Brace yourselves: Santorum is leading a wave of stochastic terrorism. Get ready for shootings... [View all]

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For those of you unfamiliar with the term "stochastic terrorism", there's a classic diary on Daily Kos that explains it...

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/01/10/934890/-Stochastic-Terrorism:-Triggering-the-shooters?showAll=yes&via=blog_558016

Stochastic terrorism is the use of mass communications to stir up random lone wolves to carry out violent or terrorist acts that are statistically predictable but individually unpredictable.

This is what occurs when Bin Laden releases a video that stirs random extremists halfway around the globe to commit a bombing or shooting.

This is also the term for what Beck, O'Reilly, Hannity, and others do. And this is what led directly and predictably to a number of cases of ideologically-motivated murder similar to the Tucson shootings.

Think of it as being like Russian Roulette, because it has a random component - that's what stochastic means. The right-wingers go on their media channels, making all sorts of outrageous statements. Dog whistles, dehumanizing, demonizing. Over and over and over. Because they've got some statisticians, hovering over what resembles actuarial tables, and they know that every time they make such statements, there's a probability that some crazy is going to come out and start shit. Maybe they'll shoot a gynecologist working at Planned Parenthood. Maybe they'll shoot a member of Congress in the face. Maybe they'll make an attempt on President Obama. Or maybe they'll shoot up a Unitarian/Universalist church or a gay bar - where those libruls hang out.

Santorum is putting a bullet in the gun, spinning the cylinder, pointing the gun at us, and pulling the trigger. Click. Try again. Spin. Point. Click. Again. Some time, maybe tomorrow, maybe three years from now, the gun goes BANG! and somebody dies.

Santorum says the Democratic Party is all about homosexuality. Spin. Point. Click.

He says that Obama is not a real Christian... Spin. Point. Click.

He says that women are getting fetal testing to help them get abortions. Ladies... Spin. Point. Click.

When does the gun go off? Nobody knows for sure, but I'm sure the bastards have Vegas-style odds-makers on that job.