The news today -- both here at Daily Kos and throughout the nation -- has been dominated by the assassination of a black American security guard at the Holocaust Museum committed by a neo-Nazi white supremacist for God knows what reason. The assassination, as kossack p gordon lippy noted in this extraordinary comment,
was particularly egregious and heart-shattering because:
For a WWII vet to deny the holocaust is the ultimate insult to its victims and to their liberators.
My dad, a Swedish American with no politics other than cynicism, was there when Dachau was liberated. He had pictures, and they haunted my childhood. His descriptions were rare, and short, but riveting.
To keep this knowledge alive, the museum is a necessity. To keep its visitors safe, security is needed.
Tragically, it was needed more then anyone imagined.
The "ultimate insult" today, though, may possibly have been perpetrated elsewhere ~ in the devil’s workshop known as Free Republic. And I think some comparisons about what America witnessed today there ~ as opposed to what America witnessed from our President, the good people of the United States, the citizens of the District of Columbia and most certainly here at Daily Kos ~ is instructive.
Within minutes of the horrific shooting (which was, naturally, incorrectly reported as having taken place outside of the Holocaust Museum, during the program hosted by Rush Limbaugh), the denizens of Free Republic (having decried having their program interrupted) began the hate speech:
This is the link to the thread. It has been re-named since I saw it early this afternoon.
This is what America read from the great folks at Free Republic, about the murder of a guard at the saddest museum in America, a place that now bears the blood of yet another innocent person:
Can Obama account for his whereabouts?
Flash! Eric Holder, AG, in route now to make sure police don’t infringed on the rights of any Muslim. (Just on the remote possibility the ROP is involved.)
I bet it was someone named mohammed or hussein.
More handiwork from 0bama’s black muslim terrorists?
Not possible. DC has very strict gun control laws, don’t you see.
(Reply)
Hahahahaahaa nice point!!
obozo admin let another one loose on the streets.
...any rumors of travel to Yemen and shooting up Army Recruits?
Waiting to see if the same bloggers who blamed O’Reilly for the Tiller shooting will now blame Obama’s Jew-baiting speech for this violence.
This thread about the terrorist attacks under the Obama Administration:
"This would be the 2nd terrorist attack in the US since Bush left office"
What’s the first?
The inauguration?
If I may, a correction....
The first terrorist attack on Husseins watch was Hussein's attack on our armed forces, previous Administrations policies, and the CIA.
The second attack was recruiting office.
(all in 36 point bolded type)
Hussein had a statement about George Tiller within 5 hours. Let's see how fast il Duce speaks about the murder in the Holocaust museum.
Referring to Obama as Il Duce is insulting to Mussolini.
Back to the assassin (still hoping that his race and religion are "helpful" to their cause):
This is pitifully stupid. People have SEEN the shooter. But no one will say what he was.
So I'll ask it. Was he Muslim?
That's all anyone wants to know.
Let the cover-up begin. They will NOT REPORT if the perp was a muslim...
$100 says it is.
"MSNBC reporting that the shooter was a white male born in 1920"
A 89 year old man did this? I'm not buying it.
It’s true then. If it were a muzzie, they wouldn’t identify the gunman this quickly.
2 in 3 weeks?
This will be directly pointed at conservatives, as was the Tiller shooting.
Um, wonder why?
I guess this:
You know, that whole "right wing extremism" bullshit.
This disgusting thread was punctuated with photos of our First Lady (under which was the caption: "black supremacist") and Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor (under which was the caption: "Latina supremacist" -- these were shown in triptych along with the photo of assassin James W. Van Brunn), as well as "LOL" comments and photos of cheerleaders. Because, of course, assassinations of security guards at museums are funny.
Even deep into the thread, when the death of Security Officer Steven Tyrone Johns was noted, neither the horrifying speech nor the "hilarity" ended. Instead, by then, having learned that the shooter was not a Muslim and that their meme was wrong, the denizens of Free Republic launched into an attack on Fox News anchor Shepard Smith, because he dared to hold up the DHS report about rightwing extremists and call them out for what they are. (There was the predicatable second thread calling him "gay" and a "metrosexual" -- because, God knows, you cannot possibly espouse an opinion that is contrary to those held by the Free Devils and escape their demonic censure.)
That is what America saw there.
And here is what America saw here:
From our family to the family of Stephen Tyrone Johns a diary -- a prayer/remembrance/honor thread -- that has been at the top of the Recommended List since before (and after) the electricity at our house went and came tonight.
A request from kossack mollyd for help in setting up a fund for the children of Stephen Tyrone Johns.
What America saw today was that those who preach compassion and family values have none at all, and that those they decry have compassion beyond measure. What America saw today, here, was that we are the denizens of compassion and help, that we reach out, that we, even when so many of us are facing hard economic times, step up and help those who have it worse.
This community did itself proud today; and I am so grateful to be here.