As May ended and June begins, in the span of two days, two terribly twisted souls took up arms and snuffed out the lives of others. According to early indications, their violence was a manifest desire to punish targets each man felt was deserving of death.
Dr. George Tiller, a frequent target of extreme anti-abortion groups, was gunned down by alleged assailant Scott Roeder Sunday morning in the foyer of his Wichita church. If the allegations are correct, Roeder is a man filled with a wicked delusion of righteousness that somehow permitted him to rise above the laws of the nation and impose vigilante justice on his fellow man. The excellent investigative work of Little Green Footballs has uncovered an alarming pattern of comments Roeder has made to extreme anti-abortion websites that fall just short of making blatant threats against Tiller’s life. His association with the known radical right-wing group known as the “sovereign citizen movement” as well as his appearance on an Anti-Defamation League watch sheet of those active in militias are also well-documented by that web site. No information has been found to suggest that Roeder was not acting alone.
Privates William Long and Quinton Ezeagwula, soldiers performing duties at a Little Rock, Arkansas Army/Navy recruiting center, were struck by assault rifle fire when Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad (a.k.a. Carl Bledsoe) is alleged to have opened fire from his vehicle while driving by. Pvt. Long died as a result of his wounds and Pvt. Ezeagwula was critically wounded but is expected to make a recovery. According to CNN.com, early interviews reported have led police to believe that Muhammad was acting on his own but with the express intent of targeting military personnel. Little Rock police told USA Today indicated that Muhammad implied that his motive for the shooting was a hatred of the American military. It was also disclosed that he had made a recent conversion to the Islamic faith. From the USA Today article:
"This individual appears to have been upset with the military, the Army in particular, and that's why he did what he did," Little Rock Police Lt. Terry Hastings said in a phone interview."He has converted to (Islam) here in the past few years," Hastings said.
The two men had different targets, different motivations, but they shared a twisted sense of purpose; an ethical Möbius strip that defies sane comprehension. And still, there have been many moments of disgust in the hours since Tiller’s shooting, time spent reading comments on Twitter and blogs of all political stripes. Some pro-lifers openly rejoice in the commission of cold-blooded murder, others quietly condemn the taking of a life in this way but claim that a practitioner of late-term abortions had it coming and they are glad he’s gone.
The vast majority, though, have proclaimed (as do I) that Roeder’s actions are an abhorration, and run counter to the religious beliefs that underlie the anti-abortion opinions of many people. Even more disturbing are the hordes of those who identify themselves as pro-choice and have taken an opportunity to label all pro-lifers as murderous extremists. Painting the entire pro-life movement with broad brush strokes of charger red will never allow us to achieve President Obama’s promise of ending the politics of division.
A statement from the President on the murder of Dr. Tiller – his was offered Sunday at 3:12 p.m. – was required. His statement echoed themes from the address to Notre Dame’s 2009 graduating class. From the White House website:
I am shocked and outraged by the murder of Dr. George Tiller as he attended church services this morning. However profound our differences as Americans over difficult issues such as abortion, they cannot be resolved by heinous acts of violence.
It is true that the most high-profile anti-abortion groups have too frequently allowed the rhetoric of vigilantism to be tolerated in their ranks, and I say that as one who is an opponent of unregulated abortion, abortion-on-demand, and specifically late-term abortion. Furthermore, I have heard far too many voices in these past days that seem comfortable with the kind of anarchy that descended on that Wichita church, without any recognition that same concept of selective observance of the law would then require justifying the actions of the Little Rock shooter as well. It is profoundly disturbing.
It is up to each individual to understand where the line between civil disobedience and anarchy exists. Roeder and Muhammad failed to draw that philosophical line properly, and any who saw their chaotic intentions beginning to coalesce and did nothing to help them take a different course are culpable in the tragedies that ensued. In that sense, I believe President Obama’s response is a just one, to call upon sane elements within the pro-life movement to vociferously and passionately define the acceptable boundaries of conduct, ways of communicating the message that do not give a false sense of community to those who would commit murder in the name of protecting life.
It is shameful, however, that Obama did not take a moment Monday to issue an equivalent statement of moderation to elements within the American Muslim community who might claim solidarity with the Little Rock shooter. Hatred of America has been inculcated throughout extreme strands of the Islamic religion, and Obama should recognize a raging problem on his hands, especially if unchecked extremism is going to be his criteria for reacting to these kinds of tragic shootings.
Is this a sign that President Obama considers quieting the debate over abortion more important than sending a message to the America’s Muslim community that it must be vigilant in weeding out would-be homegrown jihadists?
In a week, this entire episode will have been replaced by some other crisis, or crises. But if we fail to find our sense of balance and decency as a nation - a respect for, and a willingness to listen to, opposing views – we will have polluted the waters of the aquifer from which our republic is nourished.
Comments
"It is shameful, however, that Obama did not take a moment Monday to issue an equivalent statement...the Little Rock shooter"
Don't hold your breath. Obama believes the "so called" War on Terror should be handled with law enforcement, yknow. We should all just be prepared that a few soldiers will be attacked every month, and then the local Sheriff will be on the case! Law enforcement = the "humane" way to fight terror. That's why there were no more attacks after 9/11 right? (well, except for London subway, Madrid train station, Bali indonesia, the parliament of India, the al qaeda hit in Algiers, mumbai india, the SECOND london bombings, the danish embassy, the australian embassy)
I couldn't STAND George Bush, but I'll tell you something: the man kept us safe. It's stuff like this and Obama's feckless silence that makes me fear we will get hit again. Bush would have flattened a terrorist camp in Yemen 30 minutes after finding out this Little Rock shooter was trained there.
This is a very simple in cases of Radical Islam terrorist. We need to deport all of them to a little island know as Gitmo.. Or better yet, deport them to the Borders with Iran. Let them have the nut jobs.. or even better yet, once they're convicted with a speedy trial, walk them to the firing line, spend the $1.50 on that .223 cal. & put it right between that hollowed out skull. Do the World a favor, so we never have to deal with them again, & give them 3 hots & a cot for the rest of their lives.. with color TV, free medical care, access to better gym equipment most of us can't afford, access to religious, & law libraries.. They're convicts for crying out loud. They don't deserve anything but a 10 x 10 jail cell, with soup & bread to eat. THis country has given all our money to bankers, & the auto industry so they can go bankrupt anyways, so why should we support the other lawless people who've actually been convicted of crimes?
This guy is the reason that we need to be in Iraq and Afganistan. I hope this country will realize that we have to fight this fight with the total commitment and crush these terrorist with extreme prejudice.
Here's a difference: If it's a late-term abortionist that's killed by a white christian, the NY Times puts the story on page 1 and casts a net of blame as wide as possible. But if it's a black convert to islam who kills and wounds a couple of US soldiers, The NY Times tried to hide the story on page A18. I wonder if the terrorist was a fan of Keith Olbermann.
The media is always selective in what it covers, choosing what it thinks will get the most attention. A pretty white college girl is abducted and murdered, it will be all over the news. If the same thing happens to a pretty black college girl, we will hear nothing.
I think in these two cases, your point is correct that both are acts of terrorism. Unfortunately, most Americans do not feel personally connected to the wars in Iraq/Afghanistan, and this murder probably seems like an extension of that war. Americans are bored with it(rightly or wrongly) and don't understand it, so it won't get coverage. The abortion debate, however, everyone takes a position, so it feels more personal, perhaps. Thus, it gets coverage.
It isn't fair or appropriate, but I think that explains it.
If this guy is a recent convert to islam, and he does not like the system here, then ship him off to sodi arabia. I am sure he will like it there.
Keith Olbermann and Bill O'Reilly are probably the people I hate more than anything in my entire life. Not only do they condone this kind of behavior, they encourage it. Murder is murder is murder.
While I don't support abortions unless the circumstances are very severe ( rape ), I definitely do not condone murderers to take action against abortionists. George Tiller was just a simple man trying to make a living in uncertain times. I'm sure he harbored a little guilt for what he was doing, but if I were in his positions I would do the same thing too. It's better than letting the pregnant women go to some back alley and have a coat hanger abortion, or worse yet have the baby at prom and try to flush him down the toilet, which I have read has happened to some poor children.
Half the people I talk to who are pro-life don't even know what people were doing before abortion was legalized. Personally, I'd rather the babies be aborted than be pulled out of the uterus with a coat hanger.
Abortion is wrong for any reason AJ. If you think it should be used only in special cases, then you know it is wrong, murder is murder regardless of the situation. Don't make a rape any worse by destroying life. If we respected human life more we would not have these issues.
Anti-abotion groups were asked for statements right after Tiller was killed. Not so anti-military activists after the soldier was shot. The comments were sought even before a motive was known, just suspected. Bloggers rushed to judgment. I would expect better from professional journalists. I feel the problem is that the AP has had a news monopoly ever since UPI hit the iceberg.
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