Why Is the Media Ignoring Discovery Channel Gunman's Radical Views?

Sir, with all due respect, you draw the weakest tangential links to last week's unfortunate events, which many of us here locally witnessed up close, perhaps including you. From what's reported on Lee right now, he wasn't affiliated with any organized environmental movement. Second, Lee's family has described his history of anti-social, if not extreme schizoid behavior, which some armchair psychologists in the press are too busy speculating about rather than confirming. As you suggest, it's possible his behavior may have been influenced by misanthropist rhetoric among some U.S. environmentalists. But for you, a pundit who works in same "the media" you so eagerly truncheon, it's smarmy to twist this unfolding situation into scoring points for your base. You know damn well local police and the FBI have long-established profiles for "lone wolf" shootings. Your "if the tables were turned" point on the president's address is mere hyperbole.

With a nod to the Tea Party, your rhetoric rightly notes the unfairness, and perhaps hypocrisy, of linking lone cranks to social movements with legitimate concerns. That may be logical, but it doesn't automatically end the discussion. I'm sure you recall the White Citizens' Councils of the '50s and '60s. You remember: the middle-class, "legitimate" face anti-segregationists who tacitly backed KKK terrorism against southern blacks, and overtly backed their disenfranchisement and economic reprisals used against them. They were, in effect, the South's Stasi, imposing authoritarian principles through the deployment of local police with no fear of reprisal.

Here some 50 years later, I too am frustrated with this presidency's priorities, and nor am I "liberal." But I'm fence-sitting on the Tea Party precisely because I fear the inchoate anger coming mostly from disaffected whites, many who aren't stereotypically "poor," under the tutelage of narcissistic, mercenary gadflies, especially as all our economic fortunes weaken. You ignore this to our country's peril, even with our possibly one-term, "post-racial" president. Long before Glenn Beck's so-called "March on Washington," I observed at another Tea Party event here that people weren't so much united in anger over economic or social policy, but reveled in a seemingly endless mass of racist T-Shirts, placards, and vile comments. Worse is the fork-tongued pandering by some GOP politicians to the party's worst elements. Some of us clearly see opportunists' attempts to hoard power, and the frightened masses' desire to turn back the clock. If you've ever resided under that lethal boot heel, you might understand my concern.

Separately, while I agree some activists are too quick to doubt human ingenuity, and some are just plain nuts, it's foolhardy ignore warnings about our precarious ecological position. Here, the Lee incident is used as a straw man to attack the broader environmental movement. Rather than finding common ground, sir, you stoke the fire.

Cheryl of DC 2:46PM September 07, 2010

FYI

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andy-stepanian/discovery-channel-gunman-_b_706073.html

kieth of NY 3:26PM September 05, 2010

Why does your Magazine and the rest of the media ignore the extreme views of the far right? The threats of violence and hate--please Mr Rolf I am waiting with baited breath.

peter mizla of CT 3:34PM September 04, 2010

laura of CA

Not that long ago criminal acts were blamed on tea party members at steps of Congress. Not that there were evidence. Amidst a crowd of cameras and mic’s racist slurs and spitting was said to have occurred by tea members. None was recording and nothing seen by police. Large reward offered for proof but no takers.

Rest assured had he been tea party associated he would be plaster all over main stream news media. In other examples a abortion Doctor was killed by nut and blame was assigned to political view sited by Bill O'Reilley on Fox.

So don't be incensed that a little pay back is now being done. That Al Gore is getting credit for causing this sick act. The LEFT started this stupid condemnation..

Bill Hedges of MO 10:40PM September 03, 2010