Obama Assassination Plot

[Chilly]

I think that I'm probably on some terrorist watch list now, cause I was sleep deprived yesterday, and Googled the phrase "Kill Obama" to try to find the news story. I then realized that probably wasn't a good idea.

[/dev/null]

I think that I'm probably on some terrorist watch list now, cause I was sleep deprived yesterday, and Googled the phrase "Kill Obama" to try to find the news story. I then realized that probably wasn't a good idea.

 

Were you taking a break from Googling Miley Cyrus?

[Chilly]

how u know? DO YOU GOGGLE SPY ME?

[DC Tom]

I think that I'm probably on some terrorist watch list now, cause I was sleep deprived yesterday, and Googled the phrase "Kill Obama" to try to find the news story. I then realized that probably wasn't a good idea.

 

You've been on it for a while...

 

...uh...or so I heard.

 

 

And please face the camera while typing.

[Chef Jim]

On the contrary, this thread shows no such thing. It only has yourself and a few others insisting that racism is alive and well and ready to kill Obama. You havn't given anything to support that claim. You are doing precisely what I said - banging the drums of fear to validate your own skewed view of the country.

 

When was the last time there was an assassination attempt on a high-profile figure in this country because of his race?

 

Frankly, when you suggest that you have "sat and chatted with anyone who has hatred to those not white," and imply that their prejudice is strong enough to make them take action, I rather think you are making it up.

 

Quite the leap to think I implied that the people I've spoken to are prejudice enough to take action. The people I've spoken too who have shown great signs of racism are just ordinary people who are very opinionated in their thinking. But you're pretty naive to think that there are not hard core white supremacist that might just be crazy enough to take action.

[finknottle]

Quite the leap to think I implied that the people I've spoken to are prejudice enough to take action. The people I've spoken too who have shown great signs of racism are just ordinary people who are very opinionated in their thinking. But you're pretty naive to think that there are not hard core white supremacist that might just be crazy enough to take action.

 

You were responding to my statement that

 

I know people who think blacks (hispanics, asians, men, whatever) are lazy (litter, can't drive, sexist, whatever) but I have yet to meet anybody whose prejudicial generalization doesn't take a backseat to indifference.

 

I think it is entirely fair to infer that you meant that they cared enough to take action, otherwise what was the point of your rebuttal?

 

But if you didn't, then we come back to the same point - I've never met anyone bothered enough by the thought of a minority in power to effect their actions, and I suspect you have not either. They may think it is a mistake because of some prejudicial opinion, but the depth of their emotion is about the same at that of thinking their boss is a jerk.

 

So where are all these dangerous racists you speak of, that they are statistically different from the occasional nutjobs who shoot up schools or go after a president to impress an actress?

[/dev/null]

how u know? DO YOU GOGGLE SPY ME?

 

Hello. I'm Chris Hanson.

 

Take a seat

[Chef Jim]

You were responding to my statement that

 

 

 

I think it is entirely fair to infer that you meant that they cared enough to take action, otherwise what was the point of your rebuttal?

 

But if you didn't, then we come back to the same point - I've never met anyone bothered enough by the thought of a minority in power to effect their actions, and I suspect you have not either. They may think it is a mistake because of some prejudicial opinion, but the depth of their emotion is about the same at that of thinking their boss is a jerk.

 

So where are all these dangerous racists you speak of, that they are statistically different from the occasional nutjobs who shoot up schools or go after a president to impress an actress?

 

Let me clarify...again. I know of ordinary people that in my mind are racist. Did I say that they are crazy enough to the point of taking action? No, but if these ordinary people are racist enough to the point to speak their mind to me then it's my assumption that there are full blown, skin head, arian white supremacist whack jobs that are crazy enough to take action. And if you think these people don't exist in our society today, you're being very naive.

[drnykterstein]

On the contrary, this thread shows no such thing. It only has yourself and a few others insisting that racism is alive and well and ready to kill Obama. You havn't given anything to support that claim. You are doing precisely what I said - banging the drums of fear to validate your own skewed view of the country.

 

When was the last time there was an assassination attempt on a high-profile figure in this country because of his race?

 

Frankly, when you suggest that you have "sat and chatted with anyone who has hatred to those not white," and imply that their prejudice is strong enough to make them take action, I rather think you are making it up.

 

You are ignorant.

[finknottle]

You are ignorant.

 

Please enlighten me -

 

When was the last time there was an assassination attempt on a public figure for reasons of race? It is a *very* simple question.

 

Why should I believe that a racially motivated assassination attempt is any more likely than a random one motivated by insanity ala Hinkley?

[drnykterstein]

Please enlighten me -

 

When was the last time there was an assassination attempt on a public figure for reasons of race? It is a *very* simple question.

 

Why should I believe that a racially motivated assassination attempt is any more likely than a random one motivated by insanity ala Hinkley?

 

I do not know, google it.

 

In either case, there are plenty of racist people in this country still. And plenty who would love to see Obama dead.

[Chef Jim]

Please enlighten me -

 

When was the last time there was an assassination attempt on a public figure for reasons of race? It is a *very* simple question.

 

Why should I believe that a racially motivated assassination attempt is any more likely than a random one motivated by insanity ala Hinkley?

 

Ok so it's been a long time since a black leader was assassinated. So therefore racism to the point of assassination in the country doesn't exist. Oh I get your logic.

[finknottle]

Ok so it's been a long time since a black leader was assassinated. So therefore racism to the point of assassination in the country doesn't exist. Oh I get your logic.

 

Or known to have been attempted - I'm not aware of anything in the last 35 years.

 

As empirical evidence goes, it's a lot better than "I've talked to prejudiced people, so surely there must be some whose prejudices are so strong that they would react violently to a black president" (though apparently not a black Secretary of State, or record-demolishing golfer, or television superstar, or QB of your pro football team, ....)

 

Looking at the record is the difference between probability and possibility. Everything is possible - by your logic, Obama should be just as worried that someone will go after him to impress Jodie Foster.

[drnykterstein]

Or known to have been attempted - I'm not aware of anything in the last 35 years.

 

Well.. by that logic... nuclear warefare is over then, eh? I mean when is the last time anyone ever nuked another country, or even attempted to.

 

Phew. Why did we go into iraq again?

[JK2000]

Please enlighten me -

 

When was the last time there was an assassination attempt on a public figure for reasons of race? It is a *very* simple question.

 

Why should I believe that a racially motivated assassination attempt is any more likely than a random one motivated by insanity ala Hinkley?

 

Over the last 50 years how many total assassination attempts have their been? Off hand I can only come up with MLK, JFK, RFK, Reagan, Harvey Milk, and George Wallace (I may be mistaken about Wallace).

[/dev/null]

Over the last 50 years how many total assassination attempts have their been? Off hand I can only come up with MLK, JFK, RFK, Reagan, Harvey Milk, and George Wallace (I may be mistaken about Wallace).

There were 2 attempts on Gerald Ford within a couple weeks of each other.

 

However no shots were fired in either. The Secret Service stopped Squeeky Frome (member of the Manson Family) from pulling the trigger on one, and a bystander grabbed the gun from the other would be assassin

[JK2000]

There were 2 attempts on Gerald Ford within a couple weeks of each other.

 

However no shots were fired in either. The Secret Service stopped Squeeky Frome (member of the Manson Family) from pulling the trigger on one, and a bystander grabbed the gun from the other would be assassin

 

That's right. I also left out John Lennon but I'm not sure if he really counts.

[finknottle]

Over the last 50 years how many total assassination attempts have their been? Off hand I can only come up with MLK, JFK, RFK, Reagan, Harvey Milk, and George Wallace (I may be mistaken about Wallace).

 

74 incidents in the US since 1949:

 

http://www.secretservice.gov/ntac/ntac_jfs.pdf

 

The link is a study of the would-be assassins, to profile them (if I'm allowed to say that) and their motives. It looks at attempts on public figures, which it defines as

- People under Secret Service protection,

- Prominant federal and local public officials (congressmen, governors, mayors, cabinet members, etc)

- Sports and Entertainment celebrities

- Prominant businessmen

 

The findings are that attackers tend to be better educated than average, socially awkward, usually no military experience, many having interests in radical causes but usually not members of said organizations (fewer than 10%), and usually unemployed. Criminal history seems not too far out of line for males - 1/5 arrested for a violent crime, 1/10 served time, 2/3 never incarcerated at any level.

 

Goals are not cleanly broken out, since many had several. Only 68% said harm to the victim was the *primary* cause. 38% gave noteriety as *a* goal, and 22% gave suicide as *a* goal. The paper does not single out racism as a statistically significant motive in the profiles. However, it does note that people motivated by ideosyncratic beliefs (save the world, bring attention to a cause, etc) are more likely to attack an ordinary public figure such as a celebrity rather than a protected individual such as the president. I'm inclined to put racism in that bin (remember the anti-semetic Order in 1984? They targeted radio talkshow hosts). Attackers of the President were more likely interested in self-noteriety or suicide.

 

A very common thread is that would-be assassins usually attack the office/role rather than the individual (per the above). As Puerto Rican activist Oscar Collazo put it,

"I did not come to Washington to shoot Mr. Truman. I came to Washington to shoot the President of the United States."

[/dev/null]

That's right. I also left out John Lennon but I'm not sure if he really counts.

He doesn't. Lennon was a celebrity murdered by a looney fan

 

I also wouldn't classify Harvey Milk as an assassination. Milk wasn't assasinated he was murdered by Dan White, somebody Milk knew, had worked with, and lobbied against reappointment of. They did have differing political views, but the shootings were much more personal than political.

 

But speaking of Milk, he was supposedly tight with the whacko's from People's Temple. Congressman Leo Ryan was also assassinated, but outside of the US

[finknottle]

Unfortunately the paper didn't list the attempts they counted, just the criteria.