Right Wing Extremism

[Bick]

Left wing extremism is scary stuff. 'Nuff said.

 

[Im_A]

Right wing extremism also ends years long relationships from childhoods.
For all those who want to be 'fair' yes I know left-wing extremism can do the same thing. That's not what this thread is about though.

 

[lismore]

All extremism is dangerous.

 

[hedrick]

Sigh. I honestly think the only reason America isn't an outright fascist nation right now is simply because we're too large, populous, diverse, and unwieldy for a top-down movement like fascism to govern it effectively. (On Edit: And even that could eventually prove untrue someday.) It's not for lack of effort by the fascists.

And the fact that most Christians (the US is still mostly Christian), including religiously conservative Christians, don't want to live in a fascist nation.

 

[TheManeki]

Some liberal blogs compiled more examples of stuff that could fall under the heading of "right-wing extremism" as used in the government's report.

Terror in Arizona: Just another 'isolated incident'? Funny how that list keeps mounting | Crooks and Liars
Republican Rhetoric, Right-Wing Terror | Crooks and Liars
Yes, Jennifer Rubin, the facts do matter -- and they're not on your side | Crooks and Liars
Anti-goverment hyperbole and gun violence: A timeline

 

[Leimeng]

Sigh. I honestly think the only reason America isn't an outright fascist nation right now is simply because we're too large, populous, diverse, and unwieldy for a top-down movement like fascism to govern it effectively. (On Edit: And even that could eventually prove untrue someday.) It's not for lack of effort by the fascists.

~It is not like the left is not trying to create a fascist state in the United States. Thankfully, there are those who are willing to opposed such silly little claptrap.
~ Continue to discuss amongst yourselves...

Peace,

Leimeng

Flatulo Ergo Sum ~~~

(***Insert Personal One Liners Here***)

 

[Im_A]

~It is not like the left is not trying to create a fascist state in the United States. Thankfully, there are those who are willing to opposed such silly little claptrap.
~ Continue to discuss amongst yourselves...

Peace,

Leimeng

Flatulo Ergo Sum ~~~

(***Insert Personal One Liners Here***)

At least get the name right.

Socialism is more left than fascism.

Also, while I am at it...fascism while at times hard to put under the light of right wing/left wing, has many right wing extremism into it.

1. War as something that brings the country together and vitality, or in other words, "The War on Terror".
2. Looks at conservatism as a way for society to maintain order in society. One could really have some fun with this one and our nation.
3. Corporatism in many fascist theories is a dominant theory and that is not a thing that has been seen from the left but of the right. As the Libertarians, Constitutionalists, Tea Partiers will proclaim that coporatism is the cause of the problem...so much for the conservative re-birth eh or should I go and call conservative thinking fascist?
4. Historically it shifted to the right in the 20's.
5. Socialism without the proletariat makes no sense as to call us on the left wanting fascism. Heck, even Republicans are sympathetic to some of the liberals causes but that doesn't make Republicans liberal.
6. Collectivism is also in fascism which socialists, liberals, marxists criticize.

At least say some of us have socialist sympathies. That at least makes sense to state.

 

[TheManeki]

Dearborn, Michigan: Man attempted to blow up mosque

About 700 people were attending a funeral inside the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn, the largest mosque in metro Detroit, when Dearborn police arrived to arrest a man in a car in the parking lot.

He had driven to Michigan from California and reportedly was overheard in a bar making threatening comments about Muslims or Arabs. His car was loaded with large, illegal fireworks, police said. Now, Roger Stockham, 63, is jailed on charges that include making a false report or threat of terrorism...

Stockham was arraigned Wednesday on one count of a threat of terrorism or false report and one count of explosives-possession of bombs with unlawful intent for possession of Class C fireworks, Dearborn police said. He is in the Wayne County Jail on a $500,000 bond; the FBI was contacted.

"He's very dangerous," Dearborn Police Chief Ron Haddad told the Free Press. "We took his threat to be very serious."
Haddad said the man previously was known to law enforcement officials in other parts of the country.

"He's had a long history of being angry with the U.S. government," Haddad said.

Incidents like this are why I started this thread. Despite certain people on the right dismissing the government's 2009 report on Right-Wing extremism -- or falsely characterizing it as applying to anyone who votes Republican -- right-wing extremists do exist, and have been very active over the past few years.

 

[someonestupid]

I'm sure a lot of you guys have heard of the book American Fascists The Christian Right and the War On America. It's a MUST READ that may provide you with a greater sense of alarm than you already have for what's going in the world of fundamentalists and evangelicals. The book came out in 2007, so I believe it made accurate predictions with the advent of the Tea Party.

 

[TheManeki]

Thanks -- hadn't heard of the book, but just placed it in my Library queue.

 

[TheManeki]

Here's a new one, from my neck of the woods:

Georgia: Tea Partier Gets 8 Years for Attacking Obama Supporter

A Gwinnett judge sentenced a tea party member to serve eight years in prison for attacking and hospitalizing a President Barack Obama supporter during a 2009 bar room altercation, a prosecutor said Thursday.

Jurors convicted Carnesville resident Larry Morgan, 39, of aggravated assault and two counts of aggravated battery this week for smashing several bones in the victim’s face with a pool cue on Jan. 31, 2009 — a few days after Obama’s inauguration...

According to testimony, trouble began when Morgan was talking to other bar patrons about his negative feelings about Obama, when one of O’Neill’s friends said he had voted for the president.

Morgan replied, “Well, you are stupid as hell,” before making some racist comments or jokes, witnesses testified, Taylor said. All people involved were white, she said.

Later, O’Neill and his friend were laughing about or poking fun at Morgan’s comments when he became angry, fetched a pool cue and broke it across O’Neill’s face. The impact was so forceful that the victim had no memory of being struck or the circumstances leading up to it, Taylor said.

 

[Supernaut]

Here's a new one, from my neck of the woods:

Georgia: Tea Partier Gets 8 Years for Attacking Obama Supporter

Awesome!

 

[lux et lex]

Wow...that is ridiculous!

 

[Im_A]

You know Maneki...what in the world can that liberal expect to happen?

Regardless if the guy was being extreme or not, if you push someone too far, at a bar, which is good to assume that both parties were drinking, the liberal antagonizing that person will always get an affect regardless of what the law states.

If it is a public place with no rules giving by the private business of what and who can talk, the conservative had every right to talk as the liberal had every right to talk back.

While the conservative should have known better than to do what he did, it also stinks to high heaven that now a man has to serve 8 years because some liberals poked fun at a man's honest view given at a public place.

 

[lux et lex]

I work at a bar. Political "discussions" aka drunken yelling matches have broken out many times. A very small minority of them end up in some sort of physical violence. Conservative or Liberal, I don't care. If you resort to violence, even when you're drunk and may have been provoked, you deserve the full force of the law.

 

[Im_A]

I work at a bar. Political "discussions" aka drunken yelling matches have broken out many times. A very small minority of them end up in some sort of physical violence. Conservative or Liberal, I don't care. If you resort to violence, even when you're drunk and may have been provoked, you deserve the full force of the law.

Precisely the point I was trying to make as well pointing out that people need to take responsibility with how they poke fun at people.

Then there should be no reason to have this brought up as some complaint towards right wing extremism.

 

[TheManeki]

I don't really think either the venue or the levels of intoxication of the people involved really make a difference, although you're welcome to disagree. Thematically, this still fits violence (specifically, aggrevated assault and aggravated battery) stemming from not being able to accept political differences (and a bit of a persecution complex).

I've been in my share of bar disagreements and one drunken brawl, and walking away is always an option. Certainly preferable than putting the person with whom you disagree in the hospital.

 

[Im_A]

I don't really think either the venue or the levels of intoxication of the people involved really make a difference, although you're welcome to disagree. Thematically, this still fits violence (specifically, aggrevated assault and aggravated battery) stemming from not being able to accept political differences (and a bit of a persecution complex).

I've been in my share of bar disagreements and one drunken brawl, and walking away is always an option. Certainly preferable than putting the person with whom you disagree in the hospital.

It happens in all walks of life as compared to the other things mentioned that at least has a 'right wing connection' as compared to a drunken brawl.

It seems special pleading to state, drunken brawl with political guy, right wing extremist bashing a liberal in the face for poking fun at him, as a 'right wing extremist problem'.

 

[TheManeki]

I was checking out Dr. Bob Altemeyer's website the other day, and noticed he had updated his psychological study of authoritarianism, aptly titled The Authoritarians, with a postscript: "Authoritarian Personalities and the Tea Party Movement."

Here's a selection:

If you read the book presented at this website, you'll find lots of evidence that, as a group, social conservatives share the psychological trait of being authoritarian followers. And you can hardly miss the authoritarian follower tendencies in the behavior of the Tea Partiers. Here are a dozen that seem pretty obvious.

1. Authoritarian submission. Authoritarian followers submit to the people they consider authorities much more than non-authoritarians do. In this context, Tea Partiers seem to believe without question whatever their chosen authorities say...It has gotten so bad that their leaders casually say preposterous things that are easily refuted, because they know their audience will never believe the truth, or even hear about it...

3. Self-righteousness. Self-righteousness runs very strongly in authoritarian followers, and combines with fear to unleash aggression in them. The Tea Partiers commonly describe themselves as “the good Americans,” “the true Americans,” “the people,” and “the American Patriots.” They could hardly wrap themselves in the flag more thoroughly or more often than they do. Theirs is the holy cause. They believe they are the only ones who can save the country.

4. Hostility. Authoritarian aggression is one of the defining characteristics of authoritarian followers...They angrily called people who disagreed with them at the town halls “Liars,” “Communists,” and “Traitors.” They booed and booed until opposing speakers simply gave up. They lashed out at elected representatives who tried to engage in dialogue...

7. Compartmentalized thinking. Authoritarian followers can have so many contradictory beliefs and “biggest problems” because their thinking is highly compartmentalized. Ideas exist independently of the other ideas in their head. Their thinking is so unintegrated because they have spent their lives copying what their authorities say, without examining whether the ideas fit together sensibly. And Tea Partiers say over and over that the Democrats are installing a dictatorship, but they demonstrate every time they demonstrate that Americans still have all the freedom of speech they ever had. And one notes the health care reforms bear a striking resemblance to Social Security and Medicare—which many of the protestors happily enjoy and would never give up.

8. Double Standards. Highly compartmentalized thinking makes it easy for authoritarian followers to employ double standards in their judgments. One finds many examples of this among the Tea Partiers. The protest started off being about “pork” in the stimulus bill. But there have long been clots of extravagant local spending in the federal budget...It’s pretty clear that many, many Tea Partiers aren’t really against the things they say they’re against. For them, it's OK when Republicans do these things...

11. Ethnocentrism. Authoritarian followers are notably ethnocentric, constantly judging others and events through “Us versus Them” lenses. They largely choose their friends according to their beliefs. They stick to news outlets that tell them what they want to hear. They live in a polarized world, divided into their in-group, and out-groups consisting of everybody else. They stress in-group loyalty, and try to keep their distance from the out-groups.