Incitement to violence

Columnists on the left have been doing a good job pounding away at the link between right wing talkers and right wing violence (most recently i.e. Bob Herbert on Saturday; Gabriel Winant's piece on O'Reilly's demonization of Tiller was also important).

The point is this: right wing extremists who have committed attacks in the U.S. (the murders in Pittsburgh the other month are the other recent example) have, in many cases, cited conspiracy theories that big-name right wing talkers helped spread. One key one was the notion that the Obama Administration was going to be setting up concentration camps, a notion that Glenn Beck even once mentioned on air (though he later took it back) -- an issue that the Pittsburgh shooter mentioned as one of his causes.

Colbert King was ahead of most of the pack; he was writing about this issue as something to watch out for after the Tiller murder, but before the Holocaust Museum attack. "Words have consequences," he warned.

So, is there blood on their hands? I'm not sure the link is direct enough yet, but maybe I could be convinced.

Ultimately, if you are someone concerned about right wing violence in this country, here's one potential avenue for action: boycotting companies that advertise on Hannity, Beck, O'Reilly, etc.

I mean, here's the theoretical scenario: some guy attacks the president. It turns out that guy was upset because the president was going to take his guns away. Which actually isn't true. But it's been suggested by various right-wing talkers. Various companies advertise on those shows.

At what point do we decide we shouldn't wait longer before taking action against those companies? I'm not sure.