Planned Parenthood Just 1 Victim Of Right’s Terrorism (LIST)


The media is ablaze right now with smug conservatives pointing out loudly that we have “no proof” that Robert Dear, the shooter (who killed a police officer, a mother of 2, and an army veteran) was Christian, right-wing, or basically anything else except white and obviously insane. Except they’re wrong.

  • When he was being arrested, while rambling incoherently, he definitely said the words ‘no more baby parts.’
  • He was known for handing out flyers calling for the impeachment of President Obama.
  • He has a posting history on a message board that includes (non-ironic) pleas to “accept the LORD JESUS while you can!” and the line “A FOOL HATH SAID IN HIS HEART THERE IS NO GOD. PROVERBS.”

So yes: the Colorado Planned Parenthood shooter is, straight-up, a right-wing Christian terrorist. You can straw-man, no-true-Scotsman, and otherwise try to wriggle or finagle your way out of it, but it’s pointless, because white Christian right-wing terrorism isn’t just here today, it’s been here for decades. We’ve just been politely ignoring it. Well, no more. It’s time to talk about what the right-wing attitude of omniphobia has engendered in our country. Let’s begin with the most obvious of all.

 

April 19th, 1995: Oklahoma City Bombing

Timothy McVeigh was a classic example of an red-blooded American right winger. Want proof? Let’s read a snippet of his farewell letter to his best childhood friend:

“Those who betray or subvert the Constitution are guilty of sedition and/or treason, are domestic enemies and should and will be punished accordingly.

It also stands to reason that anyone who sympathizes with the enemy or gives aid or comfort to said enemy is likewise guilty. I have sworn to uphold and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic and I will. And I will because not only did I swear to, but I believe in what it stands for in every bit of my heart, soul and being. I know in my heart that I am right in my struggle, Steve. I have come to peace with myself, my God and my cause. Blood will flow in the streets, Steve. Good vs. Evil. Free Men vs. Socialist Wannabe Slaves. Pray it is not your blood, my friend.”

This was the inspiration for the single worst terrorist attack on American soil before the World Trade Center was attacked on 9/11: 168 dead, over 600 injured — because the right-wing anti-government ideology had become so embittered in this man that he decided to try to kill the government.

1982-1998: the Army of God’s Terror Campaign

If any conservative numbskull tries to tell you that there are no Christian terrorists, ask them if they’ve ever heard of the Army of God. These folks attacked Planned Parenthood and dozens of other abortion providers in more than twenty separate terror attacks over two decades.

 

November 8th, 1980: Anti-Gay Mass Shooting

Ronald K. Crumply, son of a pastor and earnest Christian, shot and killed three gay men and injured six others. They — and all homosexuals — were “trying to steal my soul,” he claimed.

 

1996-1998: Eric Rudolph, the All-Purpose Bomber

For three straight years, Eric Rudolph managed to get away with bombing after bombing, most famously the Centennial Olympic Park Bombing in Atlanta, which injured more than 100 people and killed one. According to Rudolph, the purpose of the bomb “was to confound, anger and embarrass the Washington government in the eyes of the world for its abominable sanctioning of abortion on demand. The plan was to force the cancellation of the games, or at least create a state of insecurity to empty the streets around the venues and thereby eat into the vast amounts of money invested.”

Confound, anger, and embarrass…create a state of insecurity…yep, that’s the textbook definition of terrorism, all right. Perpetrated by a right-wing straight white Christian male. Oh, yeah, over the next few years, he also bombed two abortion clinics and a lesbian bar — he really was the all-purpose right-wing bomber.

 

July 27, 1998: Unitarian Universalist Mass Shooting in Tennessee Valley

Jim David Atkisson walked into a UU church in the middle of a children’s play and opened fire completely at random, killing two and injuring seven before he was stopped. His motivation? “A hatred of liberals, Democrats, and gays.” ‘Nuff said.

 

August 5, 2012: Sikh Temple Massacre in Wisconsin

Classic conservative racism meets modern conservative ignorance: Wade Michael Page unleashed several bursts from a semiautomatic weapon into a group of Sikhs. For the record, Sikhs are not Muslims, though the turbans often confuse the idiots who divide Earth into “white,” “guy whose cousin makes my iPod,” “thug,” and “terrorist.” Six dead, a dozen injured, and absolutely nothing useful accomplished.

 

The right wing’s continuous preaching of intolerance and hate is toxic to our country. Yes, there have been left-wing terror attacks. Arguably, the Unabomber’s “eco-anarchism” could be considered left-wing, and the Black Panthers at the minimum have their roots in a left-wing movement. But the simple fact is that there is only one side of the major politico-media machine that is currently actively promoting fear of Muslims, fear of the government, and violence against abortion providers, gender reassignment clinics, and homosexuals. And we need to start calling this what it is: mass-media-driven, white-bread down home straight Christian male TERRORISM.

And we must demand that it be stopped, with all of the fervor that we demand ISIS be stopped — because it’s at least as dangerous to our society as a pile of people using our weapons to kill their neighbors halfway around the world.