Hate and church shootings

The man who went into a UU church with a gun believed that "all liberals should be killed". In his home were found books by various far right authors, including the radio hatemonger Michael Savage.

Interestingly enough, shortly before the shooting, Savage had made the news for two separate reasons. His lawsuit, filed against an organization that had publicized Savage's own words of hatred against Muslims and which illustrated just how loony and extreme he was, was thrown out of court. And Savage's bizarre and ignorant rampage against the diagnosis of autism outraged parents across the country.

The gunman listened to hatemongers and took those words of hate to heart. And now, the hatred that fueled the gunman's actions continues unabated in the aftermath of the tragedy. One web site reported:

At Free Republic.com, which serves largely as a venue for conservatives to chat, the denomination itself was subjected to derision, with bloggers writing comments such as, "What place does ’Annie’ have in a worship service. I’d have probably shot up the place too," and, "Unitarian Church. Enough said."

The shooting in a UU church was not just a random crime. It was an act of political terrorism, just as the Oklahoma City bombing was an act of political terrorism. Its motive was specifically political, and the man who carried out the killings was incited by the hatred spewed by his political heroes. When you sew the seeds of hate, as people like Savage do, one should not be surprised when some people take that message a little too literally.