{"id":3595,"date":"2011-01-08T18:27:47","date_gmt":"2011-01-09T02:27:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=3595"},"modified":"2011-01-10T00:17:00","modified_gmt":"2011-01-10T08:17:00","slug":"gabrielle-giffords-a-victim-of-violent-fox-newstea-party-rhetoric","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=3595","title":{"rendered":"Gabrielle Giffords: A Victim Of Violent Fox News\/Tea Party Rhetoric?"},"content":{"rendered":"

There was a shooting today in Tuscon, Arizona that has taken several lives and has left a United States Congresswoman struggling to survive. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ), is out of surgery and is clinging to life. Sadly, Judge John Roll and several others who have not been identified (including a ten year old girl) have already been pronounced dead.<\/p>\n

\"TeaWhile there are some disturbing components to this story (itemized below) it is way to soon to attribute motives in this particular case. However, it is not too soon to reiterate the predictable danger that results from irresponsible and violent language that has become far too common in recent years. Fox News has been at the forefront of this trend, permitting their top personalities to engage in dialogue that is overtly hostile, as well as promoting the most vile elements of the Tea Party.<\/p>\n

Bill O’Reilly’s labeling of Dr. George Tiller as “Tiller the baby killer”<\/em> may have played a part in Tiller’s murder. Glenn Beck’s relentless condemnation of George Soros and the Tides Foundation was cited as inspiration by a man who was apprehended after a police shootout while he was on his way to kill Tides and ACLU personnel. Sean Hannity refers to his audience as “Tim McVeigh wannabes”<\/em> to thunderous applause. Liz Trotta joked about “knocking off”<\/em> President Obama.<\/p>\n

But the risk is not limited to direct threats as those listed above. The tone of many Fox News hosts and analysts is just as dangerous. They cavalierly describe their political adversaries as radicals, communists or fascists who are deliberately destroying America and blaspheming God. What do they expect people to do upon being terrorized by that sort of delusional peril?<\/p>\n

I want to emphasize that the facts to follow are not necessarily connected to the gunman in today’s news. But they are notable nevertheless for how they illustrate potential risks due to the sort of anti-social behavior that is encouraged on Fox News.<\/p>\n

Rep. Giffords was targeted by the Tea Party and their AstroTurf benefactors Americans for Prosperity<\/a> and FreedomWorks<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Glenn Beck attacked Giffords<\/a> with his co-host calling her a moron for her support of renewable energy in the military.<\/p>\n

At a recent event held by Giffords in Arizona, police were called<\/a> after an attendee dropped a gun.<\/p>\n

Giffords’ office was vandalized<\/a> just hours after she voted for the health care reform package.<\/p>\n

Giffords’ opponent, GOP\/Tea Party candidate Jesse Kelly, held an event where supporters were encouraged<\/a> to “Get on Target for Victory in November Help remove Gabrielle Giffords from office Shoot a fully automatic M16 with Jesse Kelly.”<\/em><\/p>\n

Also killed was Federal Judge John Roll, who had received numerous death threats<\/a> after ruling to allow a case involving illegal immigrants to go forward.<\/p>\n

Giffords was one of the politicians to whom Keith Olbermann made contributions<\/a>, leading to his three day suspension from MSNBC.<\/p>\n

Sarah Palin (“Don’t Retreat – Reload”<\/em>) put Giffords on her Hit List<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Joyce Kaufman, talk show host and aide to Rep. Allen West told a Tea Party rally<\/a>: “If ballots don’t work, bullets will.”<\/em><\/p>\n

GOP\/Tea Party Senate candidate Sharron Angle said<\/a>: “If this Congress keeps going the way it is, people are really looking toward those Second Amendment remedies.”<\/em><\/p>\n

And perhaps most poignantly, Rep. Giffords father, Spencer Giffords, 75, wept when asked<\/a> if his daughter had any enemies. “Yeah,”<\/em> he told The New York Post. “The whole Tea Party.”<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I repeat, these may have no connection to today’s shooting. But they are indicative of a problem in the media that must be addressed. There have been plenty of other acts of violence whose connection to this sort of rhetoric is well documented. And there have been credible warnings about just this type of tragic event.<\/p>\n

To be clear, I am not calling for any kind of censorship. I am calling for responsibility on the part of the press, and absent that, accountability. The people who deliberately use incendiary language to fire up their followers cannot get off scot-free when the predictable consequences occur. It could not be said better<\/a> than how Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik put it in a press conference addressing the shooting this afternoon:<\/p>\n

“When you look at unbalanced people, how they respond to the vitriol that comes out of certain mouths about tearing down the government. The anger, the hatred, the bigotry that goes on in this country is getting to be outrageous,” the sheriff said. “And unfortunately, Arizona I think has become the capital. We have become the mecca for prejudice and bigotry.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There was a shooting today in Tuscon, Arizona that has taken several lives and has left a United States Congresswoman struggling to survive. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ), is out of surgery and is clinging to life. Sadly, Judge John Roll and several others who have not been identified (including a ten year old girl) have […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[26,33,857,44,858],"class_list":["post-3595","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general","tag-bill-oreilly","tag-fox-news","tag-gabrielle-giffords","tag-glenn-beck","tag-jared-loughner"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4Ijg-VZ","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6260,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=6260","url_meta":{"origin":3595,"position":0},"title":"Gabrielle Giffords To Resign From Congress: Fox Nation’s Nauseating Response","author":"Mark NC","date":"1\/22\/2012","format":false,"excerpt":"A year ago this month, in a shopping mall in Tucson, Arizona, a shocking and tragic massacre occurred that took the lives of six people and wounded 13 others, including U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. Giffords was shot in the head and has been fighting courageously to restore her health. She\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3644,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=3644","url_meta":{"origin":3595,"position":1},"title":"CNN’s Tea Party Partner’s Corruption Deepens","author":"Mark NC","date":"1\/15\/2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Last month CNN announced that they had entered into a partnership with Tea Party Express, an activist organization and political action committee, to co-host a Republican presidential primary debate. It is an unprecedented relationship that joins the news network with a discredited enterprise who's reputation is sullied by racism, scandal,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3606,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=3606","url_meta":{"origin":3595,"position":2},"title":"Glenn Beck Finally Comments On The Tucson Slaughter","author":"Mark NC","date":"1\/10\/2011","format":false,"excerpt":"It took 48 hours, but Glenn Beck, arguably the worst offender at being offensive, has finally commented on the slaughter in Tucson that killed or injured 19 people including a federal judge, a nine year old girl, and Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. For the most part his message was a compulsory\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3598,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=3598","url_meta":{"origin":3595,"position":3},"title":"Hostile Intent: Right-Wing Media Doth Protest Too Much","author":"Mark NC","date":"1\/9\/2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Rarely have I seen such a desperate attempt to evade reality as has occurred since the shooting rampage in Tuscon. It would seem to be a fairly non-controversial notion that when a politician is targeted for assassination, the language that contributes to hostile discord ought to be carefully considered and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5458,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=5458","url_meta":{"origin":3595,"position":4},"title":"The Sorry Truth About Roger Ailes And Fox News","author":"Mark NC","date":"9\/29\/2011","format":false,"excerpt":"A few days ago Howard Kurtz of Newsweek published an article profiling Roger Ailes, the CEO of Fox News. It was revealing of both Kurtz and Ailes. The first sign that Kurtz was either unconscious or delusional was when he offered this description of Ailes' allegedly changing moods: \"[A]s President\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9588,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=9588","url_meta":{"origin":3595,"position":5},"title":"Gunarchy: How The NRA-Theists Have Descended Into Madness","author":"Mark NC","date":"6\/17\/2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Ever since the gruesome killings in Newtown, CT, there has been a rancorous debate over the 2nd Amendment and the role of firearms in our society. Last week was the six month anniversary of Newtown and most Americans have come to terms with a common sense approach that would subject\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3595","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3595"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3595\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3604,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3595\/revisions\/3604"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3595"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3595"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3595"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}