Arizona Shooting Victim Criticizes Palin, Beck and Fox News
January 14, 2011 5:47 pm ET by Joe Strupp
One of the victims of the Arizona shooting today criticized the violent rhetoric employed by Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck, and Fox News.
Eric Fuller, a 63-year-old Navy veteran who was shot in the knee and received fragments in the back last Saturday, said the rhetoric of Sarah Palin and others can impact "demented" people like suspect Jared Loughner.
Fuller, who said he has been interviewed by several national news outlets, added he would not appear on Fox News if they sought him, predicting it "might develop into a screaming session." He added: "I don't like what they're selling."
In a phone interview from his Tucson home Friday, Fuller spoke about the shooting, saying he had appeared at the event as a supporter of Giffords and had worked for her campaign last year.
Fuller went on to harshly criticize Palin:
"Sarah Palin doesn't bother to learn the spelling of repudiate and tosses out 'blood libel' like it was a jar of peanut butter, but does she know anything? Probably about as much as (former Giffords opponent) Jesse Kelly."
Asked if he thought Palin or other media commentators had an impact on the shooting, he said:
"Definitely. Let's say through some fluke Jared Loughner never ever heard of Sarah Palin or [Glenn] Beck or Rush Limbaugh or Sean Hannity and the rest of the crime syndicate, and dreamed it all up on his own, that he'd go over there and wack her.
"There are still plenty of demented people that are in need of a good spanking who are out there and plenty of access with the gun shops to assault weapons thanks to the son of privilege letting that expire. There is the matter of the media attention to it. It is going to make this even more desirable yet.
"If you are going to scream hatred and preach hatred, you're going to sow it after a while if you've got a soap box like they've got. We've got a surplus of demented dingbats, wackos."
Fuller went on to criticize national media outlets that allow violent rhetoric on the air: "I would put Sarah Palin in first place there. I think, really, she should be incarcerated for treason for advocating assassinating public officials. That map I saw that she published on the Internet had crosshairs on it and one of them was meant for Gabrielle Giffords.
"This woman is a spotless, purest, sweetest lamb in the world, gunned down ... The only word I could think of is outraged."
Fuller, who said he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, is a disabled U.S. Navy veteran.
He said he drove himself to the hospital after the shooting and has been visited by numerous reporters and news outlets at his home:
"I've gone through at least a dozen video sessions. I've got ABC, CBS and NBC and The New York Times and the New York Post." He also spoke with Democracy Now.
Asked if he had been approached by Fox News, he said, "No, I haven't, come to think of it."
Fuller said he would likely decline to appear on Fox:
"I am afraid that might develop into a screaming session because I think they promote the war, I think I ought to pass on that, talking to Fox, I don't like what they're selling.
"I would stand up and just scream 'whores' at them, with my leg bleeding, and shock and with the congress lady laying on the pavement after having a slug pass through her head.
"I know they're just going to attack, they would probably attack me. They'll distort. Particularly Miss Blood Libel herself. The spoiled princess party. I am willing to take them on. I want to call them out and see if they have a peep to say."
Not long.
And Beck will "hate" these victims like he said he came to "hate" the 9/11 victims.
Fox is not about news, nor opinions, nor debate, nor facts, nor logic, nor rationality.
I'm not even sure it's about politics or even ideaology anymore.
It's hate.
Just hate.
And any opportunity will do.
I searched faux for him and found nothing other than rferences to those wounded. I am sure once this gets to them, they will attack and impune his character. He said it as well as anyone could, horay for Mr. Fuller.
Fox is gonna have a field day
Beck will see this as left wing violence and the start of his political armegedon he has encouraged.
I still support Mr. Fuller and understand that he is probably suffering from a form of PTSD from the carnage and horror he experienced. It is probably too soon for any of those victims to engage in political events.
Trent Humphries' gun legislation comments and his incuding the "tea party" as another "innocent victim" of the the Tucson tragedy probably pushed Mr. Fuller to an emotional break.
He is rightfully angry.
But he is emotionally and mentally compromised because of his recent experience. I hope he ( and the other victims) get the psychological care they need right now.
Is there anyone else on this?
http://www.mediaite.com/tv/abc-news-this-week-airs-alleged-death-threat-from-tucson-shooting-victim-to-tea-party/You be the judge. Or do what I did, find someone totally uninterested and see what they hear.
but it is kind of tough to knock a guy who can write the Declaration from memory
If she is able to start talking in a few weeks like her doctors are predicting, Beck may very well end up getting fired. In her interview on MSNBC in March she clearly was mentioning Beck, Palin, and the crazy rhetoric about using violence, especially since a bullet shattered her office door last March in the middle of the night. When she talks, the extreme right media is going to have a big problem with middle America
Since November 4, 2008, however, the rhetoric has been that the liberals are purposely trying to destroy the country. They aren't saying that President Obama and the Democrats are wrong or don't know what they are doing. They are saying that President Obama and the Democrats know very well what they are doing, and that what they are doing is trying to turn this country into Nazi Germany, or the USSR or worse. Almost everything coming through the AM dial of the radio suggests that the USA is in eminent danger from a faction of "false" Americans who want to overthrow our government and make this country something it was never meant to be.
I don't know about anyone else here, but I for at least one took an oath to do my level best to ensure that something like that doesn't happen. If I believed what Beck and his kind spew out every day, it would be my DUTY to defend my country from an unseen and apparently unperceived attack.
What these folks spread is very thinly veiled sedition, but the veil grows thinner every day, it seems. They seem to, at least for now, know exactly how far they can go without actually being legally seditious, and they slap the framers of the Constitution in their collective face when they cry "freedom of speech" to defend themselves. Any call for then to be censured is painted as a call for censorship. How long will we accept this kind of blackmail? How many people are going to have to die before we make these people pull it back?
And they're ARMED...
Thank you for speaking out, Mr. Fuller.
God bless that man.
Their reactions seem to make that claim a lie.
http://nation.foxnews.com/arizona-immigration-law/2011/01/14/ariz-shooting-survivor-blames-conservatives
I liked this one, it speaks so well to the compassion and human feelings of these guys.
There was an item yesterday where one of the nutters (Bozell, I believe) was mocking Michelle Obama's call for tolerance, and until another poster commented on it, I didn't even get that he was actually trying to spin that as tolerance for Loughner.
These Fox fans have put themselves so deeply into self-hypnosis that normal human logic just doesn't seem available to them.
Kudos to them.
My 80-year-old grandfather who is a Vietnam vet and would probably rip Rush Limbaugh to pieces with his bare hands is one of them.
i'd noticed the exact same thing. At the time this horrible incident took place, i was feeling too much shock to think about it ... but now that i look back it seems like the first i'd heard about right-wing talkers being blamed was FROM right-wing talkers! And i listen to progressive talk radio daily.
It made me wonder if they created the straw-man du jour ("some on the left are saying ...") as soon as the news broke, in anticipation of all the roost-returning; still clinging to that Bush Doctrine of preemption!
God bless you Mr. Fuller.
I think we need to bump up the responsibility to also include the bulk of commercial media, including network and cable television in general, movies, music, video games, and websites that espouse the usual crazy crap (racism, political and religious extremism, etc.) - AKA: "the hate factory".
Have you noticed a common theme among these deluded fools that act out violently or advocate others to violence? It seems the more vehement they are, the more they resemble career losers who cannot fathom that they, themselves should take accountability for their failures or responsibility for their own sad lives but blame everything on others: their Ex, the cops, liberals, a black president, the system, alien mind control, or just a nebulous "Them"?
Establishing their moral and value systems under varying degrees of self-delusion they are ripe for the crap that the hate factory spews. It attracts, caters to, and reinforces their paranoia and false views. Basically like flypaper for freaks.
It doesn't matter if he was a liberal or a tea-tard or a Republican or Democrat or whether or not he watched Fox and took notes. But the overall hate factory did influence him, their message got through to him loud and clear. The overall desensitization to violence and lack of personal self-discipline. The message that says that violence is the appropriate solution to anything you don't agree with. The message that says that our democratic system of laws can be followed a la carte, or even disregarded entirely.
He was surely exposed to it from many sources. Couple that with a mind that already is addled and how could it not but help push him over the edge?
I'd be more interested to see what was on his hard drive, the games he had on his X-box, and what hip-hop and death metal bands he listened to.
btw bravo to the gutless coward giving thumbs down without leaving comment as to why.
scumbag
But at a time when our discourse has become so sharply polarized - at a time when we are far too eager to lay the blame for all that ails the world at the feet of those who think differently than we do - it's important for us to pause for a moment and make sure that we are talking with each other in a way that heals, not a way that wounds.
BRAVO!
I'm not here to generalize and say that all people on my side of the fence are righteous and pure, however, hate speech is the main talking point for the right.
I'm just sayin'.
Thanks, Mr. Fuller for your service and for telling the truth.
He's saying what a ridiculous amount of people won't.
The hate-mongers on Fox and radio are responsible for firing up unstable people.
Something must change and here is the science why:
There is absolutely no doubt, concluded the 1993 American Psychological Association Commission of Violence of Youth, that higher levels of viewing violence on television are correlated with increased acceptance of aggressive attitudes and increased aggressive behavior.
In the United States and Canada, homicide rates doubled between 1957 and 1974, coinciding with the introduction and spread of TV. Moreover, census regions that were late in acquiring TV service had their homicide rate jump correspondingly later.
White South Africans were first introduced to TV in 1975. A similar near-doubling of the homicide rate began after 1975 (Centerwall, 1989)
The consensus among most of the research community, reported the National Institute of Mental Health (1982), is that violence on television does lead to aggressive behavior by children and teenagers who watch the programs. This is especially so when an attractive person comments seemingly justified, realistic violence that goes unpunished and causes no visible pain or harm (Donner-stein, 1998)
The science is clear. Media violence viewing predicts future aggressive behavior.
Some statistics:
Percentage of local TV news broadcast time devoted to advertising: 30
Percentage devoted to stories about crime, disaster and war: 53.8
Percentage devoted to public service announcements: 0.7
Percentage of Americans who can name The Three Stooges: 59
Percentage who can name at least three justices of the U.S. Supreme Court: 17
Compiled by TV-Free America
1322 18th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036
VIOLENCE:
Number of murders seen on TV by the time an average child finishes elementary school: 8,000
Number of violent acts seen on TV by age 18: 200,000
Percentage of Americans who believe TV violence helps precipitate real life mayhem: 79
According to the A.C. Nielsen Co., the average American watches more than 4 hours of TV each day (or 28 hours/week, or 2 months of nonstop TV-watching per year). In a 65-year life, that person will have spent 9 years glued to the tube.
Percentage of households in America that possess at least one television: 99
Number of TV sets in the average U.S. household: 2.24
Percentage of U.S. homes with three or more TV sets: 66
Percentage of Americans that regularly watch television while eating dinner: 66
Percentage of Americans who pay for cable TV: 56
Gallup surveys asked American teens (Mazzuca, 2002): “Do you feel there is too much violence in movies, or not?”
1977 42 percent said yes.
1999 23 percent said yes.
In this same period of time the rate at which human beings are attempting to kill one another has gone up from around 60 per 100,000 in 1957, to over 440 per 100,000 by the mid-1990’s (Statistical Abstracts of the United States, 1957-1997). Can you see the one thousand four hundred percent increase?
The numbers do not lie, and here in the 21st century, we must correct this problem for our children.
"Thirty seconds worth of glorification of a soap bar sells soap. Twenty-five minutes worth of glorification of violence sells violence." Senator Paul Simon, 1993
When will it change?
The only way it will change is if we are willing to give up our freedom. I for one do not want it to change.
And it is good for at least three ha ha ha!
By the way curiousindependent, has the FBI knocked on your door yet to find out why you as a foreigner keep bashing America?
= being a Democratic activist.
I will tell you this, right now. If you want to see some violence from the left, you have one of your braver buddies tell me to my face that, despite my history, I am not a real American.
Both parties have violated my Constitutional rights and most of what you post encourages them to do more of it.
From reading your post carefully it looks like you are advocating violence. You should seek help along with your buddy Eric Fuller.
Or are you suggesting that, since I denigrate right wing lies, that makes me un-American and also constitutes bashing America?
I don't expect any kind of substantive answer, but I thought I would give you the opportunity to back up your statements.
I did a little research. I have some examples of hate speech.
Ed Schultz MSNBC, May 11/09 Prays for Dick Cheney to die.
Feb 24/10 "We should rip out Dick Cheney's
heart and kick it around"
Nina Totenburg NPR, July 8/95 Hopes Jesse Helms grandchildren
get aids
Ex rep Paul Kanjorski, D-PA, Oct 23/10 talking about now Governor
of Florida, "Put him against the wall, and shoot him."
Chris Matthews MSNBC, Oct 13,10 Hopes someone blows up Rush
Limbaugh.
Barack Obama, Oct 25/10 Hispanics should "punish their enemies"
July 08 "If they bring a knife, we bring a gun"
The Daily Kos and the DLC have also had maps with bullseyes on
them targeting Republicans. The Daily Kos even targeted
congress women Gifford in Arizona.
Can anyone point out to me anyone on Fox News or any Republican
elected official who has called for the death of their opponent?
And he's 'just another angry liberal,' right Fox pundits?
What could he possibly be so angry about?
This canard proves your ignorance. Nothing else.
I have reposted my remarks from above:
I still support Mr. Fuller and understand that he is probably suffering from a form of PTSD from the carnage and horror he experienced. It is probably too soon for any of those victims to engage in political events.
Trent Humphries' gun legislation comments and his including the "tea party" as another "innocent victim" of the the Tucson tragedy probably pushed Mr. Fuller to an emotional break.
Fuller is rightfully angry.
But he is emotionally and mentally compromised because of his recent experience. I hope he ( and the other victims) get the psychological care they need right now.
You complain about there rights which are the same rights you use becouse there opposed too your views. Well suck it up, instead of fighting with the Rep. and Cons., this should be the time to come together as Americans. You should help in the healing process, and try too stop this from happening again. Fix the problem. Dont Preach Hate...
http://www.einsteinslastrequest.com/PROJECT-VENTURE-PHILANTHROPY--A-Grand-Social-Experiment.html
Peace,
Bret A. Warshawsky
of the aisle in DC and the only suffering that will be felt, will be by all Americans and the lack of liberty's that truly make men free!