Friday, October 26, 2018

Cesar Sayoc, Pipe Bombs and Conservative Hate

From what we know now the primary suspect in the pipe bombing campaign against Democrats and/or liberal "enemies" of Trump is a Republican. Fortunately, he or whoever sent these bombs was inept.

AVENTURA, Fla. — Cesar Altieri Sayoc Jr., a South Florida man charged in connection with a string of bombs mailed to prominent Democrats, appeared to have a lively social media presence, where he frequently posted in right-wing circles and shared conservative news stories and condemnations of liberal politicians.

Mr. Sayoc, 56, appeared to post frequently in Facebook groups like “The Trump American Party” and “Vote Trump 2020” using an account with the name “Cesar Altieri Randazzo.” The account, which was suspended on Friday after reports that Mr. Sayoc was a suspect in the bombing case, shared photos of Mr. Sayoc attending political events and working out at the gym.

Throughout the 2016 presidential campaign, the account shared news stories from Breitbart, video clips from Fox News, and posts from pages like “Handcuffs for Hillary.” That year, the account included numerous photos and videos of Mr. Sayoc, a registered Republican, at a Trump campaign rally, wearing a red “Make America Great Again” hat.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Mr. Sayoc had been charged with five federal crimes, and faces up to 48 years in prison if convicted.

Mr. Sayoc has a lengthy criminal history in Florida dating back to 1991 that includes felony theft, drug and fraud charges, as well as being accused of threatening to use a bomb, public records show. In the bombing case, Mr. Sayoc was accused of threatening to “blow up” a Florida utility company and a customer service representative who he had called to protest a bill. The records listed Mr. Sayoc’s occupation as “manager.”


Rachel Humberger, the wife of one of Mr. Sayoc’s business partners, said Mr. Sayoc used to be a manager for traveling “male revue shows.” “It was a traveling show, but I don’t know what his role was, whether he booked the gigs or what,” Ms. Humberger said. Ms. Humberger described the shows as being in the style of “Magic Mike,” a reference to a 2012 movie about male strippers.
FULL STORY

Got all that? The primary suspect is a loser with a long rap sheet who apparently manages male strippers when he's not lifting weights and attending Trump rallies.
Ok then.

 I usually don't discuss politics or current events with co-workers. Things can get unpleasant fast. However, when this news first broke, one of my moronic co-workers opined that the Clintons probably sent the pipe bombs to themselves to get publicity. I decided to break my rule and tell this woman all about herself. But before I could really get into it as much as I wanted to, someone else did just that and took things to completely another level. The ensuing "discussion" didn't end well. In fact it was quite nasty. I think it probably stopped just short of racial slurs and curse words, But this woman's reflexive "blame the victim" response was of course right in line with that of her President.

I was struck by just how much Trump's logic is that of the spousal abuser. It's the old "Well I wouldn't have to beat you if didn't do x" line that one spouse tells the other right after he (she) has assaulted him or her. This is of course a bs line of reasoning. But it is apparently how many conservatives think. Almost by definition conservatives are much more amenable to authoritarian strands of thought. Black man gets beaten/shot by cops? Obviously he didn't obey orders. Wife gets punched in mouth by husband? Well she should learn not to annoy him. Liberal gets assaulted at Trump rally? Well what did he expect by coming there and running his mouth? And so on.

 The default conservative position was (a) no conservative did this (b) probably liberals did it to make conservatives look bad (c) if conservatives did do it you certainly can't blame other conservatives calling for violence (d) those targets had it coming anyway (e) what about x and (f) this is all a conspiracy by the DEEP STATE to take momentum away from the upcoming glorious Republican victory.

 Seriously.



If John Gotti had told conservatives that Big Paulie murdered himself merely to make John Gotti look bad in his new role as Boss, Trump cultists would apparently believe it. This is some really sick "stuff" that shows just how much hatred has become normalized and acceptable. Trump's calls for violence have set the stage for a much coarser uglier country. And conservatives are okay with that. These conservatives are of course the same people who would swear that Obama saying that he was a Black man was at best divisive and likely a hidden message to the New Black Panther Party and Acorn to start the race war in three months.

 I have increasingly come to believe that this country consists of at least two separate nations. We might be better off splitting apart. We are at a point where conservatives hate liberals so much that they will cheer the possible murder of liberals while simultaneously claiming that liberals made it all up to make conservatives look bad. As someone told my co-worker, that's evidence of a sick mind. Liberals can be like this as well, of course. But "both sides do it" overlooks the apparent facts of this particular case as we know them now. When two people hate each other that much they should divorce.

 Because  Americans are not separated by geography as much as by ideology, separation would be very difficult. But the way I see things right this instant I do think more people should consider it. When people tell jokes about your possible demise that's pretty much a wrap as far as being one nation goes.
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