Austin: February 18, 2010

By Jamie Neben

We’ve seen town hall meetings and tea parties over the years where people get together and talk about how much the government (both conservative and liberal) is out of control.  I don’t know if that culture had anything to do with someone’s decision to fly his plane into an IRS office building in Austin, Texas.    

I can’t judge the whole life of the pilot, identified as Joe Stack, but I can judge his actions when he decided the best recourse for his various grievances was to harm innocent people.   Of course, it’s not right on any level.  Perhaps some of the complaints in his suicide note are valid.  He may have had more than one legitimate beef.   But I’m willing to bet that most of the people in that building knew nothing about the man, let alone had anything against him.  We’re certain to learn much more in the coming days.

As for my opinion on the morning of February 18, I don’t believe this is your average disgruntled American who has gotten mad as hell too many times.  Most of those people will simply withdraw, or become self-destructive without putting other lives at risk.  Besides that, according to reports, this guy set his own house (where his wife and daughter also lived) on fire before the incident.   Thankfully, no one was injured there but it further suggests to me that he wasn’t playing with a full deck.   Anybody in their right mind would not perform such acts of evil (unless they were inherently evil—which I don’t believe).

I will take a loud political rally any day of the week if people voice their opinions and enact change within the democratic process.   Sure, there are times for revolutions, but in this country, the ballot box has proven to be the most effective method for change.  Let’s make sure that people know that flying into buildings is not acceptable!

 

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6 thoughts on “Austin: February 18, 2010

  1. Spare me, Jamie. Give me just one example of any gathering on the left that comes even close to the “keep your government hands off my Medicare” that we witnessed during this past year. And while you’re at it, expalin to me why violent acts committed by anti-government white guys are never, ever labeled as terrorism.

  2. I don’t believe this particular individual was swayed by anything in recent political history. In fact, he was no fan of W. according to his note, so I don’t know his affiliation if he had any. Moreover, he had apparently participated in anti-government movements going back three or four administrations. What concerns me is that I’ve read several comments on other websites that support his mindset, if not his actions. There’s mad conservatives. There’s mad liberals. In light of all the madness in the past year, and now this incident, I hope that the leadership of both parties will do their best to make sure their bases don’t get carried away.

  3. There’s quite enough fiction about what liberals are on this website without you adding to it. Again, give me concrete examples of the equivalence. In 2009, how many townhalls were disrupted by angry liberals? Why wasn’t Bob Barr worried for his safety when he showed up at the Netroots Nation convention? Which Obama supporters shouted “kill him” in reference to McCain at political rallies during the campaign? How many liberals showed up at Bush events with guns strapped to their bodies? Where’s the liberal equivalent to the murder of abortion providers and the bombing of clinics? Why does no one refer to Tim McVeigh as a terrorist? How many civil rights workers in the 1960s committed murder? How many segregation proponents were lynched or awakened by the sight and sound of a burning cross in their yard? Where is the violent rhetoric of the early 20th century progressives?

    Anti-government extremism is right wing extremism. The left has nothing to do with it and there’s no equivalent on the left. To pretend otherwise is to fall prey to the news media’s bizarre sense of “balance” and distracts us all from what needs to be done, which is to explore this mindset and, for the Republican party, condemn this element and purge it from its ranks.

  4. Cady…Extremists generally embrace a number of radical philosophical components of anticapitalist, antiglobalization, communist, socialist, and other movements…Extremists groups seek abolition of social, political, and economic hierarchies, including are governments and large business enterprises, and frequently advocate criminal actions of varying scale and scope to accomplish their goals… Extremist groups include the far left and the far right…

  5. I also believe you have extremist all over the world.. wouldn’t you say flying jets into buildings is an extreme act?? I would… I also believe blowing up abortion clinics is an extreme act.. I would also point out Bill Ayres .. The black Panters… The nation of Islam.. Just a few !!!!

  6. It doesn’t matter if any of us votes republican, democrat, or otherwise. We love our country, even if we have different ideas about what’s best for it. When correction is needed (and it always is), most Americans want to act within the scope of their constitutionally protected freedoms.

    When anti-government fervor reaches a high pitch, I get concerned. On the left side, I haven’t been made aware of people attending town hall meetings with guns and such. If somebody can make a fair comparison between both sides, I’d like to learn more. More specifically, are the people at these meetings and rallies who are getting all the negative attention just a fringe element, or are they represenative of the conservative movement? As for Bill Ayres, Nation of Islam, etc…they don’t represent me at all.

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