More Deaths Due to an Ongoing Message of Hate

Just as the homophobia that is constantly marketed by professional Christians can be seen to has a direct tie to hate crimes against gays, the message of paranoia and hatred towards liberals put out by the likes of the NRA and the faux news folks at Fox News likewise has proven to lead directly to violence. A case in point of this latter phenomenon is the tragic murder of three Pittsburgh police officers by an apparent skinhead member who believed the message that whites are under assault and that there is a conspiracy to take away guns from law abiding citizens. It is note worthy, of course, that the shooter, Richard Poplawski 9at left), used an assault weapon - not exactly the type of weapon a law abiding citizen would need for hunting or to "protect his home." The common message behind all such violence is that those who are different are a threaten and that they deserve to die. And it is usually "God fearing" Americans who market the message and usually inflict violence on others. Not exactly what Jesus would do, but then these folks have utterly perverted the Gospel message. Here are details from Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Poplawski's rampage:

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Accused cop-killer Richard Poplawski spent hours posting racist messages on an extremist right-wing Web site, decrying blacks and Latinos and warning of forthcoming economic collapse fueled by the "Zionist occupation" of America, an expert in political extremism has determined. Earlier, he had praised the "AK" rifle as his ideal weapon.

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An account kept on Stormfront, a gathering place for racial extremists and others from the far-right show Mr. Poplawski's increasing belief in a coming economic and political collapse in the days leading up to the time of the deadly standoff in which he is charged with killing three Pittsburgh police officers.

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Details of Mr. Poplawski's extreme racial and political views came to light today when the top researcher at the Anti-Defamation League delved into his postings at Stormfront, a white supremacist Web site run by a former Ku Klux Klan leader in Florida.

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On March 13, according to the site, Mr. Poplawski wrote a lengthy post predicting economic collapse, engineered by a Jewish conspiracy. "The federal government, mainstream media, and banking system in these United States are strongly under the influence of -- if not completely controlled by -- Zionist interest," the post declares. "An economic collapse of the financial system is inevitable, bringing with it some degree of civil unrest if not outright balkanization of the continental US, civil/revolutionary/racial war . . . This collapse is likely engineered by the elite Jewish powers that be in order to make for a power and asset grab."

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"When the police and the military attempt to come for the guns, which they're going to do, it's not going to go well." He also complained that his views were being conflated with extremists that recruit people with legitimate concerns reflected on his own site and program.

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Mr. Pitcavage today said Mr. Poplawski's comments bear out a growing concern by extremist-watchers in the wake of the election of President Barack Obama.
"We've been concerned about the possibility of an upsurge in right-wing extremist violence due to two possibilities: the vitriolic reaction of the extreme right to the election of Barack Obama and the severe economic recession that the country is in," he said.