Back in July, 2008, I commented on the shootings at the at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church. The shooter was one Jim D. Adkisson who read far right rant literature such as: "The O'Reilly Factor," by television commentator Bill O'Reilly; "Liberalism is a Mental Disorder," by radio personality Michael Savage; and "Let Freedom Ring," by political pundit Sean Hannity. Adkisson pleaded guilty to murdering two church members on Thursday and received a sentence of life without parole. What is particularly chilling, however, is the fact that Adkisson shows no remorse and released a four page manifesto (it can be found here) urging other right wing extremists to engage in violence. *
I am all for free speech, but at some point the constant message of hate generated by far right commentators and the Christianists becomes an incitement to violence and individuals like Adkisson are induced to embrace that message and engage in violence. The almost weekly stories of violence against gays are a direct product of constant stream of denigration and scapegoating that is put out by those proclaiming that "the gay agenda" and similar rot is "threatening the family" and similar untruths. At some point those like Ann Coulter, O'Reilly, James Dobson, Tony Perkins, et. al, need to be held accountable for the trash they put out. Here are highlights from the Knoxville News:
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“The future looks bleak,” the ex-soldier lamented. “I’m absolutely fed up! So I thought I’d do something good for this country — kill Democrats ‘til (sic) the cops kill me.” With what he believed to be his last pen strokes, Jim David Adkisson urged other suicidal soldiers against the “liberalism that’s destroying America” to leave their own trail of carnage behind. “I’d like to encourage other like-minded people to do what I’ve done,” Adkisson wrote. “If life ain’t worth living anymore, don’t just kill yourself. Do something for your country before you go. Go kill liberals.”
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He will spend the rest of his life behind bars for killing Greg McKendry, 60, and Linda Lee Kraeger, 61, after opening fire with a sawed-off shotgun inside the church where more than 200 people were gathered to watch a children’s musical. He admitted wounding six others.
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After lamenting the ills of liberalism and Democrats, Adkisson explains why he specifically targeted TVUUC, which he once attended with his now-ex-wife. “Don’t let the word church mislead you,” he wrote. “This isn’t a church, it’s a cult. They don’t even believe in God. They worship the God of secularism. … The UU church is the fountainhead, the veritable wellspring of anti-American organizations.”
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In his manifesto, Adkisson deemed his rampage part “political protest” and part “symbolic killing.” “This was a hate crime,” he wrote. “Liberals are a pest like termites, millions of them … the only way we can rid ourselves of this evil is kill them in the streets, kill them where they gather.”
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No doubt Ann Coulter, Bill O'Reilly, James Dobson and Don Wildmon are proud of the results of their handiwork.
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