Tuesday, June 2, 2009

How hate speech leads to violence - Frank Schaeffer: "We knew full well"

This conversation between Rachel Maddow and Frank Schaeffer is about anti-abortion extremism in regard to Dr. George Tiller's death. But it could be in regard to any extremist language that leads to violence.

The anti-gay industry and it's employees always say they're against violence against us, especially in response to well publicized hate crimes. This interview articulates quite otherwise.

June 1: Frank Schaeffer, author, Crazy for God: How I Grew Up as One of the Elect, Helped Found the Religious Right, and Lived to Take All (or Almost All) of it Back” explains to MSNBC’S Rachel Maddow how hateful speech leads to violent acts.



You can find the full transcript to this segment, here.

Paraphrased:
@3:45 And when you look at what happened to Dr. Tiller, there‘s a direct line connecting the rhetoric that I was part of as a young man and this murder. And so, people, like me, are responsible for what we said and what we did and the way we raised the temperature on this debate out of all bounds...

@4:40 But I also think that pretending that you can call abortion murder and Tiller the baby killer, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera—and that these worlds don‘ words don‘t have an impact, is crazy.

So, this is what helps unhinge a society, talking like this.

@6:15 ...we took the movement from its early stages when it was more a moral concern, not so much about politics and not so much about changing the law, and radicalized that movement. I follow the step by step process...

And what we did is we talked one game to the large public and we talked another game amongst ourselves… …tonight, there are people who are publicly saying, “This is terrible, we never advocated killing, abortion is murder, but we didn‘t mean people to take us this seriously.” But in private, you know, if these folks popped champion bottles, they would be drinking a toast to this murder tonight.

I know that this is the case because of the fact that I was part of the movement... ...on a private side, we also were egging people on to first pick at abortion clinics, then chain themselves to fences, then go to jail.

We knew full well...what we were also doing was opening a gate here...We live in a country in which guns are all over the place. We have plenty of people with a screw loose, plenty of people on the edge. It only takes one.

And what scare me is that I see the rhetoric of the Republican Party right now…about our newly elected African-American president…Some Christians in the same groups that are pro-life groups are running around saying he‘s the anti-Christ.

They also know full well that we have people out there who will take it to the next step and say, “Well, gee, if he‘s the anti-Christ, if he‘s anti-American, if he‘s a communist, maybe the best thing we can do is pull another trigger some other day.”
James Dobson: "We are shocked by the murder of George Tiller, and we categorically condemn the act of vigilantism and violence that took his life."

Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council: Scripture could not be clearer: "For anyone to intentionally murder another human being is wrong," he wrote to supporters. "...We strongly condemn the actions of this vigilante killer

Al Mohler: "But violence in the name of protesting abortion is immoral, unjustified, and horribly harmful to the pro-life cause."

Carrie Gordon Earll of Focus on the Family Action: "It was shocking news to find that this man was murdered in the foyer of his church, it has to be condemned. It is the sort of act that you hear about and you just almost go into shock, so it must be condemned."

A few "unrelated" quotables for the road:

Peter LaBarbera Americans For Truth About Homosexuality: "While we certainly don’t condone violence against anyone..."

Scott Lively: “We do not promote or condone violence.”

Watchmen on the Walls: "We are the Watchmen on the Walls…We do not promote or condone violence."

People for the Way, Truth and Life does not condone persecution, harassment, violence or disrespectful behavior...In no way does PWTL condone violence or ridicule towards homosexuals.

Randy Thomas: Each time we visit an office, our team was very clear that we do not condone violence.

And our winner...

James Dobson, Marriage Under Fire, P68: “In twenty-seven years I have never said anything hateful about homosexuals on our broadcasts, and I do not condone violence or disrespect for anyone.”

So it's true when they say they love us, they just love to hate us to death.

3 comments:

two crows said...

isn't it so interesting how they come out against violence after the fact? every time. like clockwork.

OF COURSE they condone violence! they preach it daily right up until some nutjob takes them at their words. THEN they backpedal like crazy.

and, every time I see Obama out in public I cringe and fervently hope he's wearing a bulletproof vest.

Unknown said...

“and, every time I see Obama out in public I cringe and fervently hope he's wearing a bulletproof vest.”

You said it. Being a news junkie, I cringe every time I turn on the tube.

libhom said...

Anyone who criticizes this hatred and bigotry is branded "intolerant" by much of the corporate media. It's crazy.