A Murderer's Bookshelf: Hannity, O'Reilly, and Savage On
Killer's Reading List

RJEskow, HuffPost
This morning I wrote (in "Monster")
that Sean Hannity et al. might bear some share of moral responsibility for the
killings in Knoxville.
Sadly for everyone concerned, that may be true.
This evening we learn from the
Knoxville News that officers entering the home of murder Jim Adkisson
"found Liberalism is a Mental Health Disorder by radio talk show
host Michael Savage, Let Freedom Ring by talk show host Sean Hannity,
and The O'Reilly Factor, by television talk show host Bill
O'Reilly."
The presence of somebody's books in a mentally disturbed person's home does
not make them accessories to a killing. But right-wing rhetoric toward liberals
and humanists like those who attended the Tennessee Valley Unitarian
Universalist Church has been exceptionally violent for years. Liberal groups
are often called "Nazi" or "Nazi-like" by O'Reilly (he even
said that about our own Arianna Huffington). Savage says he'd "hang every
lawyer" who tried to establish constitutional rights for Guantanamo
prisoners, describes Obama as an "Afro-Leninist," and said the folks
at Media Matters were "brownshirts." He describes Rep. Wexler as a
"Nazi" and calls Nancy Pelosi a "Mussolini."
As for Hannity, he said that "there are things in life worth fighting
and dying for and one of 'em is making sure Nancy Pelosidoesn't become the
speaker (of the House)." Think about it: "worth fighting and
dying for."
And that's just a sampler.
Ann Coulter says liberals should be beaten with baseball bats and tried for
treason (she's not clear about the order in which these events are to take
place.) Dick Morris says they're "traitors" who should be
decapitated.
I had a friend at Clear Channel (yes, I have a broad group of friends) who
described some of these people as "entertainers." Don't you get it,
guys? You use inflammatory images that equates your fellow Americans with
violent enemies of the nation. Then you act surprised when a mentally ill
person believes you and kills. You use the language of war and then say you're
not to blame when somebody enlists in your imaginary struggle.
Their next step will be outrage - outrage! - at the idea that they may be
morally accountable for this action, the possible fruit of their rhetoric.
We all need to be thoughtful about the impact of our words. But the Right
has made it their business to promote a particularly virulent brand of hatred.
Would Jim Adkisson have killed without all that prompting from the vituperative
chorus of the right? We'll never know. But it's looking less likely with every
passing hour that he would ever have entered a church filled with children and
started shooting.
If they found something I wrote in a killer's home, I'd stop what I was
doing and begin some serious self-reflection. I'd write about it, consider my
errors, and try to make amends. Wouldn't you? Not that censorship isn't the
answer. Not every reprehensible act can be legislated away. Sometimes the most
effective way to change people is to hold them accountable. That includes not
only Fox News, in this case, but also CNN - who recently gave the anchor chair
to hate-speaker Glenn Beck.
Guys, it's not "entertainment" any more - if it ever was. We need
to hold those in the boardroom accountable, too. They make their money and
serve their political agenda by telling hundreds of millions of people that
liberal Americans are treacherous and mentally ill enemies of the state. And
they use the public airwaves to do it.
If these right-wing pundits are as devout as they say they are they'll stop,
think, and ask forgiveness. That goes for their corporate paymasters, too. I
hope they do for their own sakes, though I don't expect it.
As for the rest of us, it's time to look at new strategies for containing
the spread of hate speech in our media. The old ways aren't working.
RJ Eskow blogs at:
A Night Light
The Sentinel Effect: Healthcare Blog
Future-While-U-Wait
RJ Eskow at the Huffington
Post

Jim David Adkisson

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jim David Adkisson (born 1950) was arrested July 27, 2008 for the 2008 Tennessee Unitarian
Church Shooting at the Tennessee
Valley Unitarian Universalist Church. He is accused of killing 2
people and injuring 7 others. Jim David Adkisson was motivated by a hatred of
"the liberal movement.