Critics Say Glenn Beck Incites Violence

[madmom]

http://www.aolnews.com/the-point/article/critics-say-glenn-beck-incites-violence-against-progressives/19377910

(March 1) -- Some liberal commentators worry that Glenn Beck's increasingly strident verbal attacks on all things "progressive" could lead to physical attacks. The Fox News star's recent call for the eradication of progressivism fueled those fears.

AlterNet's David Sirota accused Beck of "deliberately employing coded and menacing language" in his speech at last month's Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington.

"Progressivism is the cancer in America, and it's eating our Constitution," Beck declared, standing in front of his trademark chalkboard with the word "Progressivism" written on it. "It must be cut out of the system," he told the cheering crowd. "You must eradicate it."




there is a poll at the link that needs some help

[NJmaverick]

1. Those critics are absolutely right

this guy goes out of his way to stir up the crazies like that right wing terrorists who 911ed the IRS office.

[moondust]

2. Of course he does.

It's just hard to prove the link in a court of law.

By Fox News logic, Goebbels bears no responsibility for the rise and horrors of Nazism.

[paulsby]

6. darn that pesky constitution

and the brandenburg standard

[DebbieCDC]

3. 61% say no, BecKKK does not incite violence

Figures -- AOL poll, all winger respondents

[Chipper Chat]

4. Hey Beck, you despicable moronic piece of dogshit:

Krystallnacht - Berlin - 1938

you must not know history at all.

[texastoast]

9. +1

:applause:

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

13. So let's hear your prediction on what's going to happen?

[paulsby]

5. so when susan sontag said

that "white people are the cancer of history" was she employing coded and menacing language that incites violence?

[moondust]

7. Did she call for their "eradication"?

Or "cutting them out of the system"? Note the difference between opinionated DESCRIPTIVE language and advocating some kind of ACTION.

[paulsby]

8. not to my knowledge

but calling something a cancer is implicitly saying it should be eradicated.

that is what we DO with cancers.

furthermore, according to the article, beck did NOT say that PROGRESSIVEs should be eradicated

he said PROGRESSIVISM should be

advocating for the eradication of a political belief system is a FAR cry from advocating for the eradication of people.

sontag otoh, equated an entire race of people with CANCER, which is something we... wait for it... try to eradicate.

she didn't equate a BELIEF system with cancer, she equated a race of people

my point is that beck is a putz but he is well within the law and hardly at fault for unhinged nimrods going off

ditto for sontag et al

[Flaneur]

10. Good to see ya stickin' up for poor li'l Beck.

Not that I want him censored, but I have to think that feeding people a steady diet of violent right-wing propaganda just might have some consequences in the real world.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

12. So you are sticking up for him as well!

Since everyone is so happy to throw around baseless accusations.

[paulsby]

14. i agree. i am all about holding people accountable for their actions

in fact, that's what i do for a living. i help the justice system do that.

last night, i arrested some kid for stabbing his sister. he should be held responsible (assuming he is given a fair trial and is in fact, found guilty)

i'm not into blaming quentin tarantino for inciting the violence (the kid DID have a "kill bill" poster in his room)

that would be equally ridiculous.

also, ridiculous the people that were blaming oreilly for the tiller murder

[Liberal Gramma]

15. You can be within the law and still be morally culpable

Bill O'Reilly is morally culpable for the murder of the abortion doctor; Glenn Beck will be morally culpable for any violence that results from his hateful rants.

[paulsby]

16. imo, that's rubbish

but it's clearly an opinion that many have and i respect that, even though i strongly disagree

also, how do you say an act of violence RESULTED from his hateful rants? iow, how do you draw the connection? the guy will have beck posters, listen to beck, what?

[Kievan Rus]

21. What about Pittsburgh cops Paul Sciullo II, Stephen Mayhle and Eric Kelly?

Glenn Beck's ramblings might have had an adverse effect on Richard Poplawski, a paranoid anti-Semitic racist gun nut.
Poplawski was a fan of Beck's program. On the March 19 episode of his show, he went on and on about a (completely baseless) "Obama gun ban." On the Internet, Poplawski had posted numerous paranoid ramblings about people "taking his guns away." I will say this: In Beck's defense, he wasn't the only right-wing gasbag going on and on about a nonexistent "Obama gun ban" without even the smallest shred of evidence.

Sixteen days later during a domestic dispute with his mother, the Pittsburgh Police were called to take him out of the house. Paranoid they would take his guns away, Poplawski armed himself with an AK-47, and killed Officers Scuillo and Mayhle upon arrival. Another Pittsburgh cop that arrived to assist, Eric Kelly, was also murdered by Poplawski in the mayhem.

I will say this...Glenn Beck does not mean any harm by his ramblings, however crazy they may sound. Yet, I think that he (and other talking heads of the far right) do not adequately realize that crazy talk can have horrible unintended consequences. I'm not sure that Beck realizes that not all of his audience is the brightest bulb in the shade and wouldn't understand hyperbole, semantics or metaphors.

[paulsby]

23. i am simply saying

i reject the heckler's veto.

could what beck said have had an influence on this guy? sure.

so could lots of other stuff.

it was INSANE when (for example) people tried to sue ozzy osbourne et al for kids' suicides, etc.

it was insane when tipper gore, etc. tried to blame lyrics in music for every ill under the sun

and it's insane imo to say beck has moral culpability because some dingdong somewhere may have relied (at least partially) on what he said. ditto for oreilly and the whole tiller murder.

are you saying beck, etc should NOT say what they say because some dingdong somewhere might do something?

[CLANG]

22. How do you get rid of progressivism without eliminating progressives?

I know I have no plans of backing off my beliefs.

[paulsby]

24. well the obvious answer is

discredit it's tenet,etc., and/or make it shameful to believe in these things (that's how the nation is towards racism now a days)

there are LOTs of beliefs/belief systems i believe should be eradicated.

i'll say it right out

jihadism and other sorts of religious beliefs that include concepts like it's ok to kill an apostate/nonbeliever and that trying to convert a believer is punishable by death (or anything else)

communism

fascism

racism

antisemitism

etc.

lots of formerly popular belief systems have been largely eradicated. you don't see a lot of phrenologists walking around, for example. and god knows communism in the US is far far far less popular than it has been at certain points in history.

imo, there is nothing wrong with beck saying that progressivism needs to be eradicated any more than a malloy saying neonconsevatism needs to be eradicated.

if somebody has evidence beck is advocating violence towards progressives, i'd love to see it


.

[texastoast]

11. Okay, consider this

Say, I'm a moran (as many of you quickly might).

What are the chances that I'm going to see the analogy of cancer and eradication?

And how is something eradicated from history?

[Swamp Rat]

17. Glenn Beck is a 'paleo-nazi' and so are his knuckle-dragging defenders.

Just kidding!! HAHA! :D

[Canuckistanian]

18. I'm not sure if he actually incites violence

But he sure creates an atmosphere for violence.

It's like spreading gasoline everywhere but not actually lighting the match.

[HopeHoops]

19. Sounds like a "final solution" - fits right in with FOX Fascism

Glenn Beck is an asshole.

[Kievan Rus]

20. Google search: glenn beck richard poplawski

[Quantess]

26. Thanks for the tip.

http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/why-are-media-ignoring-richard-popla

[bamacrat]

25. Sounds like what Hitler said about the Jews.

If there is violence from some of his viewers, he should be prosecuted.

[KittyWampus]

27. If playing a video involves killing cops, it's just a game. PICK A LANE DU'ers. You can't have it

both ways.