gangstonc
Member
Have you folks noticed that Rudy Giuliani has suddenly disappeared from TV after the IG report suggested the FBI leaks tied to him are under investigation? Coincidence?
I haven't heard yet of the motive of the shooter that murdered the people working at the newspaper in Maryland, but when the POTUS continually calls the press an enemy of America it is terribly irresponsible and could send someone already on the edge mentally to go out do what they think is their "patriotic duty" to the president and his country.
What Trump does is dangerous, but in this case it doesn't appear to have anything at all to do with him. The guy was crazy and had a conspiratorial grudge against the newspaper. From what I can see, he only mentioned Trump once back in 2015, and it was because Trump was talking about suing Univision for defamation. All he did was comment send it to the newspaper he hated.
This one doesn't appear to have anything to do with Trump and would've eventually happened had he been elected or not.
Well in a country of 325+ million people, it's not gonna be hard to find a few people who will use someone's words to justify an act of violence.I hadn't heard of a motive when I posted last night, but I did hear about it early this morning and it was what you and Mike S stated, an act of revenge against the newspaper. I still stand by what I stated and that Trump, with his dangerous rhetoric could incite someone in his fringe sheeple, who is already mentally on the edge, to commit an act of violence thinking he was being patriotic to his country and fearless leader.
Good post... I agreePeople don't like hearing this, and it is the most unsettling explanations for these kinds of mass shootings, but it is all about mass shooting contagion. Each one of these mass shootings lowers the threshold for the next. It's like a slowly evolving riot or in the words of the Columbine shooters a "revolution", in which more and more join in because they see what the previous person did. The media doesn't help by having wall to wall coverage of it. See the rash of mass shootings at the USPS in the 1980s and 1990s...each prior one sort of "pushed" the next shooter past the threshold to act out on his vision of killing people. There's always a grievance that these folks act upon, but it seems justification is manufactured in some cases. There are often warning signs....months if not years ahead. Sometimes, they may be serious and the ball was dropped by authorities, but in most cases, it often is behavior that is brushed off as just that "disgruntled" person.
There is very little a law will do to prevent this. Let us not kid ourselves, there isn't a one size fits all bandaid fix.
I’ve sort of developed that opinion after reading this piece from Malcolm Gladwell. He makes a lot of sense.Good post... I agree
I hadn't heard of a motive when I posted last night, but I did hear about it early this morning and it was what you and Mike S stated, an act of revenge against the newspaper. I still stand by what I stated and that Trump, with his dangerous rhetoric could incite someone in his fringe sheeple, who is already mentally on the edge, to commit an act of violence thinking he was being patriotic to his country and fearless leader.
I’ve sort of developed that opinion after reading this piece from Malcolm Gladwell. He makes a lot of sense.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/10/19/thresholds-of-violence
I completely agree. In fact, we KNOW Trump has incited people to commit violence. There's numerous cases already documented. I've been consistently worried that Trump's rhetoric will lead someone to bomb or commit a shooting at a newspaper or other news outlet. Or, attack one of his enemies he lacerates on Twitter.
It is a dangerous game, and that's why you saw so many people jump on Maxine Waters' comments. They want to preemptively blame someone other than Trump. On almost a daily basis, Trump says more egregious stuff to incite people than what Maxine Waters said. Anyone who is honest will admit that.
I've watched both sides increase their troubling rhetoric with more frequent calls for violence or serious confrontation. My sample size is limited to what I've personally witnessed online, but I've seen way more calls for violence or threats from Trump supporters than by Liberals. Now, that could be because I'm more likely to run across Trump supporters as my online interactions are in the Conservative side of politics. However, I've always believed in listening to other voices and dissenting opinion, so I follow a lot of ideological Liberals & Democrats, too. I've definitely seen violent rhetoric from that side as well, but less than the Trump side. One issue, is that we know there are trolls and Russian bots trying to stoke the flames, so it is difficult to always make sure the rhetoric you've identified is real. But, I'm confident enough to say that I've definitely run across more violent rhetoric from Trump supporters than Liberals. Ironically, the violent rhetoric is almost always justified by saying "I believe this way because the other side is calling for violence."
Regardless of the political bent, violent rhetoric and inflammatory messages are definitely a major issue right now. Maxine Waters certainly didn't help things, but the genesis of violent rhetoric and loss of civility lays at the feet of Donald Trump. I don't think he's smart enough to realize the issue he's created, and even if he was I don't think he'd care.
My problem was more that Obama commented on the incidents PRIOR to investigations/trials and all the evidence being released. Why would you want the most powerful man in the country potentially influencing criminal investigations through his publicity? Yes, I realize this is still pertinent regarding Trump, which is why I phrased it that way.
Is he the one that says presidents can’t be subpoenaed, sued, indicted, etc?Not the biggest fan of Brett Kavanaugh, who is supposedly the "front-runner" in the Supreme Court justice pick.
My gosh that was disturbing... I keep thinking how do we produce people who think like this?I’ve sort of developed that opinion after reading this piece from Malcolm Gladwell. He makes a lot of sense.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/10/19/thresholds-of-violence