has somehow gotten more heated just recently.

I like the part about "apparently apolitical," which must have been inserted to give her some wiggle room in case inconvenient facts emerge about what influenced the shooter's actions. Even so, she apparently didn't notice that the gunman specifically targeted a politician who just happened to be a Democratic congresswoman in the middle of performing her congressional duties. Since the accused had purchased his gun over a month ago, and no doubt ran across many other people in the time between November 30, 2010 and January 8, 2011, it's reasonable to assume his first target was carefully chosen precisely because she was political.  Nice try, Sarah.

Mrs. Palin goes on to dissemble,

We know violence isn’t the answer. When we ‘take up our arms’, we’re talking about our vote.

Let's face it, nobody I know conflates 'taking up arms' with voting. And if there should be any doubt about the meaning of "Don't retreat, instead RELOAD"—the words she used in her Tweet to point to the now-infamous crosshairs map— may I present this image brought to you by "Second Amendment Task Force:"

I don't think about voting when I see this...

Mrs. Palin's overarching concerns in this incompetently-timed and self-obsessed video are (1) for her own potential culpability in the massacre and then (2) for any dampers that may be placed on her free speech as a result of the tragedy. To mitigate the first concern, she rigorously insists that any fault must lie clearly, and only, on the perpetrator—accountability, personal responsibility, and all that. Unfortunately, she is entirely unpracticed in this herself.

To stave off the second concern, she turns to her oft-used attack mode:

No one should be deterred from speaking up and speaking out in peaceful dissent, and we certainly must not be deterred by those who embrace evil and call it good. And we will not be stopped from celebrating the greatness of our country and our foundational freedoms by those who mock its greatness by being intolerant of differing opinion and seeking to muzzle dissent with shrill cries of imagined insults.

Who is she talking about here, though, "those who embrace evil and call it good?" Is she calling me evil because I am blogging for cooling down the rhetoric?  Who is so intolerant that they would seek to "muzzle dissent with shrill cries of imagined insults?"  The catchphrases and Facebook rants and hostile imagery linked to self-righteous Sarah are real, not imagined. The very language she uses against her perceived opponents here is exceedingly hostile and supercilious.

Can't someone hand her a mirror and make her really see?

That paragraph above is quintessential Sarah Palin. I can think of several occasions where she has shrilly decried imagined insults, and several more where she along with members of her adoring flock have tried to deter others from speaking out about her; they cry foul and assist her in playing the victim.  I can think of only a few people, none of whom are ever mentioned as a candidate for the U.S. presidency, who are as intolerant of those holding a different opinion than the once-upon-a-time-governor-who-quit has proven to be.

Mrs. Palin's very good buddy Glenn Beck is on the record for inciting unhinged people to do violent things. David Brock's "A Message to Sarah Palin" is a superb accounting of Beck's accountability thanks to his hate-filled rhetoric. Daily radio show or not, Mrs. Palin is in the same camp and of the same ilk as Beck.  She still "stands with" him.

It is little wonder that she did her self-serving causes no good with the January 12, 2011 "blood libel" poor-me video. Now, if she would just quietly slink off to a remote desert cabin and stay there for a very, very long time.  She is welcome to shout her inanities at the top of her lungs as long as only lizards and cactii can hear it.

Inspiring Violence Is More Like It

Time has announced the most influential people of 2010 in their top 100 list.  Glenn Beck, age 46, comes in at #40 of 200 with a little over 15,000 votes.  Apparently Sarah Palin, former half-term governor of Alaska and currently half-witted celebrity was asked to write a blurb on the Beckster in which she stated (bolding mine),

Best of all, Glenn delights in driving the self-proclaimed powers-that-be crazy. Though he sometimes dismisses himself as an aw-shucks guy or just a 'rodeo clown,' he's really an inspiring patriot who was once at the bottom but now makes a much needed difference from the very, very top.

Serpent Beck and Ice Queen Palin - two peas in a bloody pod

Well, this inspiring patriot not only has a TV show but also a radio show and if you ask me, what he's been inspiring over our public airwaves is anything but patriotism -- unless of course you think being a patriot means inciting fellow Americans to carry out violence against those with whom you politically disagree.

Here's Glenn not so long ago (video), screaming about killing a member of Congress with a shovel:

I've been sittin' here for the last few minutes trying' to come up with a list of people that I wanna kill with a shovel!  People that I want to whack over the head with a shovel!

Let's light 'em up and shoot 'em in the head!

People we'd like to beat to death with a shovel: Charlie Rangel!!

And then here's Glenn again (video), vividly imagining himself killing Michael Moore by strangulation:

I'm thinking about killing Michael Moore, and I'm wondering if I could kill him myself, or if I would need to hire somebody to do it. No, I think I could. I think he could be looking me in the eye, you know, and I could just be choking the life out -- is this wrong?

If this is patriotism, or inspirational in any decent, honorable, 'common sense' sense of that word, then call me unpatriotic.

Sarah of the supposed fine family values, do you really condone this sort of over-the-top rhetoric?  This sort of shock jock insanity?  Is this what you want your children to listen to?  Has life been so cruel to you that you find it necessary to stroke the ego of this madman to climb the popularity ladder?  He thinks you belong back in the kitchen, you know.  (See video at YouTube.)

Metaphor Madness

[UPDATE - Read more on this topic by Archivist and Marianne Williamson]

I'm not sure what all Sarah Palin's recent Facebook post was intended to mean (and maybe she doesn't either, since it's well known she frequently employs ghostwriters for the screeds that appear above her name). It starts out talking about "March Madness" and if you only read the first paragraph or two, you might think she was just giving advice to basketball players, something she considers herself expert in.

Here's a wordle of the last two paragraphs in the post, with a little emphasis on some of the more violent warlike language:

Maybe if Sarah hadn't been widely criticized for urging her supporters to "RELOAD," I may not have grown as increasingly uncomfortable with the verbal imagery here. But I know what she's been saying recently as she stumps for John McCain and am quite familiar with her predictable rabid ferret bite-your-face-off response if you call her out on anything. Instead of backing off her language, Sarah has doubled down on her "Never retreat, instead RELOAD" exhortation. No, more like she tripled or quadrupled down! Here is a direct quote from her Facebook post:

To the teams that desire making it this far next year: Gear up! In the battle, set your sights on next season’s targets! From the shot across the bow – the first second’s tip-off – your leaders will be in the enemy’s cross hairs, so you must execute strong defensive tactics. You won’t win only playing defense, so get on offense! The crossfire is intense, so penetrate through enemy territory by bombing through the press, and use your strong weapons – your Big Guns – to drive to the hole. Shoot with accuracy; aim high and remember it takes blood, sweat and tears to win.

Focus on the goal and fight for it. If the gate is closed, go over the fence. If the fence is too high, pole vault in. If that doesn’t work, parachute in. If the other side tries to push back, your attitude should be “go for it.” Get in their faces and argue with them. (Sound familiar?!) Every possession is a battle; you’ll only win the war if you’ve picked your battles wisely. No matter how tough it gets, never retreat, instead RELOAD!

War, Fight, Intense, Remember, Battle, Tactics

Thoughts are things. Words have meaning. Language stirs emotions. Careless use of language is as potentially dangerous and harmful as driving without paying attention to the road.

Guns, Shoot, Sights, Set, Aim, Go, RELOAD, Win

Sarah and buddy John McCain are rebutting the notion that their words are in any way responsible for acts of violence and vandalism directed toward Democratic members of Congress and their families.

Bombing, Big Guns, Penetrate, Targets, High

Any one incendiary word taken in isolation may be excused for lack of context, and presumed spoken in innocence. A few combative terms spread out over pages of text may likewise escape notice. But dozens and dozens of militaristic words in each of two successive paragraphs cannot be mistaken for anything except warmongering and inciting to violence.

Fight, Enemy, Blood, Shot, Hole, Offense, Execute [courtesy IGN.com]

I honestly tried to read the post as if it were really only about basketball. But how does pole vaulting or parachuting relate? And since when is "get in their faces and argue" a valid tactic on a basketball court for winning anything except a prolonged time-out?

Can't reach the basket any other way? Parachute in!

Playing basketball is not at all like real war. Players on the opposing team, be it in sports or politics, are not enemies. But if you label your neighbor an enemy you make it just a little easier to put them in the crosshairs of your weapon and shoot with accuracy, aiming high, remembering there will be blood, sweat and tears also, too, you betcha.