More on Pittsburgh shooters and wingnut irresponsibility

Oliver Willis reports:

Poplawski bought into the ["shit hits the fan" and "the end of the world as we know it"] conspiracy theories hook, line and sinker, even posting a link to Stormfront of a YouTube video featuring talk show host Glenn Beck talking about FEMA camps with Congressman Ron Paul.

Now, that doesn't mean Beck pulled the trigger and it doesn't mean Beck was the tipping point. What it does mean is that when one steps in front of a TV camera, one has a responsibility not to appeal to low, base instincts. One has a responsibility not to appeal to the marginal elements of our society. One has a responsibility not to discuss outrageous conspiracy theories as if they're legitimate news.

As Bob Cesca points out:

Put another way, imagine if CNN aired a serious discussion about how the moon landing was faked, without any caveats that the topic is largely seen as preposterous. A lot of people will believe it. Likewise, the establishment press was responsible for helping to spread the Muslim rumors about then-Senator Obama during the campaign -- not to mention legitimizing the Swift Boat veterans during the 2004 campaign.

Or, last month, George Will published a totally erroneous "debunking" of the climate crisis in the Washington Post. The Post had a responsibility to police the accuracy of Will's claims -- or to account for his inaccuracies after the fact. They did neither. Who knows how much damage that column has done in terms of impacting the public legitimacy of the climate crisis. The larger the audience, the more influential the voice -- thus, the more accountable the source has to be.

You don't just step in front of one of the largest news cameras in the world and blurt out any pile of bullshit. Especially tearful motivational speeches about stockpiling guns or ginning up militaristic tendencies. Opinion show or not. Again, if O'Reilly is calling bullshit then perhaps Beck has blown the crazy curve.

Now, let's go back to Obama's "biggest gaffe" and see if it's not really true.

"So it’s not surprising then that they get bitter, they cling to guns" - Barack Obama 4/6/08

Was he really wrong? Read up on Poplawski. Look at what the Binghamton killer wrote. Read this.

We have a gun problem.