Hate-Mongering And Murder

On Sunday, a sick and depraved individual attacked a group of peace-loving citizens at a Unitarian-Universalist Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. He killed two people and wounded several others with a shotgun before he was stopped.

This is especially sad because the group he attacked (Unitarians) are among the most loving and non-violent and tolerant people in this country. None of them would have ever done anything to harm this man -- Jim Adkisson (pictured above). Why would he attack such decent and kind people?

Evidently, he was angry because he was out of work and decided to take it out on "liberals". I'm sure he thought he was doing his country and his church a favor by killing some liberals. Adkisson is a sick individual, and deserves a harsh punishment from the state of Tennessee.

But he is not the only one to blame. For the last several years, there has been a concerted effort by right-wingers and fundamentalists to demonize liberals, and they have been very successful. They have labeled liberals as un-American, un-christian and hateful people, and a lot of sick perverts like Adkisson have bought into the lie.

Hate-mongers like Ann Coulter, Karl Rove, Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, Rush Limbaugh, Michael Savage, Bill O'Reilly and many others must accept their share of the blame for this tragedy. They created and put forth the lies so they could gain and hold onto power and enrich themselves and their friends, but in doing so they also fueled the fantasies of sickos like Adkisson.

It's time to tone down the rhetoric in this country. I have a political viewpoint, and I expect conservatives to have their own viewpoint. But just because we disagree on what is best for the country does not make either side evil.

The hate-mongering has gone too far when it results in murder.