There's a diary on the rec list right now about a death threat against President Obama. Several kossacks have expressed concerns in the comments about something that MIGHT happen. I would like to remind everyone that right-wing violence isn't something that might occur; we are in the middle of a wave of right-wing violence.
I'm sure most kossacks know most or all of these incidents, but I would like to drive the point home.
Here are some of the victims of the current wave of right-wing violence:
Greg McKendry & Linda Kraager
Police say they found a letter in Adkisson’s car which said that he planned the attack, that he couldn’t find a job, and "stated his hatred for the liberal movement." The church has been active in seeking equal rights for women, minorities and gays, and founded a local chapter of the ACLU.
Bill Gwatney
Hastings said Johnson walked into the state Democratic headquarters and asked to see Gwatney. After being denied entry, went into the office anyway. He fired several shots at Gwatney, hitting him in the upper body.
Officers Eric Kelly, Stephen Mayhle and Paul Sciullo III
Poplawski feared "the Obama gun ban that’s on the way" and "didn’t like our rights being infringed upon," said Edward Perkovic, his best friend. [He] met officers at the doorway and shot two of them in the head immediately...
George Tiller
...[P]olice said Roeder was part of the antigovernment Freemen group, which engaged in a three-month standoff with the FBI from a remote Montana farmhouse in 1996.
Bill Sparkman
[Sparkman] was found two weeks ago hanging from a tree with the word "Fed" scrawled on his chest in felt tip pen. A man who said he was among those who found the body told tells the Associated Press that Sparkman was naked, bound at the hands and feet with duct tape and gagged - details that have not yet been confirmed by authorities.
These, of course, are just the cases that have made national news. Taken in the context of the increase in threats to Obama, the increase in militia and white supremacist group membership, and the hysteria amongst the 9/12ers, teabaggers, and even amongst Republican "leadership," it's clear that we don't have to speculate about violence breaking out. It already has.
Just some perspective.