[img]583|left|Eric L. Wattree||no_popup[/img]My intention was to do Part IV of my “Common Sense Plan to Save the Postal Service” series, but in light of the senseless shooting by Jared Loughner in Arizona on Saturday, and the grossly disingenuous response by the GOP, I changed my mind.
I would be unforgivably remiss if I joined the weak-kneed press in failing to point out that anyone who doesn't recognize that this shooting is a direct result of the GOP’s irresponsible, concerted campaign of violent rhetoric is a fool.
Ever since President Obama entered office, the GOP has engaged in rhetoric designed to provoke the unstable, feeble-minded, radical elements of society. Although President Obama has a birth certificate on file in Hawaii and a Hawaiian newspaper carried an announcement of his birth, right-wing birthers insisted he is not a citizen, and held the Presidency illegally.
The New York Post even went so far as to publish an assassination cartoon of Obama, portrayed as a monkey, being shot by a policeman. I pointed out the following in my article, The Assassination Cartoon:
“I'm all for freedom of speech. But there are limits. Along with freedom comes responsibility, and the New York Post demonstrated the complete absence of responsibility with the publication of their cartoon depicting the assassination of the President of the United States.
“While freedom of speech and expression is indeed a cornerstone of American democracy, it is against the law to shout ‘fire’ in a crowded theater, with good reason. It is necessary for a free society to protect itself from those who don’t have the common sense to recognize that what they consider funny, or a practical joke, can get people killed. Even in a free society it is sometimes necessary to jail a free citizen for behavior that amounts to criminal stupidity. While I’m not an attorney, I think they call it criminal negligence.
“That is exactly the rationale that should be used to prosecute and jail all those responsible for the publication of this criminally ill-considered cartoon. Most of the criticism being lodged against this cartoon seems to have more to do with its incredibly poor taste. It is one thing to be petulant, immature and bigoted. We expect that from ultraconservative extremists. When you begin to advocate the assassination of the President of the United States, you have crossed the line – that separates the merely stupid from the criminal.
“That cartoon sent a message out to every deadbeat, bigoted loser in the country that they can finally make something of themselves. They can find purpose in their previously miserable lives by assassinating the President of the United States. What the New York Post is calling a meaningless joke is a clarion call to every bigoted fool. It says there are people who will consider you a hero if you bring violence against the President, and they know it. Can you imagine the hue and cry from Republicans if The New York Times had run a cartoon depicting the assassination of Ronald Reagan?
“The mere thought of perpetrating violence against the President shouldn’t be a part of the public discourse. It desensitizes the public to a possibility that should be unthinkable in a civilized society. History has demonstrated that one of the most lethal weapons in the conservative arsenal is subliminal suggestion, along with suggestions not so subliminal such as:
“‘Liberals are aligned with drug dealers, criminals and welfare cheats,
“‘Obama sympathizes with people who hate America and he pals around with terrorists,
“‘Anyone against spying on American citizens, torture or the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of innocent people is un-American.’
“Now we have this. And they're complaining, ‘What is the uproar about? It was just an innocent joke.’”
Now Look at Them
Since I wrote that in February 2009, the Republican rhetoric has heated up. Republican Congressman Joe Wilson of South Carolina called the President a liar during a joint session of Congress. Republican Gov. Rick Perry of Texas alluded to seceding from the union, a statement designed to whip up revolutionary sentiment.
In addition, during the 2010 mid-term elections, Sharron Angle, Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate from Nevada, suggested to her supporters the possibility of relying on “Second Amendment remedies,” and allusion to armed insurrection against the government.
Sarah Palin told her supporters, “Don’t retreat. Instead, reload.” Palin also put up a “crosshairs map.” One of the targets on that map was Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. Eighteen people were wounded and six are dead, including U.S. District Judge John Roll and 9-year-old Christina Taylor Green, the granddaughter of former big league manager Dallas Green.
When Republicans ask, “What did we do?” I will answer without the wobbly-kneed equivocation I am hearing in the corporate media.
You and your corporate cronies are doing everything you can to keep the American people undereducated, miserable, frustrated and divided. To insure that condition, in spite of record corporate profits, you are sending American jobs overseas, threatening to starve the unemployed, and obstructing everything that President Obama and the few responsible politicians are trying to do to provide relief.
You are stirring the pot with inflammatory language to incite insurrection and promote your own selfish political agenda. It should be obvious to anyone with eyeballs.
These people need to be held accountable.
Eric L. Wattree is a writer, poet and musician, born in Los Angeles. A columnist for the Los Angeles Sentinel, the Black Star News, a staff writer for Veterans Today, he is a contributing writer to Your Black World, the Huffington Post, ePluribus Media and other online sites and publications. He also is the author of “A Message From the Hood.”
Mr. Wattree may be contacted at wattree.blogspot.com or Ewattree@Gmail.com
Religious bigotry: It’s not that I hate everyone who doesn’t look, think, and act like me – it’s just that God does.
