Anyone who is just a little perturbed by the kind of vitriol you hear on AM talk radio, or the rabid foaming-at-the-mouth kind of shows you see on Fox News, or the absolute hatred you read in Ann Coulter’s books, should get this book.  Remember the fear in our community that arose from Obama being elected President?  A run on ammunition.  Survival supplies being stockpiled.  Cries of “assassinate Obama” by little kids on the schoolbus.  Teachers writing letters to the editor warning of the evils of the impending socialist government we were doomed to serve under.  The author of this book is from the Idaho Falls area, and while growing up here he learned first-hand that Idahoans are deeply immersed in the “politics of the personal”.  In the introduction he says:

Beginning in the mid-1990s, I began observing greater and greater similarities between mainstream conservatives and these longtime denizens of the Far Right.  More and more they shared the willingness - even eagerness - to embrace verifiably false information as fact, as well as subscribe to the increasing dehumanization of those they consider to be their enemies.  Since the events of 9/11, these similarities have intensified.

The book lays out a chilling account of the effects on our society from the continual spew of hatred from the personalities of the above-named media.  The viciousness, the outright hatred being generated by the attack dogs of the far right, is demoralizing at best to the targets, and inciteful of violence at the least, to the fan base.  It’s reminiscent of Nazi Germany and the fascist regimes.  Orwell outlined this type of behavior in Animal Farm,  it’s a common tactic to marginalize the opposition and create extreme fear and mindless reaction in the loyal followers.

David Neiwert is also the managing editor of the website Crooks and Liars, and has a weblog called Orcinus.  I’ve linked to both on my site. 

On Orcinus there is a bone-chilling account of the recent escalation of the violence being perpetrated by people who are ardent believers in the extremist fear mongers’ agenda.  So far this year, in the United States, we have had EIGHT situations where there were attacks or thwarted planned attacks by extremists who were fans of this kind of material.

Each time it happens, the extremist “transmitters” of hate disavow any responsibility.  They claim to be entertainers, they claim the violent outbreaks are just isolated incidents by lone wolf individuals who are mentally unstable.  They say that efforts to point out their cupability are efforts to shut them up, to take away their freedom of speech.

Hmm.  When a tree hugger puts spikes in trees to thwart chainsaws, they are called a liberal terrorist.  When a person throws red paint on a fur coat, they are called a liberal terrorist.   When an animal experimentation lab is targeted and animals are freed, the perpetrator is called a liberal terrorist.  The people are said to be inspired by the liberals who make them feel they must take drastic action because they can’t win through the court system.  The right wing media calls them terrorists, and wants the liberals to shut up and go away.  Immediately.

But when people are actually killed, targeted out of bigotry and hatred and fear generated by right wing talk radio and Fox News personalities, the rightwing media insists those people are just lone wolves and no one is responsible for inciting them to violence.  They most certainly aren’t conservative terrorists, oh no!  And no one should attempt to shut up the conservatives, or make them go away.

I urge you to read Sara’s columns on Orcinus, and read this book (I bought one and have 3 more ordered to pass along to friends).  You can get it at Amazon.com.   The fact is, we can’t let what happened in Germany almost 100 years ago, ever happen here in the United States.   And unless we stand up to them, call them on their duplicity and their hate, and ensure they don’t get away with it, we are tacitly allowing their evil to be the norm for our society.