Is Glenn Beck inciting violence?
August 29th 2009 18:21
The American conservative movement has devolved into an all fear movement, hopping from one hot-button "fear this" specter to another with a propaganda machine that would make many a fear-monger of the past blush. Fear "death panels." Fear the Marxist in the closet. Fear "government." Fear the imagined civilian "security force" being built. Fear ACORN and SEIU, Nancy Pelosi and Bernie Sanders. He sees ACORNs everywhere, and imagines Marxists in every closet. His favorite term for government advisers and department heads is "CZAR." and it's not an accident. He uses it to further fears that somehow, once again, the Commies are coming!
At the spear head of the right wing fear machine are the talk radio crowd. Too easily dismissed in the past, the real power of right wing radio is becoming more obvious. Literally tens of millions of "ditto heads" and the like tune in each and every day, sometimes for hours a day, to hear different versions of the latest talking points.
Sure, there are differences. Limbaugh is mostly a blowhard, Hannity mostly a bully-coward. And Glenn Beck is a quasi-messianic cuckoo. Still, if that was all, Beck could be dismissed and ignored, blowing in the wind to those who will listen. But there's more to it. He's pushing the envelope of sanity on those who might be dancing on a knife edge already.
What does it take for a person to move from disgruntled, angry, or disenchanted to a potential terrorist? They must feel victimized. Right wing radio has spent decades telling conservatives everything from the "liberal media" to Hollywood to the United Nations is out to get them. To take their guns, to make their kids get abortions, and yes, to give them health care.
A person must also be certain that as bad as they perceive things to be, it's getting worse, and soon. The world is closing in on them, and it's a world bent on destroying the very fiber of their lives. The person feels everything dear to them is under imminent threat. And a strict line in the sand must be drawn, separating those who would not fall in line with those who are "in the know."
Glenn Beck has told his audience that nothing is open for compromise, that nothing can be supported from Washington, that nothing but complete destruction of the president's agenda can be accepted. He often uses the sound bite from Lord of the Rings where Gandalf bellows "You shall not pass!" when he tells his minions that they cannot support anything or any compromise. "Us against them" to the extreme.
Another component is a strange combination of loneliness and community. The person thinks they are part of a select group that is under attack. That's not the extraordinary part of course, that happens in reality all of the tome in various situations. When it gets dangerous is when the particular paranoia is fed by derangement.
And finally, they need feel that God is on their side. Once the potential terrorist is convinced that they are a holy warrior, the final piece is in place. When the potential terrorist thinks their instructions are coming from God, there you go.
Where does Glenn Beck come in? He is an instigator and promoter of such a scenario. Sure, he says he doesn't want his followers to use guns, to bring violence, or to do anything but "turn the other cheek." You don't have to see him to get the wink and the nod. He sometimes seems like he is setting himself up to be the martyr of the movement, pushing the envelope until he loses enough sponsors that his show can't pay the bills. And he has gone just plain nutty.
I've listened to his radio show when I can for about two weeks now, and occasionally caught his FOX television bit. He is quite a bit more tame on television, turning down the Christian martyr stuff and trying to appear a tad more sane. The real followers listen to the radio show every day.
What do the hear? "We are on the edge of some very bad things." Obama is aiming for "the destruction of our very way of life." The "time is now." The government is "filled with Marxists." Health care is designed to "destroy America." Pushing fear while saying but "don't you be afraid." Then he will say "something bad is going to happen soon." His inference is that Obama will use an attack or disaster to seize power.
The primary undertone of what Beck does is to fuel the feelings of imminent attack and tie those feelings to being part of "God's Plan." He doesn't invoke the almighty nearly as much on television as on radio. His radio show might as well be on religious stations. He incessantly talks about how he prays for the "knowledge" he imparts to mere mortals. He infers that he has some special conduit to God, which is a mainstay to the deranged mind in most cases.
"Your defense is the belief in the power of God" Beck says, extolling followers to "stand where he wants you to stand," and to "listen to his voice." He tells them God will "save America," with Beck's help. of course. He speaks with a desperation in his voice that could lead followers to conclude the time to act is now, if they were so inclined. Once a group is sure those who oppose them politically also are enemies of God - a threshold is crossed.
Most other right wing talkers invoke God, but not with the fervor and on-the-edge flavor that Beck does. His tone, his mannerisms, his body language - all seem like something one might expect from a prophet of old. And yes, Beck does call himself a prophet.
Another trick he uses is to throw in enough reality to bring cover to the loony parts of what he says. When Beck says he believes four decades of dependency on foreign oil is a travesty, he also attacks alternative energy proposals. His favorite target is who he calls the "Green jobs Czar," Van Jones. Beck's approach is to say things need to be done, but to then promise to obstruct everything.
Regardless of how paranoid Beck may be, progressives aren't out to deny him his voice. He is going to alienate enough advertisers to in all likelihood do that himself. Nor would I try to say what Beck can and can't talk about. I will, however, continue to point out that Beck has moved from the ridiculous to the inciting. He, like Hannity and others, want something "bad" to happen. And for that their listeners should hold them accountable.
At the spear head of the right wing fear machine are the talk radio crowd. Too easily dismissed in the past, the real power of right wing radio is becoming more obvious. Literally tens of millions of "ditto heads" and the like tune in each and every day, sometimes for hours a day, to hear different versions of the latest talking points.
Sure, there are differences. Limbaugh is mostly a blowhard, Hannity mostly a bully-coward. And Glenn Beck is a quasi-messianic cuckoo. Still, if that was all, Beck could be dismissed and ignored, blowing in the wind to those who will listen. But there's more to it. He's pushing the envelope of sanity on those who might be dancing on a knife edge already.
What does it take for a person to move from disgruntled, angry, or disenchanted to a potential terrorist? They must feel victimized. Right wing radio has spent decades telling conservatives everything from the "liberal media" to Hollywood to the United Nations is out to get them. To take their guns, to make their kids get abortions, and yes, to give them health care.
A person must also be certain that as bad as they perceive things to be, it's getting worse, and soon. The world is closing in on them, and it's a world bent on destroying the very fiber of their lives. The person feels everything dear to them is under imminent threat. And a strict line in the sand must be drawn, separating those who would not fall in line with those who are "in the know."
Glenn Beck has told his audience that nothing is open for compromise, that nothing can be supported from Washington, that nothing but complete destruction of the president's agenda can be accepted. He often uses the sound bite from Lord of the Rings where Gandalf bellows "You shall not pass!" when he tells his minions that they cannot support anything or any compromise. "Us against them" to the extreme.
Another component is a strange combination of loneliness and community. The person thinks they are part of a select group that is under attack. That's not the extraordinary part of course, that happens in reality all of the tome in various situations. When it gets dangerous is when the particular paranoia is fed by derangement.
And finally, they need feel that God is on their side. Once the potential terrorist is convinced that they are a holy warrior, the final piece is in place. When the potential terrorist thinks their instructions are coming from God, there you go.
Where does Glenn Beck come in? He is an instigator and promoter of such a scenario. Sure, he says he doesn't want his followers to use guns, to bring violence, or to do anything but "turn the other cheek." You don't have to see him to get the wink and the nod. He sometimes seems like he is setting himself up to be the martyr of the movement, pushing the envelope until he loses enough sponsors that his show can't pay the bills. And he has gone just plain nutty.
I've listened to his radio show when I can for about two weeks now, and occasionally caught his FOX television bit. He is quite a bit more tame on television, turning down the Christian martyr stuff and trying to appear a tad more sane. The real followers listen to the radio show every day.
What do the hear? "We are on the edge of some very bad things." Obama is aiming for "the destruction of our very way of life." The "time is now." The government is "filled with Marxists." Health care is designed to "destroy America." Pushing fear while saying but "don't you be afraid." Then he will say "something bad is going to happen soon." His inference is that Obama will use an attack or disaster to seize power.
The primary undertone of what Beck does is to fuel the feelings of imminent attack and tie those feelings to being part of "God's Plan." He doesn't invoke the almighty nearly as much on television as on radio. His radio show might as well be on religious stations. He incessantly talks about how he prays for the "knowledge" he imparts to mere mortals. He infers that he has some special conduit to God, which is a mainstay to the deranged mind in most cases.
"Your defense is the belief in the power of God" Beck says, extolling followers to "stand where he wants you to stand," and to "listen to his voice." He tells them God will "save America," with Beck's help. of course. He speaks with a desperation in his voice that could lead followers to conclude the time to act is now, if they were so inclined. Once a group is sure those who oppose them politically also are enemies of God - a threshold is crossed.
Most other right wing talkers invoke God, but not with the fervor and on-the-edge flavor that Beck does. His tone, his mannerisms, his body language - all seem like something one might expect from a prophet of old. And yes, Beck does call himself a prophet.
Another trick he uses is to throw in enough reality to bring cover to the loony parts of what he says. When Beck says he believes four decades of dependency on foreign oil is a travesty, he also attacks alternative energy proposals. His favorite target is who he calls the "Green jobs Czar," Van Jones. Beck's approach is to say things need to be done, but to then promise to obstruct everything.
Regardless of how paranoid Beck may be, progressives aren't out to deny him his voice. He is going to alienate enough advertisers to in all likelihood do that himself. Nor would I try to say what Beck can and can't talk about. I will, however, continue to point out that Beck has moved from the ridiculous to the inciting. He, like Hannity and others, want something "bad" to happen. And for that their listeners should hold them accountable.
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Comment by Morgan Bell
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Artist Quirk
apparently Obama abandoned the public (government run) option he promised for health insurance, doesnt seem too "Marxist" to me