Nobody's child
Recently an American went on a rampage killing two people and severely injuring one other person in Portland. This type of tragedy usually has a familiar theme but in this case, it was quite different. The killer did not use a gun or an explosive device. He also was not a Muslim to the disappointment of certain factions in America. He was also not from one of the "Travel Ban" countries. He was anti-Muslim based on his verb abuse of certain women before his attack on other people. To the joy of certain "conservatives", he was also a supporter of Bernie Sanders.
These "conservatives" believe that as the killer was a Bernie Sanders supporter, he was the fault of the liberal party or at least that no ideology has a monopoly on violence. They also bring up the fact that they tried to get him removed from one of their rallies as he came across as a menace. When they brought the matter to the police, the police did nothing.
Let's see if Bernie Sanders is at fault. Bernie Sanders has not spoken about violence action against people. He is not anti-Muslim and has opposed the "Travel Ban". So Bernie Sanders' fault was that in spite of having positions 180 degrees different from the killer, the killer still found him appealing enough to support him on Facebook?
Let's us look at the facts for asking the conservatives to own the issue. The killer may not have supported Trump in the election, he was often close to the Alt-right movement. Yes. The Alt-right does not always agree with Trump. It is true that certain people in the Alt-right movement felt he was not healthy for the other supporters but that was for his behaviour rather than his beliefs. Attending Alt-right rallies? Check. Nazi salutes? Check. Anti-Muslim rhetoric? Check.
I am not claiming that this story is straightforward. The killer was known to take drugs. He has a violent criminal history. His posting on Facebook and other actions suggest a deeply disturbed person.
In conclusion, I agree that no idealogy has a monopoly on violence. However, if you wikipedia left wing terrorism in US, you will see 5 lines. If you do the same for right wing terrorism in US, you will see more than 5 lines. If you bother to read them, you will find that the right wing has a lot of American blood on its ledgers especially in the recent years. So please understand if we all jump to conclusions when a white American spouting anti-Muslim rhetoric murders people.
These "conservatives" believe that as the killer was a Bernie Sanders supporter, he was the fault of the liberal party or at least that no ideology has a monopoly on violence. They also bring up the fact that they tried to get him removed from one of their rallies as he came across as a menace. When they brought the matter to the police, the police did nothing.
Let's see if Bernie Sanders is at fault. Bernie Sanders has not spoken about violence action against people. He is not anti-Muslim and has opposed the "Travel Ban". So Bernie Sanders' fault was that in spite of having positions 180 degrees different from the killer, the killer still found him appealing enough to support him on Facebook?
Let's us look at the facts for asking the conservatives to own the issue. The killer may not have supported Trump in the election, he was often close to the Alt-right movement. Yes. The Alt-right does not always agree with Trump. It is true that certain people in the Alt-right movement felt he was not healthy for the other supporters but that was for his behaviour rather than his beliefs. Attending Alt-right rallies? Check. Nazi salutes? Check. Anti-Muslim rhetoric? Check.
I am not claiming that this story is straightforward. The killer was known to take drugs. He has a violent criminal history. His posting on Facebook and other actions suggest a deeply disturbed person.
In conclusion, I agree that no idealogy has a monopoly on violence. However, if you wikipedia left wing terrorism in US, you will see 5 lines. If you do the same for right wing terrorism in US, you will see more than 5 lines. If you bother to read them, you will find that the right wing has a lot of American blood on its ledgers especially in the recent years. So please understand if we all jump to conclusions when a white American spouting anti-Muslim rhetoric murders people.
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