Class War Escalates—Use Live Ammo On WI Protesters

Image by Chris Huggins (Toronto G20 Protest)

 On Saturday, a Mother Jones staffer tweeted that riot police might sweep workers out of the Wisconsin Capital building. In response, Jeff Cox, a deputy attorney general, for the state of Indiana tweeted, “Use live ammunition.” He also called the demonstrators “political enemies” (which they are, but what’s wrong with that?) and “thugs” (which he obviously is).

Image by underclassrising  (Greek Protester)

It should come as no surprise to anyone that such violent statements would be made publicly by a government official. We’ve been hearing them for years from some religious leaders, anti-immigrant activists and Tea Party activists. Sharon Angle, for example, suggested using “2nd amendment remedies” should Tea Party efforts fail in Congress, while Sarah Palin infamously called on her followers to “reload” rather than retreat. Many executives would not shed a tear if there were a few casualties on the labor side in the class war (it certainly doesn’t seem to matter to the bosses at Coke, in Columbia, or Chevron, in Nigeria) so why not here? After all, it’s a small price to pay to keep wages low and profits high.

Cox’s statements are only noteworthy in the context of Gov. Scott Walker’s explicit threat to use the National Guard on protesters AND his active preparation for such an assault (See “General Strike,” paragraph 3). In the interest of full disclosure, Cox is a loose cannon, known for making all sorts of ludicrous, vitriolic remarks. He once said that Planned Parenthood could help themselves if they performed retroactive abortions and he compared the SEIU to Hitler’s Sturmabteilung. Nevertheless, in this climate of fear and paranoia, it only takes one Jared Loughner to get inspired by such rhetoric and then go on a self-righteous rampage that, in the middle of a mass demonstration, could end up being far more deadly than the recent massacre in Tuscon. On the other hand, it only takes orders by one right wing governor for the National Guard to open fire on striking workers, as has happened so many times in U.S. history (for a partial list of examples, please see “The Violent Demise of Unions.”)

Palin and Loughner vs The Jews

Politicians have denounced the Jared Lee Loughner You-Tube video as lunatic nonsense. However, according to journalist Justine Sharrock, who reports on militias and other right wing fringe groups, Loughner’s video sounded very similar to the rants of the Sovereign Citizens movement. This group, which has an estimated 300,000 followers, believes the government is illegitimate. And many are willing to kill in their war against it. They have retaliated against judges, IRS agents and cops, primarily through “paper terrorism,” that is, by filing bogus liens against them, though some have also shot cops. Terry Nichols (one of the Oklahoma City bombers) was a sovereign.

Sovereign citizens refuse to follow government laws, even traffic laws or carrying a drivers license. They refuse to pay taxes or permits, including gun permits. They believe that social security numbers make us slaves to the government. The movement really took hold in the 1990s, but is making a comeback today due to the vitriolic rhetoric of shock jocks and Tea Party politicians, which share many common themes with the philosophy of the Sovereign movement.

Tea Partiers, of course, are distancing themselves from Loughner, but not from the vitriol. Sarah Palin issued an unapologetic and inflammatory statement yesterday telling media and pundits they “should not manufacture a blood libel that serves only to incite the hatred and violence that they purport to condemn.” Aside from the anti-Semitic and provocative nature of her rant, it was an attempt to make it seem like she was the victim, rather than the provacateur. She even went so far as to pretend that her comments were peaceful and legitimate:  “When we ‘take up our arms,’ we’re talking about our vote.’” Of course you are, Sarah, and of course all your angry, gun-toting followers understand that.

Despite Palin’s violent rhetoric, there are important distinctions between Tea Partiers and Sovereigns. While Sovereigns, and Loughner, share some ideas (and enemies) with the Tea Party movement, they openly support the demise of the U.S. government, whereas Tea Partiers believe they are acting to save it. Loughner’s act, according to Sharrock, was distinct from most other Sovereign acts of violence (Nichols excluded), which have tended to be in “self-defense” (e.g., shooting back when getting stopped for a traffic violation). And it was distinct from the typical behavior of Tea Partiers, which tends more toward hysterical press conferences and public rants. The connection is that the rhetoric of many Tea Partiers, Sarah Palin included, has become more violent and aggressively anti-establishment, paralleling that of right wing groups, like the Sovereigns and targeting many of the same public figures, including Gabrielle Giffords and Judge John Roll, thus creating a sense of legitimacy for those like Jared Loughner, who are crazy enough to turn violent threats into action .