We can argue all day all day long as to whether or not Sarah Palin’s violent imagery and rhetoric contributed in any way to Jared Loughner’s decision last week to kill his Congresswoman, Gabrielle Giffords. What can’t be argued, however, is that, several months ago, Palin’s fellow Fox News personality, Glenn Beck, played a pivotal role in another man’s decision to murder the staff of the Tides Foundation. The man’s name is Byron Williams, and, after hearing Beck rant on several occasions about the progressive foundation and their aspirations of Socialist revolution, he armed himself and headed toward their offices in San Francisco. Fortunately, he was apprehended en route, before he could reach his destination. Asked about Beck’s influence, after being arrested for shooting two police officers, Byron said, “it was the things that he did, it was the things he exposed that blew my mind.” Here, speaking of mind blowing, is a clip of Beck’s show from June, just weeks before Byron was apprehended. Make of it what you will.
And, here it is in context:
“Just because you in Washington and you who are so out of touch with life in the media, just because you don’t believe in anything doesn’t mean nobody else does. We do. You know why you’re confused by this show? It’s because I believe in something. You don’t. Tea parties believe in small government. We believe in returning to the principles of our Founding Fathers. We respect them. We revere them. Shoot me in the head before I stop talking about the Founders. Shoot me in the head if you try to change our government. I will stand against you and so will millions of others. We believe in something. You in the media and most in Washington don’t. The radicals that you and Washington have co-opted and brought in wearing sheep’s clothing — change the pose. You will get the ends. You’ve been using them? They believe in communism. They believe and have called for a revolution. You’re going to have to shoot them in the head. But warning, they may shoot you. They are dangerous because they believe. Karl Marx is their George Washington. You will never change their mind. And if they feel you have lied to them — they’re revolutionaries. Nancy Pelosi, those are the people you should be worried about. Here is my advice when you’re dealing with people who believe in something that strongly — you take them seriously. You listen to their words and you believe that they will follow up with what they say.”
My point in mentioning this is just to remind folks that we did have a very real, serious warning prior to what happened in Arizona last week. Laughner’s attack was not an isolated event. There have been others, and we have every reason to believe that they will continue.