Thu 11 Jun 2009
Right Wing Extremism Myth
Posted by Locke under Conspiracy Theories , Political Science[28] Comments
I am tired of the promulgation of the “Right Wing Extremism” myth. Not only is this myth devoid of historical fact it becomes annoying when the Obama love media networks continue to beat the same drum. The murder of Dr. Tiller and the violent events that have taken place at the holocaust museum have only bolstered certain goons in the media to continue to call conservatives Fascists and Nazis.
Nazism grew from the National Socialists of Germany prior to WWII. Nazism rarely differed from socialism except Hitler placed an emphasis on social Darwinism and anti-Semitism. It was the Nazi’s who advocated a uber strong centralized government with all power resting with the Führer. Putting aside the racial tyranny of the Nazis and their focus on military nationalism they were consumed with controlling every aspect of the citizen’s life. The Nazi’s ran the gambit of abortion to socialized medicine supporting most of the topics that modern day liberalism holds dear today. While Fascism and Nazism differ slightly their core beliefs come out of leftist ideology. I recommend reading the book Liberal Fascism: The Secret History of the American Left, From Mussolini to the Politics of Change by Jonah Goldberg. This book was fantastic.
Contrast this with modern day conservatism which focuses on individual liberty, the reduction of the size and scope of government, along with a general belief in the customs, traditions, and values that make the American culture great. How does the murderer of Dr. Tiller fit into this equation? How does James von Brunn fit, when he clearly was also consumed with targets on the right? The media might even acknowledge this but the damage has been done to moldable minds.
We can simply view the exploitation Dr. Tiller and radical violence of James von Brunn as a distraction. A distraction from the hate and intolerance that usually finds its genesis on the left side of the political spectrum.
June 11th, 2009 at 5:25 pm
roflmao: You are tired of the “Right Wing Extremism” accusation but you rally against it by saying things like “The Nazi’s (sic) ran the gambit…supporting most of the topics that modern day liberalism holds dear today.”
Wow – you’re right. Nothing “Extreme” about that statement! LOL
June 11th, 2009 at 5:28 pm
It is a fact that Nazism and modern day liberalism have things in common. I did not say that the American left supports all the things the Nazi’s did.
June 11th, 2009 at 5:42 pm
“Putting aside the racial tyranny of the Nazis and their focus on military nationalism they were consumed with controlling every aspect of the citizen’s life.”
Well sure, once you get past the whole war and holocaust things….
Shane posted a thoughtful piece on this topic the day of the events in DC. It’s painfully obvious you waited until you received your talking points from talk-radio.
June 11th, 2009 at 6:18 pm
It is such a relief to see someone that is not afraid to say what we all are thinking! This rapid take over of our Federal government by the left is so shocking that many Americans feel it is prudent to stock their closets with food and guns. Hitler promised change too. I don’t think the author was meaning that the liberals want to kill jews or take over Europe. I think they do want to control every facet of our lives in the name of saving the planet, economy or whatever other “emergency” they can exploit. If thats not Fascism I don’t know what is. Preach it Locke!
June 11th, 2009 at 8:06 pm
David, I’ve been watching people on TV bend over backwards to clearly state that Van Brunn was not emblematic of conservatism or Republicans. They are correct to do so. It’s parrots like “Locke” who go out of their way to link Natzi’s with “the left side of the political spectrum.” That attempt would be laughable if we weren’t talking about real, dead people.
The killer in DC, Brunn, holds views about Obama’s citizenship (their called ‘birthers’) that have been touted by writers and commentators on SA. I saw signs at the Tucson “Tea-party” also sharing Brunn’s viewpoint. (Sorry Shane, I know you called the “tea-party” aside, but you have a writer in “Locke” who is looking for historical linkage, may I submit April 15th?) Fox has an online service that has an on-going discussion of the “birther” issue and talk radio has always been pushing this issue.
Why, “Locke,” did you choose to link Natzis (to whatever degree you choose) with the left when the actual agenda the criminals at hand is part-and-parcel of the far-right talking points?
“Locke,” why did you not name the “certain goons in the media [who] to continue to call conservatives Fascists and Nazis?” I would like to call them out too!
June 11th, 2009 at 9:30 pm
Kenny, if you want Locke to name the “goons in the media” then why don’t you name those people on TV who bent over backwards to clearly state that Van Brunn was not emblematic of conservatism or Republicans? I don’t think there were that many. And why do you mention Tea-party in quotations as if to mock the movement? What else do you want us to do? Any activism on our side is a good thing right now.
June 12th, 2009 at 12:17 am
David:
1. “Locke” brought up the goons, that’s his job to substantiate the charge.
2. My use of quotation marks was not a slight. Shane referred to protests that occurred on tax day, April 15th. They were commonly referred to as “Tea-parties.” I didn’t see any tea in Tucson, so I used quotes. If offense was taken, I regret it.
3. “Any activism on our side is a good thing right now.” Any activism? Really? I hope that works out for you. If the event of April 15th is your standard then beware, I saw and heard from birthers, rascists, and plain-old conservatives. The standard of “any activism” may be no standard at all.
But since you didn’t mention the birther thing, David, I take it you agree?
June 12th, 2009 at 8:05 am
Eric Rudolph. Paul Hill. Timothy McVeigh. Jim Adkisson. James Von Bruun. Terry Nichols. David Gunn. John Salvi. James Kopp. Scott Roeder. Frank Eugene Corder. The Anthrax Killer.
You’re right Locke, other than the people above (and that’s just a shortlist), right-wing extremism is a myth.
“We can simply view the exploitation Dr. Tiller and radical violence of James von Brunn as a distraction.”
Of course you can. Because it gets you off the hook for cleaning your own house.
June 12th, 2009 at 8:06 am
Sorry, not David Gunn. Dr. Gunn was murdered by a piece of filth named Michael Griffin.
June 12th, 2009 at 8:28 am
Crimethinc, the Ruckus Society ,and Recreate 68 USPER. the Animal Liberation Front and its sister organization, the Earth Liberation Front. How about Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty; and chapters within the Animal Defense League, and Earth First! The Weatherman Organization, Parts of Students for a Democratic Society, parts of the Black Panthers….these were just on the tip of my tongue…What do you mean clean our own house. You first.
June 12th, 2009 at 9:01 am
“The Weatherman Organization, Parts of Students for a Democratic Society, parts of the Black Panthers…”
Because obviously, the Weathermen, SDS, and the Black Panthers even exist anymore (the New Blank Panther Party and the new SDS are not the same thing). So, we’re good there, problem solved.
“Crimethinc, the Ruckus Society ,and Recreate 68 USPER.”
This is what the right is reduced to – equating civil disobience with murder.
“the Animal Liberation Front and its sister organization, the Earth Liberation Front. How about Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty; and chapters within the Animal Defense League, and Earth First!”
True, this is a problem. But the difference between the two? These guys attacked unoccupied structures. A right-wing terrorist placed a truck bomb in front of a day-care center.
So, by my count, death toll in the last 15 years: Right-Wing Terrorists: 185, Left-Wing Terrorists: 0.
No, you’re right. Right-wing extremism is a total myth.
“What do you mean clean our own house. You first.”
So if we do this, then you’ll condemn the murders of innocents by right-wingers?
June 12th, 2009 at 9:55 am
jeez..are you kidding me Klute, really? I can only answer so much from my phone.
June 12th, 2009 at 10:05 am
So…every time at Sonoran Alliance someone makes a post you liberal stalkers want the writer to write a research paper. You know darn well that political violence has come a lot from the left. If by sheer viture because we are in a center right society. Klute it is easy to make your crappy arguments.
61,911,000 people were murdered by the Soviet Union, 38,702,000 by the Chinese communists, 17,000,000 by the German Nazis, and 5,890,000 by the Japanese militarists ( socialists ) during World War II. This does not even exhaust the list of this century’s mega-murderers, which also would include the past governments of Turkey, Cambodia, Pakistan, Yugoslavia; nor does it include the lesser killers responsible for hundreds of thousands of corpses each, such as past governments of Uganda, Indonesia, Albania, Burundi, Czechoslovakia, Ethiopia, Hungary, Romania, Spain, and Vietnam. Then there are the numerous third-class murders who have “only” killed in the tens of thousands. In sum well over 100,000,000 people have been murdered by their governments since 1900 ( most of these governments on the left side of the spectrum )…
June 12th, 2009 at 10:07 am
sorry no…all of those goverments don’t always bring together a large military and socialism…lets not forget South American dictators and their violent acts of genocide..
June 12th, 2009 at 10:14 am
Riker23,
Keep up. We’re talking about America here. Not about the rest of the world.
Although as the son of a dissident Czech family (father), and the victim of Nazi oppression (mother), no one needs to lecture me on this history of government oppression. It’s also why I find Jonah Goldberg’s little tome so offensive.
June 12th, 2009 at 10:24 am
Riker23,
But to your point:
“You know darn well that political violence has come a lot from the left.”
Yes, and I’m not suggesting otherwise. Locke’s point about the Weathermen and SDS and hell, I could farther back to John Brown the abolitionist, the Haymarket Riots, etc.
But Locke was saying that right-wing extremist violence is a myth, just a media distraction, and not a real problem. But there is pile of bodies that says otherwise.
And it’s extremely convienient to say:
“We can simply view the exploitation Dr. Tiller and radical violence of James von Brunn as a distraction.”
Because then he (and the conservative movement) can just wash their hands and say “fiddle-dee-dee… no problem here!”. It’s not a damn distraction. It’s a real problem that must be addressed, just as he’s demanding the left-wing clean up our mess.
June 12th, 2009 at 10:32 am
I totally disagree…it is a myth and we don’t have to wash his hands just like Obama needs not wash his hands about the murder of those army recruiters by the muslim convert who considered himself sort of a marxist. You are a fool for trying to place the blame on the feet of conservatism and I don’t think Locke was trying to tie left wing radicalism to Democrats. The balance is skewed how often do we hear about enviromental terrorism in American but hell hath no fury when Dr. Tiller was murdered and its all of the news. Then obermiller and mathews makes allusions that it is a direct result of the Obama blacklash..you know that is bullcrap. We have 300 + million people in the united states and we are bloody lucky it doesn’t happen more often…I am tired of you high and mighty liberals always ramming nazi comparisons and fascist comparisons down our throat when its not indicative of our movement nor our history.
June 12th, 2009 at 10:58 am
Read any good manifestos lately?
Jim Adkisson, who shot his way through a Unitarian Church in a symbolic killing of liberals:
http://web.knoxnews.com/pdf/021009church-manifesto.pdf
There is a problem with right-wing violence. I am curious as to the cause. I am curious as to why a left-wing president gets elected, a man flies a plane into the White House (as happened in ’94), or multiple plans are hatched to assassinate him, and that doesn’t make the anyone on the right say “Huh – what’s going on here?”.
I am not the one making comparisons to Nazis, nor facists. Locke, through the extension of Jonah Goldberg, is.
“I don’t think Locke was trying to tie left wing radicalism to Democrats.”
Care to address that one, Locke?
June 12th, 2009 at 1:50 pm
Excuse me folks but we are way off on a tangent (a depressing tangent for sure). “Locke” needs to name the “goons in the media,” not a “goons in general” list.
I’ll concede the aforementioned lists on both sides show the worst of the American experiment, but they allow “Locke” off the hook and miss what is going on in the original post.
“Locke” waited until talk radio gave him his talking points, now he can’t back it up. That makes the post ill-informed and un-original.
One of the causes of politically based violence, imho, is the easy access to hyperbolic, fact-challenged rhetoric delivered FOR PROFIT! A second cause of this violence, it seems to me, is the echo chamber for this rhetoric that exists on both sides but is now dominating on the right for now.
So, again, who are the “certain goons in the media [who] continue to call conservatives Fascists and Nazis?”
June 12th, 2009 at 2:16 pm
Kenny,
I wouldn’t concede on some of it. The Ruckus Society is to terrorism as a guppy is to a great white shark. If refusing to answer Griff Jenkins questions and shouting “**** Fox News” is terrorism (a la Recreate 68), then Locke’s dumbed down the meaning of terrorism to make terrorism meaningless.
Each of the examples I’ve given are from the modern era. Each involved the death of innocent people (except Frank Eugene Corder, who crashed his plane into the White House in a half-assed attempt to kill Bill Clinton).
The SDS and Weathermen have long since discredited by the left and no longer exist in the forms they were (if at all). The eco-terrorists are focused on property damage and as far as I know, haven’t killed anyone.
June 12th, 2009 at 3:54 pm
Klute, I get it. I just don’t think we’re writing about the same thing.
June 13th, 2009 at 12:39 pm
I’m concerned we’ve come across another VV or Oberserve moment. “Locke”, if you can’t come up with names from your “goons in the media” charge, withdraw it.
I’ll also note that no one has addressed the peculiar overlap in the “birther” contretemps on SA and in Von Brunn’s writings.
June 13th, 2009 at 1:09 pm
So, every time I write a post I need to write a research paper. I give you names right and then you ask me to cite the source of the events. Then you disagree about the comment regarding context before I know it I have wasted hours…nice try..We here at this blog watch enough news to hear constantly the veiled references that conservatives are Nazi’s. Whether is be Maher & Olbermann musing about the nazi right or Sen. Dodd saying that we should persecute bush because we persecuted hitler..I cannot count how many times Rush, Hannity, or Beck have been compared to Nazi’s…I also remember when Shuster on MSNBC said: Don’t you think the right’s kind of responsible for those cop-killings?…then played a video with nazi imagery. What about Hugley’s nazi germany crack to Michael Steele? then Olbermann said…“Fascists like Michelle Malkin.” I am sure if I did some real digging I could produce a huge list…stop wasting our time and go read the Daily Kos..I think you will find their posts more to your liking
June 13th, 2009 at 5:20 pm
Talking of left-wing violence in the US is kind of a red herring here. Who exactly in the “left-wing” media is whipping up hatred and violence that can be associated with a group like ALF. Ed Schultz? Yeah, I don’t think so.
June 14th, 2009 at 1:10 am
Got it “locke.” You would rather never be challenged on what you post but instead have a safe echo chamber. I think that’s what got Republicans and American conservatives in the pickle they are in to begin with, but whatever…
If you don’t know that Bill Maher is a comic and not in news then your observations and opinions about that field are worthless.
There’s a John Locke inspired punch line here, but you wouldn’t get that either.
June 14th, 2009 at 9:30 am
“So, every time I write a post I need to write a research paper.”
To quote Stan Marsh: “It’s a matter of logic. If you’re gonna say things that have been proven wrong… then you’d better have something to back it up.”
I never once challenged your assumption about the rhetoric on the left – which does get irresponsible in some quarters. What you said was:
“I am tired of the promulgation of the ‘Right Wing Extremism’ myth. Not only is this myth devoid of historical fact…”
This is incorrect. Again, go back and look at all the bloodshed done by right-wing fanatics. It is not a myth, and it is well based in recent history. Sorry if the facts get in the way of a really good rant, but that’s just the way it is.
For someone who bases his nom du guerre on an empiricist, I would think you’d be more open to fact.
June 14th, 2009 at 2:23 pm
Klute,
A blank slate is not the same as a whitewashed slate?
j/k
June 15th, 2009 at 12:21 am
Just some more news of right wing craziness from one of our local groups. Some more hate crime committed by the “myth” I suppose.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/06/13/ap/national/main5086397.shtml
“41-year-old Shawna Forde and 42-year-old Albert Robert Gaxiola have been charged with two counts each of first-degree murder and other charges.”
“The Web site for the Minutemen American Defense lists Forde as the group’s leader and Bush as its operations director.”