“Inciting Violence”

So recently I’ve been seeing a lot of talk of conservative people, especially those involved in the Tea Party movement “inciting violence”. Here’s an example I pulled out.

Yep Glenn Beck is going to get people killed for his talk on Obama’s authoritarian presidency, and the fact that he’s a little bit of a drama queen.

Now see this local news story.

Burning of Cape Cod homes (and not particularly spectacular ones) with “Fuck the Rich” scrawled at the scene…. More video.

Who’s inciting violence?

Well the honest answer, neither. Let’s face it, there is only a small fraction of people who are violently antisocial. We know this to be true because humanity isn’t extinct. These small number of people who are violent and anti-social are still social enough to latch onto a larger group. They’re never an active member, but somebody who is only obliquely involved. These freaks are acting alone, and allow the rest of the world to be their Rorschach test.