Hate speech on display: Lesson we must learn
Editorial
The Anniston Star
On Sunday, a gunman shot up Knoxville's Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church, killing two worshipers and injuring a half-dozen more.
Jim David Adkisson, the man police are charging in the shooting, was on a mission. Authorities say he picked the Knoxville congregation "because of its liberal teachings and his belief that all liberals should be killed because they were ruining the country, and that he felt that the Democrats had tied his country's hands in the war on terror and they had ruined every institution in America with the aid of major media outlets."
His views line up with the nasty, dehumanizing invective found on countless outlets, including talk radio, Fox News and conservative Web sites.
On Monday, police reported that a search of Adkisson's residence revealed three book titles: The O'Reilly Factor by Bill O'Reilly, Liberalism is a Mental Disorder by Michael Savage, and Let Freedom Ring: Winning the War of Liberty over Liberalism by Sean Hannity.
Broadcasters who deal in hate speech would be wise to take Sunday's shootings as a lesson. With a powerful microphone comes great responsibility.
full article
The Anniston Star
On Sunday, a gunman shot up Knoxville's Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church, killing two worshipers and injuring a half-dozen more.
Jim David Adkisson, the man police are charging in the shooting, was on a mission. Authorities say he picked the Knoxville congregation "because of its liberal teachings and his belief that all liberals should be killed because they were ruining the country, and that he felt that the Democrats had tied his country's hands in the war on terror and they had ruined every institution in America with the aid of major media outlets."
His views line up with the nasty, dehumanizing invective found on countless outlets, including talk radio, Fox News and conservative Web sites.
On Monday, police reported that a search of Adkisson's residence revealed three book titles: The O'Reilly Factor by Bill O'Reilly, Liberalism is a Mental Disorder by Michael Savage, and Let Freedom Ring: Winning the War of Liberty over Liberalism by Sean Hannity.
Broadcasters who deal in hate speech would be wise to take Sunday's shootings as a lesson. With a powerful microphone comes great responsibility.
full article
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