Advertising Violence

(Billboard in Tucson, Arizona. Image found on Deus Ex Malcontent.)

"...when you saturate the air with hate you cannot control who breathes it in," Dan from Pruning Shears explains in his post about the Arizona massacre. Take a few minutes to read his post, but I'll summarize his insightful points about advertising as best I can.

Advertising works. That's why Coke, Pepsi, Ford, Apple and everybody else advertises when they have a product to sell. In fact, they spend billions of dollars on advertising, often not even knowing which ad "sticks" and which is wasted. But it is a fact that increased spending on advertising will lead to increased sales of the product advertised.

And so when you look at the political climate in Arizona, the violent imagery used by Sarah Palin, the "Second Amendment remedies" suggested by Sharron Angle, the violent fantasies presented by Glenn Beck, and the Arizona Tea Party favorite who urged followers "Get on Target for Victory in November. Help remove Gabrielle Giffords from office. Shoot a fully automatic M16 with Jesse Kelly"... it becomes bloody obvious these people are advertising violence.

And it works -- even if you can't draw a straight line from any one advertisement to the reprehensible act -- it works.

So the "alleged" shooter, Jared Loughner is mentally ill? I have no doubt that he is. But that doesn't make the crime an "isolated incident." David Neweirt proposed there is a level of moral and ethical culpability when violent speech has the following features:

• It is factually false, or so grossly distorted and misleading as to constitute functional falsity.

• It holds certain targeted individuals or groups of people up for vilification and demonization.

• It smears them with false or misleading information that depicts them in a degraded light.

• It depicts them as either emblematic, or the actual source, of a significant problem or a major threat.

• It leads its audience to conclude that the solution to the problem manifested by these people is their elimination.

Crazy talk incites crazy people.

I get the feeling that some people honestly believe that if we never find a direct connection between Loughner and any pundit's violent rhetoric, then somehow violent speech is vindicated, acceptable and righteous. It is not.

Don't Mess With Us

As I mentioned in my previous blog post, those despicable shitheads at Westboro Baptist church plan to picket the funerals of Arizona shooting victims -- including the youngest victim, Christina Green.

In response, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer signed emergency legislation barring protests within 300 feet of a funeral and within an hour from its beginning or end. Hell, this kind of restriction may not pass constitutional challenges, but hopefully it will allow the family to bury their nine year old child in peace!

There is one more line of defense though, and that's being provided by a counter-protest group using "angel action." Participants wear 8- by 10-foot "angel wings" to shield the mourners from the haters. It's a brilliant idea and I hope it works out peacefully.

Another piece of hasty extremist-inspired legislation also grabbed my attention today. New York Rep. Peter King wants to make it illegal to carry a gun within 1,000 feet of government officials. It's great to see some representatives finally standing up to the NRA, and I understand the utmost need to protect our democratically elected government from extremists... but how about protecting all of us? I don't want a gun within a 1,000 feet of me either! In fact, Rep. King is reminding me of all the congressmen and women who rejected health care reform when they already have great health care for themselves.

But I don't expect anything better than meek and unenforceable gun legislation to make it past the NRA. You mess with them, and one of their proud supporters will design a commemorative automatic rifle especially for killing you.

Why?

"The crossfire is intense, so penetrate through enemy territory by bombing through the press, and use your strong weapons — your Big Guns — to drive to the hole. Shoot with accuracy; aim high and remember it takes blood, sweat and tears to win." — Sarah Palin, March 2010.

"My sincere condolences are offered to the family of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and the other victims of today's tragic shooting in Arizona." — Sarah Palin, January 8, 2011.

Bullshit, Sarah. You put U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in your cross-hairs last year (don't try to hide it), and now she's been shot, point blank in the head, and although Giffords made it through surgery, a nine year old child, an Arizona Chief Judge, and four others are dead.

The 22 year-old shooter, Jared Loughner, has a recent history of paranoid rants regarding mind control, currency, the government, the Constitution, and grammar. I'll take a wild guess that he's a paranoid schizophrenic -- the exact type Palin and Sharron Angle were trying to incite with talk of "Second Amendment remedies." To me, it doesn't really matter whether Loughner was a follower of either of those vile women -- he delivered the result they wanted -- the result the "tea party" wanted.

And by the way, isn't Arizona one of those states where people can carry guns almost anywhere? Why did bystanders have to tackle Loughner to the ground? Gee, weren't they all supposed to be armed and ready to shoot him down? I guess it never works out that way in reality...

But in reality, sustained violent rhetoric always has a body count.

When Unstable People Have Guns

"America ... just a nation of two hundred million used car salesmen with all the money we need to buy guns and no qualms about killing anybody else in the world who tries to make us uncomfortable." - Hunter S. Thompson

I didn't want to blog about senseless gun violence again. Last month I said my words about Dannie Roy Baker, Rush Limbaugh and angry white males. I said that the vitriol needed to stop (as if somebody would listen to me, take note, and change course). But then there was another mass shooting, and another, and another:

February 26, Miramar Beach, FL: Dannie Roy Baker shot and killed 2 foreign nationals and injured 3 others. He has been indicted on murder charges.

March 10, Samson, AL: Michael McLendon killed 10 people, including 5 relatives, across two rural Alabama counties. He then killed himself.

March 21, Oakland, CA: Lovelle Mixon shot and killed 4 Oakland police officers after a traffic stop. Mixon was killed in a shootout with SWAT officers.

March 29, Santa Clara, CA: Devan Kalathat shot and killed 5 relatives and critically injured his wife before committing suicide.

March 29, Carthage, NC: Robert Stewart shot and killed 8 people at his estranged wife's place of business, Pinelake Health and Rehab, before being shot by a police officer. Stewart is being held in Central Prison in Raleigh on eight counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony assault on a law enforcement officer. He says he does not remember anything.

April 3, 2009, Binghamton, NY: Jiverly Voong (aka Linh Phat Voong) wore body armor when he launched his attack at the American Civic Association. He killed 13 people before killing himself.

April 4, Pittsburgh, PA: Richard Poplawski opened fire on Pittsburg police officers killing 3 of them. Poplawski is in custody in connection with the shootings.

April 4, Graham, WA: James Harrison fatally shot his 5 children in their mobile home and then took his own life in his car miles away.

That's 50 victims in less than two months. So why is this happening? These massacres were mostly well-planned murder-suicides, and there is evidence that suicides start to go up this time of year...

But I think it's more than a seasonal trend. The pressure of the troubled economy, the intense desire for revenge following rejection and failure, and the escalating rhetoric of right-wingers like Michele Bachmann and Glenn Beck plays a large part. Some of these pundits should make it a point to always clarify exactly what kind of revolution they mean -- the type where citizens vote or the type where citizens are armed and dangerous...

Clearly not all of these killers were influenced by the wingnut propaganda claiming that the Obama administration wants to take people's guns away, but it seems Poplawski was driven by that exact fear.

Surprisingly, I don't have a firm position on gun laws. I guess I'm allowed to be undecided because I'm not a politician. However, I'll never understand why people want an arsenal of weapons in their own home. Some people are simply gun enthusiasts, and others seem to take part in a crazy gun cult. But keep these stats in mind: according to the Bureau of Justice, most homicides with known victim/offender relationships involved people who knew each other.

So if you know somebody who's a little unstable and has some guns, you better get them some help.