On Sunday, when it became known that Kansas abortion doctor George Tiller had been murdered, I suggested that some of the blame might belong at the feet of FOX News host Bill O’Reilly, who had demonized Tiller for several years, likening him to a Nazi and suggesting that those who stood by and did nothing to stop him had “blood on their hands.” Well, it looks now as though I may have been on to something. Not only have a number of other folks come out to say the same thing, but, according to reports out today, Scott Philip Roeder, the killer, was a regular commenter on FOX News web forums.
According to Roeder’s wife, “First it was taxes — he stopped paying. Then he turned to the church and got involved in anti-abortion.” At the root of it, according to her, was his need to find “a scapegoat.”
O’Reilly, as one might expect, spent his day backpeddling like a mother fucker and trodding out one paid FOX News lackey after another in order to help cover his ass.
One wonders what might be next, as more and more disenfranchised men like Roeder stumble into the welcoming arms of FOX News and fundamentalist religion.
And, one wonders if this is what it was like in Germany, right before the Holocaust, as frightened men, desperate to find meaning in their lives, started searching around for scapegoats.
11 Comments
Mark –
Why are you trying so hard to scapegoat O’Reilly?
He’s trying so hard because “that’s what THEY do!” ;-)
I’m sure O’ Reilly never came out and said to kill anyone, and I imagine he probably wouldn’t want that, but this is what happens when you fan the fires of hatred for ratings. Most people either agree to a point, or disagree and dismiss it, but to the right person at the right time it can get out of control.
I’m never happy to see people go to the Nazi comparison well too quickly, but I think your point is right on Mark. When you are down and out it’s nice to have someone tell you that it’s not your fault and that someone else is to plan. That’s how the Nazis got into power and it’s how Al-Qaeda works today.
Whoops, someone else is BLAME, not “plan”.
Now who can I blame that on…
From the Progress Report:
We’re going to see more and more of this too. Activities of hate groups escalate in times of financial unrest.
It doesn’t take character to be a good person when times are good. Times like these, however, really test people. You can see what people are really made of.
As regards your own culpability Mark, you might want to use the word “suspect” to refer to Roeder or at least toss in an “alleged” before “killer.” Even if he confesses he’s not legally guilty until it’s gone through the courts.
This is not a “you must be better than those you criticize” point so much as a “you don’t want to get your ass sued for libel someday” one. Especially not when you’re getting more readers and expanding in significance in the local media market.
Signed,
Your Friend With a Journalism Degree
Much as I love to call everyone who disagrees with me Nazis, the Jews (and homosexuals, etc.) had been a scapegoat in Germany for generations before Hitler took power; the Holocaust didn’t happen until Hitler had been effectively in power for about a decade, and over 15 years since he had first begun arguing for the extermination of the Jews; the Holocaust was an industrial genocide, and comparing it to one man’s lunacy is hyperbole in the extreme.
I mean, if you want to be accurate, why not compare him to Gavrilo Princip, Leon Czolgosz, James Earl Ray or any number of other lone assassins who get whipped up into a frenzy?
OK, JS, so maybe I shouldn’t have said, “right before the holocaust.” What I meant was since the end of WWI. And, yeah, I realize that the Jews had be demonized long before that, but I don’t think you can deny that things got worse in the aftermath of WWI, when the demoralized and frightened non-Jewish Germans began looking for scapegoats.
I like that you called O’Reilly a “Mother Fucker.” Well said.
Keith Olbermann is now calling for O’Reilly to be taken off the air for his role in this.