Right wing has enlisted the mentally ill as an enforcement arm.

[immoderate]

We all lament that people with mental problems are walking the streets, unless there's a cozy basement. A few years ago, people walking down the street shouting to themselves drew attention. (At least from tourists.) Now they're indistinguishable from many Bluetooth users.

The right wing is a coalition of interests, a sort of "big tent." The plutocrats set the course, but they are few in number. So they are joined by the militarist super-patriots, fundamentalist theists, racists, authoritarians, sexually repressed, and gold standard and other Libertarian types. (There is some overlap.) What they all have is an obsession that can be played to. Promises are made, though rarely kept. The plutocrats always win though.

So far, I am talking about normal behavior. I encounter people who think the earth is 6000 years old, or who ask me why I would choose socialism over liberty. Seriously. Their information is filtered differently. They are out of touch with reality (IMO) in significant ways, but they function. So it works. (Nobody (or at most one person) can claim to be 100% in touch with reality.)

Where they connect with mentally challenged people is the constant appeal to "higher authority" than the democratic process. Where someone is already hearing direct instructions from Jesus or Thomas Jefferson, the play toward violent symbols promises visceral satisfaction. A simple oppressor. It's the government this time. (Jews, Muslims sigh with relief.) With no internal filters, the mentally ill will go hunting. Their prey has been demonized. The authorities are ignorant. Did they arrest Buffy for killing vampires?

When Sarah Palin told people to reload, she clearly said she was not advocating violence. I remember seeing kids throwing rocks at a lamppost. None of them thought they would hit the bulb, much less break it. When it broke, they were genuinely surprised. Then they ran away. I hope they learned from that. Sarah didn't. All the right wingers who appeal to macho instincts they are "just taking it to the edge" or "just joking."

They are always surprised when the deranged and miserable people, those loners, bring their threats to fruition.

--imm

[William769]

1. "Right wing has enlisted the mentally ill as an enforcement arm."

They don't have very far to look, they are right in their own rank & file.

[JoePhilly]

2. My only disagreement ... they aren't surprised.

This is how today's American right wing does political assassination today.

They intentionally shake the crazy tree in the hopes that a few nuts will fall out. And when the nuts do fall, and become violent, the right wing shrugs its shoulders AS IF they are surprised.

The GOP helped make sure that most mentally ill folks get little to no treatment.

The GOP does everything in its power to make sure the insane can easily obtain weapons.

And the GOP uses extreme and dangerous rhetoric full well knowing that you can use that tone to create an angry mob at a town hall. They do so also full well knowing that sooner or later, one of the more insane folks WILL become violent against one of their political opponents.

[immoderate]

4. It's mental. They need to feel innocent.

I think the self awareness you describe is not present in the typical winger. They are convinced they are doing the right thing and the righteous thing. The people who write the campaigns are too psychologically well defended to consciously do that. They are marketeers. They are going after the pro-wrestling audience. The real crazies are collateral damage, not strategy.

--imm

[kestrel91316]

5. "This is how today's American right wing does political assassination today."

No further comment needed.

[JoePhilly]

6. I'm repeating this view everywhere I post.

They knew something like this was likely to happen.

They have been trying to find their next Timothy McVea, Eric Rudolph or Scott Roeder for a while.

[barbiegeek]

3. K & R [phone]

This needs to be sent out as a mass email & recommended

[Pooka Fey]

7. Brilliant point and post. K&R

[NoGOPZone]

8. Can I mention the name Marinus van der Lubbe without invoking Goodwin's Law? nt

[immoderate]

9. Feel free.

--imm

[Supersedeas]

10. Tim McVeigh, Bruce Ivins, those who assassinate abortion providers

[GeorgeEngel]

11. Wait until they unleash the militias on us...

I'm convinced they're allowing the arming to go on, knowing that more RW types will dump a 1000 dollars a month into their gun closets (and then bitch about having to buy health insurance!)

Then, wait for the over-reaction from the the RW when one of theirs is gunned down into a coma. It will make the Argentinian junta look like a long weekend.