AbbyLane2001
Membership Revoked
Someone emailed this to me tonight,
Abby
*********************
Hey... isn't it comforting to know we're "off the grid" types?
(PIML listmember Sierra Times is mentioned below.)
From the Spokane, WA, newspaper, 6-2-01 http://www.spokesmanreview.com
Standoff fueling rhetoric
Bill Morlin - Staff writer http://www.spokesmanreview.com/news-story.asp?date=060201&ID=s972583
The 4-day-old standoff in North Idaho is fueling hot talk in
anti-government and militia circles.
While most of the rhetoric is confined to Internet chat boards, county
and city officials in Sandpoint are getting bombarded with angry faxes
and e-mails.
"It's easy to hide behind a computer and spew hate," said Police Chief R.
Mark Lockwood.
He pointed out that he and other city officials have no involvement in
the standoff involving JoAnn McGuckin's children. It's centered at a
rural home south of Sandpoint, near the community of Sagle.
McGuckin was arrested Tuesday on a charge of felonious injury to her
children. Michael McGuckin, her husband and the children's father, died
May 12 from complications related to multiple sclerosis.
Sandpoint Mayor Paul Graves received this e-mail Friday: "So far all you
people have done is lie about and terrorize the McGuckins. Everything
Mrs. McGuckin was afraid of -- mainly government intrusion -- has gone
true."
The author of the message, from San Juan Capistrano, Calif., asked if
Sandpoint had "become just another subordinate of the psychopath/Big
Brother/DC mess?"
The chief attributes such messages to the "extreme right-wing, left-wing,
off-the-grid types, some of whom are affiliated with the militia,
Christian Identity, separatist movements.
"I know many of them would like to liken this to Ruby Ridge and Waco, but
we're in a different dimension here," Lockwood said.
On the FreeRepublic Web site, which bills itself as a "conservative news
forum," responses to the standoff piled up.
"If those children are harmed in any way as a result of actions taken by
the `authorities,' then every single decent, red-blooded American needs
to pack his gear and head for Idaho for some big-time payback," one
posting said. It was signed by "A Vast Right Wing Conspirator."
Sierra Times, another Internet site featuring anti-government topics,
called the standoff "another modern American Tragedy in the making."
Experts who track the militia and anti-government movements aren't
surprised the standoff is generating attention.
"Even if it didn't have echoes of Ruby Ridge, the extremists would
ascribe them to this incident as a way of attracting people to a fading
militia movement," said Kris Elwood, of the Center for the Study of Hate
and Extremism.
"They desperately want a rallying cry," Elwood said. "They have used the
Internet to create the buzz, to fan the flames with overheated rhetoric
and threats, all of which will travel from patriot lists to militia
message boards, arch-conservative Web sites and rocket around the Web."
If the standoff lasts beyond a week, Elwood predicted, some
militia-patriot members may head for Bonner County.
Bonnie Bergey, another militia tracking expert, said the "radical right
sees this as another indication of undue government interference in the
lives of private citizens."
Bergey said some of these people "genuinely fear for the well-being of
the children."
Other anti-government types view the situation as nothing more than a tax
dispute, "with the county more interested in revenue than what happens to
this family and their property," Bergey said.
The most extreme elements in the anti-government movement "are looking
for a confrontation which will set off the Second Revolution, another
Ruby Ridge," she said.
On ABC's "Nightline" this week, Michigan Militia leader Norm Olson said a
confrontation with 25 dead on each side would be good to help revive the
declining militia movement.
Although federal law enforcement agents aren't involved in the McGuckin
case, Bergey said "some patriot and militia members are hypothesizing
that the ATF or FBI will find an excuse to get in on the situation."
What are your thoughts on
Standoff fueling rhetoric
If you have a comment or reply to this story that you'd like
to share, fill in the form and click submit. Note: Replies are
limited to 250 words and must be signed with a valid email
address. No profanity or libelous statements will be printed.
[ 06-02-2001: Message edited by: AbbyLane2001 ]
[ 06-03-2001: Message edited by: AbbyLane2001 ]
Abby
*********************
Hey... isn't it comforting to know we're "off the grid" types?
(PIML listmember Sierra Times is mentioned below.)
From the Spokane, WA, newspaper, 6-2-01 http://www.spokesmanreview.com
Standoff fueling rhetoric
Bill Morlin - Staff writer http://www.spokesmanreview.com/news-story.asp?date=060201&ID=s972583
The 4-day-old standoff in North Idaho is fueling hot talk in
anti-government and militia circles.
While most of the rhetoric is confined to Internet chat boards, county
and city officials in Sandpoint are getting bombarded with angry faxes
and e-mails.
"It's easy to hide behind a computer and spew hate," said Police Chief R.
Mark Lockwood.
He pointed out that he and other city officials have no involvement in
the standoff involving JoAnn McGuckin's children. It's centered at a
rural home south of Sandpoint, near the community of Sagle.
McGuckin was arrested Tuesday on a charge of felonious injury to her
children. Michael McGuckin, her husband and the children's father, died
May 12 from complications related to multiple sclerosis.
Sandpoint Mayor Paul Graves received this e-mail Friday: "So far all you
people have done is lie about and terrorize the McGuckins. Everything
Mrs. McGuckin was afraid of -- mainly government intrusion -- has gone
true."
The author of the message, from San Juan Capistrano, Calif., asked if
Sandpoint had "become just another subordinate of the psychopath/Big
Brother/DC mess?"
The chief attributes such messages to the "extreme right-wing, left-wing,
off-the-grid types, some of whom are affiliated with the militia,
Christian Identity, separatist movements.
"I know many of them would like to liken this to Ruby Ridge and Waco, but
we're in a different dimension here," Lockwood said.
On the FreeRepublic Web site, which bills itself as a "conservative news
forum," responses to the standoff piled up.
"If those children are harmed in any way as a result of actions taken by
the `authorities,' then every single decent, red-blooded American needs
to pack his gear and head for Idaho for some big-time payback," one
posting said. It was signed by "A Vast Right Wing Conspirator."
Sierra Times, another Internet site featuring anti-government topics,
called the standoff "another modern American Tragedy in the making."
Experts who track the militia and anti-government movements aren't
surprised the standoff is generating attention.
"Even if it didn't have echoes of Ruby Ridge, the extremists would
ascribe them to this incident as a way of attracting people to a fading
militia movement," said Kris Elwood, of the Center for the Study of Hate
and Extremism.
"They desperately want a rallying cry," Elwood said. "They have used the
Internet to create the buzz, to fan the flames with overheated rhetoric
and threats, all of which will travel from patriot lists to militia
message boards, arch-conservative Web sites and rocket around the Web."
If the standoff lasts beyond a week, Elwood predicted, some
militia-patriot members may head for Bonner County.
Bonnie Bergey, another militia tracking expert, said the "radical right
sees this as another indication of undue government interference in the
lives of private citizens."
Bergey said some of these people "genuinely fear for the well-being of
the children."
Other anti-government types view the situation as nothing more than a tax
dispute, "with the county more interested in revenue than what happens to
this family and their property," Bergey said.
The most extreme elements in the anti-government movement "are looking
for a confrontation which will set off the Second Revolution, another
Ruby Ridge," she said.
On ABC's "Nightline" this week, Michigan Militia leader Norm Olson said a
confrontation with 25 dead on each side would be good to help revive the
declining militia movement.
Although federal law enforcement agents aren't involved in the McGuckin
case, Bergey said "some patriot and militia members are hypothesizing
that the ATF or FBI will find an excuse to get in on the situation."
What are your thoughts on
Standoff fueling rhetoric
If you have a comment or reply to this story that you'd like
to share, fill in the form and click submit. Note: Replies are
limited to 250 words and must be signed with a valid email
address. No profanity or libelous statements will be printed.
[ 06-02-2001: Message edited by: AbbyLane2001 ]
[ 06-03-2001: Message edited by: AbbyLane2001 ]