Showing posts with label hate-talk. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hate-talk. Show all posts

Friday, April 6, 2018

The Far-Right Continues To Attack The Parkland Teen Survivors

Today it was reported that an entire website has been started with the express purpose of trolling and hating a teenage shooting survivor who has dared to call for more gun regulation. It is only the latest of a long list of such attacks by Conservatives and pro-gun forces against him and the other teens who survived the Parkland shooting....

If a person survives a plane crash, then publicly calls for better air safety, do people attack their character? What about if their child dies in a building fire and they advocate for better building codes? Or their friend dies in a multi-car crash so they call for better speed enforcement?  What is the response from lawmakers and pundits?  Usually it is very understanding.

Are any of these survivors lambasted as "soulless liars"? Or compared to Hitler? Or told that they should be learning first aid instead of talking out? Or pronounced that they should have been smacked more as children? What sort of person says such awful things to victims, survivors, or their families?

And what if they are saying these things about child survivors who saw dozens of their friends killed and injured, and had to run past their bodies to escape? 

Yet I see this all the time when the issue is gun violence-related. Survivors and victims are ignored by the Conservative gun-loving crowd ... until they call for sensible regulation to keep the shootings from happening again.  And then the gun crowd comes out shooting, so to speak, attacking the character of those survivors who dare to speak out.  The right-wing hate machine starts up.  It happened to my friend Colin Goddard after he survived the Virginia Tech shooting and advocated for stronger laws.  It happened to Lucy McBath after her 17 year old son, Jordan Davis, was shot to death and she called for justice and change. It happened to David Wheeler, who lost his 6 year old son in the Sandy Hook shooting and testified for change. And so on....  Anyone who speaks out about gun violence and calls for change is immediately trolled, smeared, and threatened. It's even happened to me.

Sadly, we are seeing it again.  This time, they have come out to troll and hate on the survivors of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.  The fact that these are children makes the attacks even more pitiful.

These teen survivors are brave, well-spoken, and passionate, and we need to respect them, not tear them down.

There have been so many attacks on these teens by the far right that I've started to lose track. So I decided to make a sort of laundry list of them, here, though it is by no means complete (for instance, I didn't bother going to all the pro-gun blogs to see their reactions) and is just a sampling.  Read them and tell me if this is a sign of an intelligent reaction. When the facts don't support the extremists, they resort to name-calling, conspiracy theory, and outright hate speech.

How have the teens handled it?  Far better than many adults would. In fact, I'm impressed how they cope with the constant attacks and remain focused on the need for change.  In the words of teen survivor David Hogg, when asked what he thought of the attacks on his character and the conspiracy theories:

“I don’t care,” Hogg said. “I don’t. I have bigger, more important things to focus on than these stupid conspiracies that aren’t true in any way, shape or form, have no validity, and don’t hold their weight. At all … these people are going to keep trying to take us down but that’s how we know what we’re doing matters … whenever someone tries making a change that matters, and a change for the better, there’s always someone that tried stopping them.” 

And the teens have been wildly successful in their effort: The nation's largest-ever one-day march and rally; State legislation pushed forward; Conversations on gun violence in nearly every living room. Their passion, honesty, and progressive attitude is very much at the heart of it all.

Here's the list I have so far (which I will update when I find more), more or less in chronological order, of some of the major attacks on the Parkland teens. As you can see, a great many of them target Emma Gonzales and David Hogg, the two most outspoken teens:

This sort of hatred, trolling, and conspiracy theorizing isn't just rude and disgusting, it's dangerous. Weak-minded (and armed) people who listen to this may believe it and act out violently as a result. It's happened plenty of times before (remember the "Pizzagate" shooting?).

I think you can see how toxic these extremist Conservatives are to their own cause.  I applaud the Parkland teens for their courage, and thank them for trying to make a new trajectory for our communities and nation away from gun violence.

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Friday, July 19, 2013

Pro-Gun Extremists Crash A Remembrance Ceremony For The Aurora Shooting


(UPDATED -- see below)

 Today, July 20, is the one-year anniversary of the Aurora, Colorado, mass shooting. 17 people were shot dead, and another 70 were injured, including children.  20 minutes into the movie, a mentally ill man, James Eagan Holmes, burst in and opened fire.  As with so many other mass shootings, Holmes was heavily armed with a semi-assault rifle with an extended ammo clip (holding 100 rounds!), a shotgun, and handgun, and armored with a ballistics vest and helmet.  It was the single largest shooting by a lone gunman in American history, when you include both dead and injured.

What followed were statements from those of us calling, once again, for common sense gun laws to curtail such shootings, a statement from the President, and the burials and memorial services across the nation.  Since then, the state of Colorado has enacted sensible reforms. 

And what did the pro-gun side try do after the slaughter?  Did they propose anything to reduce availability of guns to lunatics?  Of course not.  Instead, they pounded their chests about how, if only they could have been there with concealed handguns, they would have saved the day.  They tried to ignore the shooting.  They opposed any reforms (even to the point of attempting a recall on politicians that supported reforms there).  And, of course, there were the inevitable wacko pro-gun conspiracy theories that there was an unseen accomplice helping Holmes, that the “Illuminati” were behind it, or even that the government had staged the whole thing to promote “gun control,” all of which were really attempts to sidetrack the debate about what should really be done. 

Given the trauma suffered by Aurora, and the sheer number of dead and injured, it is only fitting and proper to have a remembrance ceremony to remember the event one year later and those who, living and dead, experienced the horror of it.  Naturally there will be a reading of names of victims, words about them, and statements about what people feel should be done to prevent another madman from carrying out such a deed again.

One remembrance ceremony will be held at the Cherry Creek State Park in Aurora, sponsored by Mayors Against Illegal Guns (MAIG), and will include the reading of names, not just of Aurora victims, but all victims who have died to gun violence since the Sandy Hook shooting, too.  It’s a chance for the community to come together in remembrance and to discuss what can be done to stop it from happening again.  It is one stop on a trip with multiple stops for a MAIG bus.

And what is the gun lobby doing?  Are they joining in the remembrance?  Holding one of their own?  Of course not.  Acknowledging the deaths of innocents is too inconvenient for their “more guns in more places” argument.  Instead, they’re staging a protest within sight of the remembrance ceremony.  Rude and offensive!  And it’s complements of a pro-gun extremist group, Rocky Mountain Gun Owners (which bills itself as "Colorado's only no-compromise gun rights organization"), and advertised by Ammoland.com. 

From an article:

Dudley Brown, executive director of Rocky Mountain Gun Owners, denied his group was being insensitive and said his members would be respectful. 
He accused Mayors Against Illegal Guns and its founder, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, of politicizing the Aurora massacre to promote gun control. 
"Mayor Bloomberg is using this tragedy and walking all over graves to get to the microphone," Brown said.

Nevermind that Mayor Bloomberg won’t be there.

And how, exactly, is this “walking all over graves” when victims and their families are taking part in the ceremony?

Stephen Barton is one of those survivors from the Aurora shooting who will be attending.  He is now part of MAIG.  In an email to supporters, he wrote about the Aurora remembrance ceremony:

One year ago today, I stopped in Aurora, Colorado on a cross-country bike trip with my best friend. We decided to go to a midnight showing of the new Batman movie, and that's how I became a survivor of gun violence. 
I was shot with more than two dozen shotgun pellets in the face, neck, hands, chest, shoulder, and forearm. But I was lucky. I survived, and I've spent the past year working to keep what happened to me from happening to other Americans. 
In that year, Colorado has led the way by passing common-sense public safety laws. Sadly, our leaders in Washington have done nothing to follow that lead and keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people. Today, I'm asking you to remember those who died in Aurora and demand action from our members of Congress.

The pro-gunners responded to Barton with rude and offensive statements.  Here is what one had to say to Barton on a pro-gun online forum:
Your first mistake was going to a theater in a “Gun Free Zone” where only criminals will be carrying. Plus, what does getting shot with a shotgun have to do with semi-auto rifles? Your problem is you don’t have a man card.

Said another there:
Sweet. If someone takes a shot at me, Stephen Barton will be there to jump in front of the bullet. 
Sounds like a win for everybody.

Comments on the bus tour at another pro-gun online forum were equally as rude and offensive.  Said one:
Ya know....roofing nails have this uncanny habit of landing "point-up" when they fall off your back tail gate.....just saying

Said another:
People outta egg the SOBs bus as it drives by, followed by a Brooklyn salute. 
Sadly, the gun lobby has suggested throwing eggs at the MAIG bus as it arrives.  Just check out the banner
they are passing around online from Ammoland (see picture, at right).  Just another example of their rudeness and confrontational behavior.

It’s increasingly common for the pro-gun lobby and their extremist supporters to engage in such thoughtless behavior.  The public is turning against their failed and dangerous philosophy.  Naturally that makes them feel threatened, leading to increasingly confrontational behavior.  Showing up with openly-carried guns at state capitals and gun violence prevention rallies.  So their attempt the throw the remembrance ceremony in Aurora comes as no surprise.  After all, it is hardly surprising that people who carry guns around and prepare themselves to kill people with them would be willing to rudely confront those who think it’s a bad idea.

I think a Colorado state representative from Aurora, and mother of a shooting victim, sums it up best when she talked about the pro-gun plan to crash the remembrance ceremony:
"I think it's a slap in the face of the people who are suffering the loss of a loved one," said state Rep. Rhonda Fields, a Democrat from Aurora. Fields' district includes the theater where 12 people were killed and 70 injured one year ago Saturday, and she plans to participate in the remembrance ceremony. 
Fields' son was shot and killed in 2005 to keep him from testifying in a murder trial.
The gun guys only hurt their own cause.  Personally, I hope they continue to do so.  It puts on exhibit to the public the reprehensible behavior I see from them online every day.
UPDATE (7/20/13):  Both the remembrance ceremony and the pro-gun protest occurred as planned.  At one point, one of the pro-gun protesters stood behind the ceremony podium with a protest sign until rangers made him move.  Naturally, some of the pro-gun guys had their guns with them, including the protest organizer, and wore shirts that read "We will not comply" (implying that they would be willing to break any gun-related law if they don't agree with it, since they are pro-criminal).  

 Many survivors and victims' family members spoke.  Their statements, from the article:
"I think that Coloradans get it, that something must change," said Tom Sullivan, whose son Alex was killed in the theater. ...  

For his part, Stephen Barton, who was wounded in Aurora, said, "You shouldn't wait until it affects you to start caring about it." 
"I never thought I would ever be affected by gun violence personally," Barton added.  ... 

"Why wait any longer?" asked Carlee Soto, whose sister was killed at the Sandy Hook Elementary School rampage in Newtown, Conn. "The time for change is now."  ...
More statements, from another article and video of the event, which has further comments from survivors and families of victims:
Barton was joined at the remembrance event by Coni Sanders, a daughter of teacher Dave Sanders, who was one of 13 people who died when two teenaged gunmen opened fire at Columbine High School on April 20, 1999.
"Today, my father stands with me," she said. "He died saving hundreds of students and saving other families from the horror we experience every day."  ... 

Tom Sullivan, whose son, Alex, was killed last year in Aurora, wondered aloud how long the debate about unrestricted access to guns must continue. "There must be common-sense solutions to these issues."
HERE is video of Aurora survivor Stephen Barton telling his story:
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Sunday, March 10, 2013

More Pro-Gun Threats And Insults


[WARNING: THIS POST CONTAINS PROFANITY]

A certain population of pro-gun activists seem to think it's okay to threaten and insult those of us who are working to limit the availability of guns to criminals. 

I get such threats all too commonly.  I've posted some examples before, back when I stopped allowing anonymous comments to this blog, showing how they threatened to do me harm, come to my home, and even insinuated raping my 5-year old (at the time) daughter.  Not too long ago, one calling himself "Takedown" left a comment reply on a news site to me, saying "stay the hell away from central Oregon we might shoot your ass."



Another, calling himself "PleaseBeSmart" left a comment on a news article about the recent Rally to Prevent Gun Violence, saying "I'm really glad you see an armed threat though, because that's exactly what it will be if push comes to shove."



Here's an insulting email, full of profanity, left recently at the Ceasefire Oregon email in-box, from an Oregon resident, Mike Springer, which he sent from his work email at Benchmark Land Surveying, unhappy with the recently-proposed Oregon Assault Weapons Ban, HB3200:



As if pillows, knives, cars, or baseball bats have ever been used in a mass murder!

The really interesting part with Mr. Springer is that he was an elected official.  He was the Grant County Surveyor from 2008-2012 (I don't know if he was re-elected, but he at least tried to be).

His personal profile at his company site states that "He enjoys traditional archery, hunting, Tae Kwon Do and biking."  Apparently he enjoys spewing profanity and insults, too.  I question whether someone with his aggressive and unstable behavior should be allowed to possess guns.

Is this how we expect our elected officials to act?  Is this the sort of insulting language we expect of them?  I think the people of Grant County, Oregon, need to re-think who they elect to lead them. 

One Oregon legislator, Ginny Burdick, has introduced a number of public safety bills, including some that limit guns.  She is a cosponsor of HB3200, in fact.  Because of this, she gets huge numbers of robo-emails from the gun lobby here and its supporters.  Many of those, unfortunately, are profane and threatening.

She has gotten so many, in fact, that she recently postponed a town hall meeting about gun rights at a college campus.  According to Burdick:

"I've had town halls crashed by the extremist gun lobbyists before," she said. "They do not make life pleasant when they do that. They're disruptive and rude, and I didn't want to subject the students at Portland State to that kind of behavior."

But here's the kicker:  as if threatening and rude emails weren't enough, the gun extremists stalked the Senator and filmed her at her home!  They then showed footage of her at home on public websites, accusing her of lying about why she postponed her town hall.  Talk about creepy!  But that's the pro-gun extremists for you!  They have no shame. 

But threats aren't limited to local extremists.  They come even from the NRA, and not just from NRA board member and extreme insurrectionist nutcase, Ted Nuget (who even threatened President Obama). 

Recently, NRA President David Keene, who's own son shot at someone in a road rage incident, said in an interview:

"Around the country, the tide is turning on these questions," Keene told influential conservatives at the New York Meeting. "It's going to be a very rough and very ugly battle, as many of you have already seen.""Fortunately, our enemy doesn't have any guns and they don't know how to use them," he added. 

Of course not.  You don't hear threats of violence from gun violence prevention advocates, so why would he bother to say so?  Clearly this is a veiled threat of violence, planting a seed in the heads of NRA followers (the ones who have guns and know how to use them) for this "very rough and very ugly battle."  After all, as Wayne LaPierre infamously said, "The guys with the guns make the rules!"

Want to see more threats and insults?  They're easy to find.  Here's plenty more at the "Things Pro-Gun Activists Say" blog.

Will the gun guys do something stupid or violent at upcoming rallies?  Surely not!  Not according to the extremist group here in Oregon, the Oregon Firearms Federation.  Anything violent or threatening done by a guy with a gun at one of their rallies must be (get this!) the fault of an "anti-gunner!"  From their most recent "OFF Alert":

[T]here is every reason to believe the anti-gunners may attempt to seed the crowd with someone who will do something to embarrass gun owners and create opportunities for the gun grabbers.If you see someone doing something stupid, don’t assume he is one us. Step in and take action. The politicians and the media want an incident and there is no reason to believe one won’t be fabricated.
Talk about paranoia and psychological displacement!

The gun guys only do themselves a disfavor by making threats and insults.  They harm their own cause.  I guess I should be glad, since they expose their true feelings this way, to help me in MY cause.
UPDATE (3/13/13):  According to a New York Times article on intimidation of Oregon lawmakers by pro-gun advocates, particularly of Burdick, another shameful political link was revealed.  The slimy pro-gunners who stalked Burdick at her home were "friends" of Jeff Reynolds, the chairman of the Multnomah County Republican Party.  From the article ("Politics by Intimidation"):

On the evening of March 4, two men sat in a car across from her home and videotaped her. They showed her driving into her garage and taking out her garbage. Having “proved” that Burdick did not have a scheduling conflict, they then put together a short video of Burdick at home. Jeff Reynolds, the chairman of the Multnomah County Republican Party, who also claims to be a citizen journalist, posted the video on a Web sitehe runs. 
When I spoke to Reynolds, he conceded that the videographer was a friend but refused to divulge his name. He said the video had nothing to do with the gun issue. ....
The extremist tactics of people like Jeff Reynolds and his videographer friend are clearly part of the reason why — they’ve helped delegitimize the Oregon Republican Party.  

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Saturday, October 13, 2012

Threats Against Obama? Words Matter.


Yesterday afternoon, someone fired a shot at the Obama campaign field office in Denver, Colorado.  The shot smashed a window, but luckily none of the campaign workers inside were injured.  A suspect has not yet been caught.  What could have motivated the shooter?

Last month, a diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic man with a criminal history was nonetheless able to obtain three guns and at least 500 rounds of ammunition and ran a police roadblock where President Obama's motorcade was about to pass through.  He had previously made threats against others, including President George W. Bush.  What could have motivated him to run the roadblock while armed to the teeth?

During the Democratic National Convention, a gun owner who had previously been charged for drug offenses made threats on Twitter to kill the President, threatening to "aim the Assault Rifle at Barack's Forehead" and, in his words, "plotting president Obama's murder."  The Secret Service interviewed him.  What could have led this man to make threats?

In August, a man in Washington state sent emails to the FBI threatening to kill the President, saying, "I will kill the president. I don't give a f*** but you know that."  When U.S. Secret Service agents arrived at the man's door, the guy charged at them with a shotgun, ammo, and pistol.  He had an arsenal of assault rifles at the ready.  Luckily they subdued him without gunfire.  What could have spurred this man to make threats and act violently?


Could it be that these paranoid and violent gun owners could have been motivated by calls for insurrection and conspiratorial thinking from conservative leaders and the NRA?


About a year ago, NRA vice president Wayne LaPierre declared that the President's inaction on gun control was a "big fat stinking lie!" and "part of a massive Obama conspiracy to deceive voters and hide his true intentions to destroy the Second Amendment."  Since then, a number of completely unfounded pro-gun conspiracy theories have been rolled out, accusing the President, specifically, of plotting to hand over the sovereignty of the United States to the United Nations, declare martial law and take away our guns, purposely letting guns go to Mexican drug lords in order to justify taking away guns from Americans, and even staging the mass shooting in Aurora.  The NRA even started a website, www.gunbanobama.com, wherein they expound on LaPierre's conspiracy theory (and make numerous appeals for donations).

And various conservative pro-gun leaders have taken the NRA's call and spread it.  This month, a Republican congressional candidate in Tennessee "welcomed" President Obama to Tennessee by posting a picture of a handgun on his campaign Facebook page. 

This summer, the chairman of the Mississippi Tea Party  responded to the Supreme Court's decision to uphold the individual mandate in the Affordable Care Act by calling for armed insurrection, calling our government a "gang of criminals" and writing, " To resist by all means that are right in the eyes of God is not rebellion or insurrection, it is patriotic resistance to invasion. May all of us fall on our faces before the Heavenly Judge, repent of our sins, and humbly cry out to Him for mercy on our country. And, may godly courageous leaders rise up in His wisdom and power to lead us in displacing the criminal invaders from their seats and restore our constitutional republic."

Only the day before that, a former Michigan Republican Party spokesman declared, "There are times government has to do things to get what it wants and holds a gun to your head. I’m saying at some point, we have to ask the question when do we turn that gun around and say no and resist.”

And let's not forget the king of all pro-gun extremist haters, NRA board member Ted Nugent, who earlier this year publicly and loudly announced a threat against the President which warranted a visit from the Secret Service:

Speaking at the NRA's annual meeting Nugent accused President Obama of having a "vile, evil America-hating administration" that is "wiping its ass with the Constitution." He went on to tell a crowd that "We need to ride into that battlefield and chop their heads off in November" and said that "If Barack Obama becomes the president in November, again, I will either be dead or in jail by this time next year."

It's not the first time he's done this.  Nugent has said Obama was "a piece of shit" who should "suck on my machine gun." Nugent has a long, long history of illegal, racist, hate-filled behavior.  But he's famous, and a certain fringe of extremists love to pay attention to his hatred and gun-worship.  So much so that Nugent now has a cable TV show on Discovery Channel, wherein he shoots stuff up (and markets his line of ammunition, of course -- follow the money).

Should we hold public figures accountable for calling for violence?  The gun guys, who often echo this hateful rhetoric on their own blogs, argue that these people are only exercising their right of free speech.  Even if the guy who shot the window of the Obama campaign, yesterday, were caught and told police that he did it because of something Ted Nugent said, for instance, Nugent still wouldn't be held accountable.  It's just words, right?  They didn't make the shooter pull the trigger.

Public figures such as these should understand that words matter.  Their followers listen to them for cues on how to act and what to think.  Their words form a cloud of thinking in the minds of the impressionable.  Mix that with a violent or mentally unstable mind and an arsenal of guns, and you have a recipe for murder or insurrection. 

When a mentally-unstable and potentially violent pro-gun extremist hears LaPierre say, "The guys with the guns make the rules," and buys into the false assumption that the Second Amendment allows for armed insurrection against our elected leaders, it's a small step toward that extremist arming himself and shooting up a window of a campaign office or running a presidential roadblock with guns at the ready.

Hate-speech, whether toward an individual, our President, or our government, should never be tolerated or spread.  It should be condemned, and those who speak it should be held accountable, in order to make a new trajectory for our communities away from gun violence.
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Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Florida Sheriff Threatens To Shoot Political Opposition Yet Is Endorsed By The NRA



Sheriff Larry Campbell
Sheriff Larry Campbell has been sheriff of Leon County, Florida, for sixteen years.  He's running against Lisa Sprague for the position. 

Apparently Sheriff Campbell doesn't care much for Ms. Sprague.  According to an article published this week at ThinkProgress.org, Campbell jokes about using her for target practice:

I told somebody the other day we have police standards that we have to keep up, that we have to keep our pistol proficiency up. And we have to keep our other police professional standards up. And I had invited the other candidates if they don’t think I can do it, go down and let me shoot at you and see if I can do it any good.

Here is the audio (relevant portion is from 0:48 to 1:17):



He might think it's a "joke," but I'm not laughing.  This isn't some locker room bluster.  This is a longstanding public official in charge of public safety, giving a public speech. 

According to the article linked above, Campbell has also been accused of repeatedly referring to Ms. Sprague as "the Bitch."  Campbell denies calling her "the Bitch," but there's no denying his joke about using her as target practice.

It's no surprise, given his fast and loose talk about gun violence and his location in the "Gunshine State" that Sheriff Campbell is endorsed by the NRA's Political Victory Fund (NRA-PVF) and the United Sportsmen of Florida, as well as the infamous NRA lobbyist, Marion "Stand Your Ground" Hammer.  From Campbell's website, where he quotes the letter of support:

The National Rifle Association Political Victory Fund (NRA-PVF) and United Sportsmen of Florida are pleased to inform you that both organizations have endorsed you for election to the Constitutional Office of Sheriff of Leon County.

We appreciate your support of Second Amendment, self-defense, and anti-crime issues.  It is your support of these important issues that has earned you our endorsement.

Hate talk should never be tolerated by any public figure.  The NRA, however, has a long history of turning a blind eye, or even promoting, such language.

Most of our law enforcement officers are professional and respectful people who understand the impact of their attitudes toward their profession.  What a shame that Sheriff Campbell isn't one of them.


ADDENDUM (9/13/12):  A related website on this issue, from ElectWomen.com.  You can find a webpage dedicated to Lisa Sprague HERE.

 UPDATE (11/7/12):  Sadly, Campbell won the election, and by a wide margin, 69% to 31%.
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