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The word "incitement" is being used consistently to push blame from the perpetrator to someone who allegedly "incited them to do it."
Far Left progressive Democrats have discovered just how helpful the practice can be in fooling the public.
When comedian Flip Wilson popularized the phrase, "The devil made me do it," back in the 1960s, it was funny.
Now...not so much. In fact, it's deeply concerning.
Be informed.
Monday, President Trump tweeted,
"Before Nancy, who has lost all control of Congress and is getting nothing done, decides to defend her leader, Rep. Omar, she should look at the anti-Semitic, anti-Israel and ungrateful U.S. HATE statements Omar has made. She is out of control, except for her control of Nancy."
Does this constitute "incitement?" Is the President now responsible for any actions she may take, say, tomorrow?
Or, is the President now responsible for any "hate crime" that now may be committed against her?
How the art of "incitement" works.
In March, a 28-year-old white man entered two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, armed with assault rifles and killed nearly 50 people.
The far Left, but widely read "Solon" magazine, published an article titled, "Does anyone doubt that Donald Trump-inspired the New Zealand massacre?"
The story says, "Trump didn't pull the trigger in Christchurch. But the man who did praised him as a symbol of 'white identity'."
The article continues: "Words are weapons. Those weapons can be lethal."
Why the new weapon of "incitement" is so lethal is that words can be weapons, and at some abstract point, can be lethal. But it's legally hard to prove.
Progressive ideology always deals in the abstract---in the shadows---nothing is fixed or absolute. "Incitement" as a concept is made to order for today's progressive. It's supported by the Left's pseudo First Principle: Never take responsibility for any mistake you can blame on someone else.
In fact, the Solon article concludes with this:
"As has been repeatedly documented by the Southern Poverty Law Center and other organizations Donald Trump is considered a hero by white supremacists and neo-Nazis."
The SPLC is so corrupt that even the Washington Post is calling for the Feds to investigate the organization. Now they have become the moral arbiter for the Left.
The devil made me do it.
The article continues with evidence that Trump is the devil who made the killer do it because the killer had even donated money to American white supremacist organizations, and even quoted the "14-word pledge" often used by "white supremacists and neo-Nazis."
And because we already know that Trump has white supremacy tendencies he, the President of the United States, is responsible for the mass killing.
When does "opinion" legally become "incitement?"
In this era of "incitement," many on the Left claim that "hate speech," the old weapon that used words, is constitutionally illegal. The Left has used this notion to silence conservative speakers, including barring them from even speaking on college campuses.
The Left also uses "hate speech" as a way to punish biblical Christians who cannot---and will not in good conscience---affirm same-sex "marriage" and homosexual behavior.
In fact, the Left has destroyed people's lives and businesses in the name of upholding virtue and punishing "hate speech"---even if it's only a difference in religious beliefs.
Those who preach or advocate biblical principles and values that conflict with these sinful behaviors are, of course, responsible for "hate crimes perpetrated against" the homosexual community.
If a pastor preaches a sermon from Romans chapter 1, is it "hate speech" or an act of "free speech" or "religious freedom?"
A quick look at legal precedent.
In a 1942 case (Chaplinsky v New Hampshire) in which the Supreme Court upheld the criminalization of "fighting words," the Court said fighting words are words that tend "to incite an immediate breach of the peace."
A 1969 case (Brandenburg v. Ohio) involved a Klansman who was arrested for advocating for violence in the service of a political cause. The Supreme Court said such speech is protected by the First Amendment unless it is aimed at inciting "imminent lawless action."
Most legal scholars agree that what we are seeing in politics today is not, by any measure of law, "incitement."
New York Times: "It isn't complicated: Trump encourages violence."
Last month in an op-ed in the New York Times, David Leonhardt began with, "The President of the United States suggested last week that his political supporters might resort to violence if they didn't get their way."
He says the statement didn't even get much attention, then continues to frame Trump as one who "incites"---or potentially "incites" violence.
It's lengthy. He ends with this:
"It isn't very complicated: The man with the world's largest bully pulpit keeps encouraging violence and white nationalism. Lo and behold white nationalistic violence is on the rise. You have to work pretty hard to persuade yourself that's just a big coincidence."
The lie.
Representative Omar is a walking, breathing political fiasco for the Left. Pelosi can't control her, so she and her Democrat Party are trying to cover for their ineffective leadership by deflecting and disqualifying entirely reasonable concern or outrage over what Omar is saying.
Let's look at the actual violence.
The baseless attacks by the Left on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh actually incited verified death threats against his family.
Remember the attempted mass assassination of Republican Congressmen on a baseball field? It was perpetrated by a Left-wing extremist shouting about a healthcare bill he opposed, and which Democrats had said was "evil" and would "kill people." That's a quote.
The facts.
Democratic Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar has given multiple interviews to a fringe Arab-American television host, Ahmed Tharwat, who calls Israel the "Jewish ISIS" and has compared the terrorist group Hamas to Holocaust victims. She blamed "our involvement in other people's affairs" for terrorism in a 2013 interview with Tharwat, while she referred to "Zionist terrorism"
Omar continually advocates resistance and even violence against Israel and the Jews, but it can never be her fault. There is always someone, somewhere who incites her to act as she does, and say what she says.
Let's take one more look at the new tool of "incitement."
Omar, or whomever on the Left, makes actual inciting remarks about some one. When caught, blamed or called out about their rhetoric, they simply blame Trump for inciting them to make incitement comments.
There's a medical term for this. It's called "Diffusion of responsibility"--A sociopsychological phenomenon whereby a person doesn't take responsibility for their own actions.
It has been said, "Take responsibility for your own actions. You only look like a fool when trying to blame other people for your behavior."
John Wooden, the legend UCLA basketball coach, said, "You are not a failure until you start blaming others for your mistakes."
Be Informed. Be Discerning. Be Vigilant. Be Prayerful.