Eliminationism by Limbaugh
That said, Limbaugh's eliminationist theme is unmistakable and it is worth considering the anti-democratic implications if his entire three minute tirade as he tells his audience that they are in a "war." Eliminationism has been building on right-wing hate radio in America for a long time, and the potential for political violence beyond isolated incidents is evident. Dave Neiwert details how this can happen this in his book The Eliminationists: How Hate Talk Radicalized the American Right, which I reviewed awhile back:
"What motivates this kind of talk and behavior," Neiwert writes of the sometimes surprising viciousness from otherwise ordinary people, "is called eliminationism: a politics and a culture that shuns dialogue and the democratic exchange of ideas in favor of the pursuit of outright elimination of the opposing side, either through suppression, exile and ejection, or extermination."
Neiwert stresses that eliminationist rhetoric "always depicts its opposition as beyond the pale, the embodiment of evil itself, unfit for participation in their vision of society, and thus worthy of elimination. It often further depicts its designated Enemy as vermin (especially rats and cockroaches) or diseases, and disease-like cancers on the body politic. A close corollary--but not as nakedly eliminationist--is the claim that opponents are traitors or criminals and that they pose a threat to our national security." [emphasis added]
"The history of eliminationism in America and elsewhere," he writes, "shows that rhetoric plays a significant role in the travesties that follow. It creates permission for people to act out in ways they might not otherwise. It allows them to abrogate their own humanity by denying the humanity of people deemed undesirable or a cultural contaminant."
Adapted from FrederickClarkson.com and Dirty Hippies
Eliminationism by Limbaugh | 3 comments (3 topical, 0 hidden)
Eliminationism by Limbaugh | 3 comments (3 topical, 0 hidden)
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