Pennsylvania trooper killing: Who is suspect Eric Frein?

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

But, I thought leftists were anti-gun?

...and pro federal gubmint. It's the world upside down. I'll go out on a limb here and say that maybe the right wing blogger where LIB gets his info has it all twisted?

[Expat1 971]

I'm pretty sure he's so far from mainstream that such labels are utterly meaningless. But then, this isn't about the truth is it, it's about shouting and pointing fingers - which a certain segment of the American population actually seem to get off on. Hence articles like the one you just posted.

I certainly think someone who is angry and anti-government would fit right in with the tea party crowd. It's an umbrella ideology which would embrace people like this.

Angry and anti-government pretty much fits every extremist group. Unfortunately for this guy it doesn't look like anyone's claiming him.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

...and pro federal gubmint. It's the world upside down. I'll go out on a limb here and say that maybe the right wing blogger where LIB gets his info has it all twisted?

Well what's obvious to me is that they don't know what these labels mean and just throw them out there in an attempt to turn every issue into an adversarial pissing match.

There is clearly no way that a survivalist who killed a policeman could be considered part of any mainstream political group. But apparently because he idolises Che Guevara and Communism that makes him a liberal democrat and isn't an outrage that the media isn't reporting it.

The problem with the rationale is that it is so out there as to be entirely meaningless. But say anything negative about the Tea Party, a nebulous ill-defined movement of anti-government types, which noone really knows what it stands for and there are howls of outrage.

I think the Tea Party today is defined by people like this - anti-government extremists who believe that mainstream government is evil and an affront to their personal liberty. That anyone purporting to be anywhere near the middle would take issue with this says quite clearly how crooked their reasoning is. So crooked in fact, that they probably have to screw themselves into their trousers every morning.

Angry and anti-government pretty much fits every extremist group. Unfortunately for this guy it doesn't look like anyone's claiming him.

He's probably a lone wolf type, like the Unabomber.

[Expat1 971]

If it had been a black, gay, and Muslim guy, VJ would have shut down due to an overload of posting

Seems that's the quiet sort you would want to be your neighbor. Never even read about trouble from that particular slice of society.

[Expat1 971]

I think the Tea Party today is defined by people like this - anti-government extremists who believe that mainstream government is evil and an affront to their personal liberty.

You could also be describing the people who gummed up the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. How one feels about government at any particular time in history seems to be popular or unpopular depending on what government is doing or not doing for those they govern.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

You could also be describing the people who gummed up the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. How one feels about government at any particular time in history seems to be popular or unpopular depending on what government is doing or not doing for those they govern.

To be honest I don't think we can relativise history in a way that's particularly meaningful.

I do think we can say with certainty that the Tea Party was born out of the frustration people felt about the two party system. I don't think that's too difficult to understand. However, that movement has singularly failed to adequately define itself since then is a bit of a problem. It's not a single, unified movement, it's a bunch of disparate community-level organisations that noone really understands.

[Pooky 3,844]

I guess this is how you disassociate anyone who commits a horrible crime. Make them a leftist democrat.

What's even more astounding is, no where in my article does it state his political affiliation. He's just a dude who hates cops and killed one. Guess being a "leftist" makes you more comfortable.

It hasn't stopped posters here labeling him a right wing nut job, though, has it?

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

We should probably stick to what people have actually said rather than what we think they did.

I don't think anyone would seriously consider someone like this to be anywhere near the fringes of the mainstream.

[Pooky 3,844]

We should probably stick to what people have actually said rather than what we think they did.

I don't think anyone would seriously consider someone like this to be anywhere near the fringes of the mainstream.

What has the mainstream got to do with this nutcase?

What I don't understand is your continuing obsession with associating him to the Tea party, when he identifies with a Marxist revolutionary. It's a stretch, even for you.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

I wouldn't read too much into it, its a general point is all.

I think that a byproduct of the Tea Party movement is that it has given extremists the idea that their views have legitimacy.

[Pooky 3,844]

I wouldn't read too much into it, its a general point is all.

I think that a byproduct of the Tea Party movement is that it has given extremists the idea that their views have legitimacy.

Almost as much as the Occupy movement did.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Because it actually has links to extremism or because its supposed to make me reevaluate what I said?

There is a reason I brought up the tea party and it has nothing to do with ideological or partisan point scoring.

Have a read of this for a start:

http://www.wired.com/2012/08/dhs/all/

[Pooky 3,844]

Because it actually has links to extremism or because its supposed to make me reevaluate what I said?

There is a reason I brought up the tea party and it has nothing to do with ideological or partisan point scoring.

Have a read of this for a start:

http://www.wired.com/2012/08/dhs/all/

Your unheathy obsession with linking this nutcase with the Tea Party is the main reason you brought them up. You made a major assumption, one that does not stand up, given the current information available.

It's another case of pushing an agenda, before the relevant facts are uncovered. The real story gets obscured behind the unsubstantiated supposition and deliberate misinformation, so that when the facts become available, they just get lost in the crowd. And in the rapid news cycle world we live in, first impressions are the ones people remember. Any resemblance between these and the truth are, unfortunately, purely coincidental.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Firstly, let's drop the snarkiness and the loaded language before your 'unhealthy obsession' with trying to prove me wrong at any cost puts you on the wrong side of the TOS.

I haven't attacked or disparaged you in any way in this thread, I think its a shame that you can't follow suit.

I brought the Tea Party up because I think there is compelling evidence that extremist militia groups have links to Tea Party organisation. This Frein character seems like such a person and whether or not he is indeed linked to the anti government bandwagon doesn't invalidate the broader point. IMO he is a symptom of a larger problem.

Did you read the article I linked to?

Edited September 23, 2014 by Hail Ming!

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

It hasn't stopped posters here labeling him a right wing nut job, though, has it?

Actually, he was labeled as a left wing nut job here. Leftist is the term used because he likes Che.