Sorry, but I don’t feel bad for getting exactly the impression that this guy was trying to give people.
I thought he was killed by drug dealers, not by Glenn Beck supporters. What an ass. At least he didn’t frame someone else for his ‘murder’.
You’re satisfied with yourself that you were led by your prejudices to assume something that turned out to be untrue? I’m being completely apolitical in saying that seems like a state most people would want to re-examine, despite the hefty amount of circumstantial evidence here.
Well this guy veered into unperson wingnut status when he took matters into his own hands. That kind of unilateral action has consequences you know. And an eagle scout? This can only represent injustice and reinforce a right-thinking person’s view. Fin
My real concern is that Brad Wardell bought this story without any input from Trevor Chan.
I made one post in this thread before today, and it said that it seemed unlikely that this was done by drug dealers. And actually, I was right about that. I never assumed anything, but I did think that it was a reasonable possibility that it was done by the kind of right-wing, anti-government sociopaths who hate the census and are known to exist. And again, that was exactly what he wanted people to think.
So the guy set up this elaborate ruse that basically screamed “I was murdered by right-wing maniacs because I worked for the government,” and I thought “yeah, that seems possible.” I never claimed to know what happened, and because people don’t normally kill themselves in the name of a hoax, no, I don’t feel bad about having given him the benefit of the doubt pending the results of the investigation.
It’s like you took my joke making fun of a goofy QT3 thread, changed it a little to make fun of Brad, and then it lost all humor and wit while replacing it with malicious angst. That kind of power must remain in the proper hands.
Fair enough, extarbags.
Doh! Knee jerk reactions aren’t limited to the right wing nut jobs. The left wing nut jobs are just as capable. Congratulations, knee jerk first pagers, you have much in common with the people you despise.
Fuck you for pretending to give a shit about this guy. Where were you the 800 other times someone was trying to use a person’s death to score political points (like say, the beginning of this thread?). Where are your condolences for the guy’s family now that on top of dad being dead they aren’t getting the insurance money? Oh that’s right; it’s only classless if the person trying to score points is doing it to support a viewpoint you oppose.
Damn. Well played sir, well played.
Regarding the suicide, I’m relieved, honestly. I still worry that the type of rabble-rousing that the likes of Glenn Beck and others thrive on is potentially dangerous, but I’m really glad that wasn’t the case here.
Why? Seriously, Glenn Beck doesn’t advocate violence, contrary to popular opinion. He’s not even G. Gordon Liddy level of wackiness (who DID say things along the lines of “the ATF is going to come after law-abiding citizens, so when you shoot at cops, aim for the legs and head to avoid bodyarmor!”). Don’t get me wrong, I think Beck’s an enormous douche, but the panic and terror he inspires is just bizarre to me and reeks of manufactured outrage. It’s like people would be just as terrified at O’Rielly right now, if Beck never appeared.
…Wouldn’t it have taken just an incredible act of will not to stand up while he was strangling? I mean, it’s not really possible to hold your own breath until you pass out, or to drown yourself by sticking your head in the bathtub…Anyway, a bizarre twist in the story for sure.
I know he doesn’t advocate violence, sorry if my post was construed that way. What he (not just Beck, but Coulter, Limbaugh, etc) does is fan the flames as much as they can. It’s great for ratings, it gets people listening/watching, and makes them rich. They see themselves as entertainers, and entertaining is what they do.
I don’t think there’s a reason to worry amongst reasoning adults. However, there are some nutjobs out there, and my worry is that if you fan those flames high enough, you’re going to see things similar to what appeared to happen here.
I’m not predicting it to be the case, but that’s my worry.
Sorry, you’re right; to any members of this guy’s family reading this thread right now, I’m sorry for your loss. This is a truly awful situation, and I honestly hope it works out for you in the end.
Seriously, there’s a difference between acting the way Brettmcd did and just not saying anything at all, and there’s also a difference between talking about something in a political context when it appears to possibly be related to politics and using it to troll people after it’s known to not be. Is it that hard to resist the temptation to draw an equivalence between any two things that happen?
What? People hang themselves. It’s not an uncommon way to commit suicide. David Carradine managed to do it by accident in a closet. You don’t think people intent on doing it can manage it?
“Beck and conservatives”? Nobody said anything about conservatives. Just Beck, a prime mover in the bullshit “tea party” swinging dick movement of which you’ve made it clear that you are a part of.
It’s not that far off of a logical assumption to be made that somebody hung from a tree with FED written on their body was killed by a wingnut and not a suicide. Yeah, making that assumption is pretty ignorant, but that doesn’t matter. I can’t agree with AB about Beck not inciting violence, either. The mere inflammatory conspiracy bullshit that flies out of his mouth every single day is a call to action, and last time I checked it’s pretty fucking hard to find ammunition nowadays.
No, nobody needs to admit or apologize for jack shit, because they know and everyone else knows they were wrong. This isn’t a case of humility needing to be displayed. The link update said it all.
Not when they can just stand up. There’s a reason people do it by jumping off of chairs.
People can do this in a closet. It’s not as hard as you think. You just need the noose tight enough around your neck so that when you slump, it restricts airflow. If enough airflow is shut off, death will result.
I believe they think it would take an awful lot of willpower, that’s all. It’s not that it’s not possible without a chair or some other ledge for the height, rather to them, the amount of willpower necessary may make it seem unlikely. That doesn’t mean it’s impossible though.
I misread that as “penetration” first. Still, stranger things have happened.