Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Christianists and Far Right Continue to Claim that Norway's Breivik Wasn't One of Them

Personally, I believe that the facts and a connection of the dots if you will referenced in Anders Breivik's self-described "Manifesto" make the conclusion very clear: Brevivik is the not too surprising end product of the constant hate and militant language of Christianists and anti-Muslim zealots on both sides of the Atlantic. It's a reality that I suspect many in the far right acknowledge in their hearts even as they disingenuously shriek that Breivik wasn't really one of them. They can yell and scream and posture all they want, but the truth is that Breivik took their their hate speech and propaganda to be true and put it into concrete action. An example of this phenomenon of haters trying to disavow the fruits of their own actions is self-described religious leader Michael Brown who has a piece in Townhall.com. Take a good look at the photo via The Telegraph of Tore Eikeland, age 21, one of Breivik's young victims, set forth above. It's individuals like Brown who have helped set the stage for the murderous rampage of Breivik - and future Breiviks in our midst. And Brown's not alone. With him are many in the GOP and professional Christians like Tony Perkins, Don Wildmon, Linda Harvey, Maggie Gallagher and many others. Here a sampling of Brown's drivel:
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[T]he murderous acts of Anders Breivik in Norway will be seen as proof that conservative Christians in America might just turn violent too, as if the demented actions of an anti-Muslim, anti-multiculturalist Norwegian have anything to do with the spiritual, moral, and cultural aspirations of American Christ-followers who espouse the non-violent teachings and example of the Master himself.
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Sadly, the atmosphere in our country has become so toxic that venerable ministries like Focus on the Family and the American Family Association have been branded as “hate groups” by the Southern Poverty Law Center, while People for the American Way sends out regular warnings about evangelical Christian leaders on its RightWingWatch website. And this will surely intensify in the days to come in the wake of the tragedy in Norway.
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Let us, then, who call ourselves conservative Christians, redouble our efforts to expose the folly of these false charges, overcoming evil with good and hatred with love, thereby proving ourselves to be genuine followers of Jesus.
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Right Wing Watch has more examples of hate merchants playing the victim here. Excuse me as I run to the bathroom and vomit.

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