.
The United States has had its share of political violence. The Whiskey Rebellion and Civil War are large scale examples. The New York City Draft Riots and countless smaller Urban Riots pepper American history.
But I cannot remember (and I am sure someone will correct me if I am wrong) any examples of tacit calls to violence coming from a group in firm control of the reins of government. The AIG bonus scandal seems to be moving towards this historical point of no return.
Congressmen and at least one Attorney General are demanding to know who received the bonuses. They are pledging to release those names in the face of threats against the recipients of the bonuses. Some names have already been leaked.
A quick survey of 20 comments to this story at USA Today (aka the Nation's McNewspaper) on March 21, 2009 revealed these comments.
BillT wrote:
This is a sign of things to come as the citizens get educated on how the rich are making them poor.
Gated communities are going to be the rule if they want to live in this country...they will be prisoners of their own greed.
Joe Fisherman wrote:
They are only sorry because attention has been drawn toward there GREED.
DontTread wrote:
Sure, people are hostile, their tired of getting screwed. I dont feel any sorrow for these wealthy bigots. These problems exist because of their own GREED.
Kent C de Trees wrote:
Wouldn't you AIG people rather be where Bernie is ?? Jail is going to be safer than freedom. Watch your back while getting that Starbucks or DD coffee from now on....................
DonHoHo wrote:
too bad......... let them live in fear.......... fear of getting punched in the face at the supermarket.
While many hardcore news junkies deride USA Today because of its shallow reporting, that same shallowness tends to attract the less informed / less politicized "man on the street". For that reason, these comments are much more troubling considering they are not coming from the Daily Kos or Huffington Post.
I won't bore you with the obvious, and perhaps hysterical, comparisons to certain -ist, -ite and -zi political movements from the last century. But, I will point out the irony that many of the people currently fanning the flames of this outrage claim conservatives are fascists.
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