COMMENTARY | In my highly unscientific, un-DSM-IV-TR-based opinion, Ted Nugent is nuts. Not “I disagree with him and I have no idea how he can take that stance so he must be crazy” nuts, but “I cannot believe this man is allowed to own an arsenal of weapons” nuts. And yet not only does he own weapons, he was recently invited to speak to thousands of fellow guntoters at the National Rifle Association’s annual meeting.
There, as reported by the Raw Story, Nugent told his audience that they should view President Obama and other Democrats as wild animals invading their homes. Like a coyote “in your living room pissing on your couch. It’s not the coyote’s fault. It’s your fault for not shooting him.”
It’s your fault for not shooting him.
I’ll remind you that this statement was made in a room full of people so enthused about guns they are members of the National Rifle Association. At what point do words become a call to action? And who reaps the responsibility when they inevitably do?
Mitt Romney, who recently “won” the honor of Nugent’s presidential endorsement, has yet, as of this writing, to say anything about Nugent’s insanely provocative remarks, which is, in itself, troublesome. Especially since the above is not all Nugent has said in the context of this campaign.
In the same speech, Nugent made outrageous claims about the Supreme Court, and in what seems to be the most-talked about statement, he asserts that if President Obama is re-elected, “I will be either be dead or in jail by this time next year.”
Why, Ted? What would bring about those two options, emphasized while talking to a well-armed organization?
This is not cute. It is not pithy, it is not funny, it is terrifying, and may embody the right-wing ideology more than the GOP would care to admit. Essentially, according to Nugent, anyone who disagrees with him is little more than an animal.
And it’s your fault for not shooting him.
We’ve seen a GOP utterly devoid of humanity, from unending assaults on the poor, to valuing a zygote so above an adult woman that some anti-abortion legislation allows no exceptions for the health of the mother, to hemming and hawing over the Violence Against Women Act, to a presidential candidate who actually strapped a living animal to the roof of his car and drove cross-country.
Now, to that contempt of anyone who does not fit with them or side with them, we have Ted Nugent adding an apparent call to arms.
In this environment, how many people who fit my personal definition of crazy will answer it? And what will happen when they do?
