Ted Nugent is freaking scary

Maybe you've heard about Ted Nugent's address to the NRA Convention over the weekend?  I read about it this morning, and something about it has been bugging me all day.

Well, something besides the fact that it smacked of radical extremism (he even used the words himself), it demanded exclusivity ("No one is allowed....unless they are an NRA member"), it was racist (well, what do YOU call "Remember the Alamo!  Shoot 'em!"?), and it was anti-Constitution ("No court case....I want 'em dead" REALLY goes against that whole 7th Amendment, you know?).

But I couldn't quite put my finger on the pulse of what was really bothering me about this guy's comments.  All day I was trying to figure it out when the name James Huberty popped into my head.

James Huberty was born and raised in my hometown of Canton, Ohio.  Spent most of his life working hard, but had a few problems.  He was working as a welder in neighboring Massillon when the plant he worked at shut down.  He eventually picked up his things and he and his wife moved to San Ysidro, California, where the job outlook wasn't much better (keep in mind, we're talking early-to-mid 80's here).

Huberty held his beliefs with great passion, especially his large gun collection (which included semi-automatic weaponry) and his distaste for Hispanic people, whom he blamed for a lot of problems.

He spent more time unemployed and grew angrier as each day wore on, until mid-July of 1984.  On July 18th, he kissed his wife goodbye and went a quarter-mile down the street to a packed McDonald's.  Taking three large weapons into the restaurant, he opened fire.  Over an hour later, a police sniper took him down, but not before he unloaded over 250 rounds, killing 21 people and wounding 19 more.  The horrendous rampage took over an hour to complete, during which Huberty took his shotgun to the head of a 9-month old infant.

No, this is not a blogging about gun control.  Sure, one wonders how a man with a history of mental instability obtained so many weapons legally, but that's not the point.  No, I'm not blogging to claim that Ted Nugent is the equivalent of Huberty....he's not.  Nor am I claiming that Nugent had no right to say such hateful words...he has every right to it, just as I have every right to protest his words on this very webpage.

The problem is that Nugent was TALKING to James Huberty with that speech.  He was speaking Huberty's language.  On a platform that millions would hear about, he spoke directly to the anger and fears of people just like Huberty.  He gave them the thumbs-up to murder others simply because they can.  He advocated and encouraged people to take the law into their own hands if they" don't belong", especially against Hispanic people (and don't kid yourself....why exactly do people scream "Remember the Alamo" again?)

James Huberty smiled when Nugent went on his little temper-tantrum at the NRA Convention.  Maybe someday they'll be in the same place so Huberty can thank him.  But that's not my call.

Ted Nugent's words were scary, however.  AMERICAblog says that he must have run out of time to say "Kill 'em all and let God sort 'em out", and that sounds about right.  It certainly isn't because he was being subtle.

Think about what the outcry would be if a member of a group was speaking to a crowd of thousands, on their feet and cheering as the speaker encouraged everyone to kill Americans without trial.  To kill them because they don't belong to your group.  To kill them because they're not radical enough.  These are the words that create fear in everybody.

Don't mistake it.  Your words have an effect on those who hear them.  Nugent's words could spark another Huberty incident easily.  THAT'S why he's freaking scary.  Let's all hope that in his attempt to protect the 2nd Amendment, Nugent doesn't try to throw out the 7th and 1st as well.  After all, they are of equal importance.

Comments

[Andrew]

Don't forget the 3rd.

Everyone forgets the 3rd.

[Marley]

I went to college with James Huberty's wife. What a whack job. One day in a political science class she told us that she believed that the U-2 pilot who went down over the Soviet Union--Francis Gary Powers--was a traitor for not killing himself and should have been executed. Even the most rabid rightwingers at Malone College dropped their mouths.