When a right- wing Christian vigilante kills, millions of fingers pullthe trigger. When a left-wing Muslim vigilante kills, he kills alone.
This is the narrative in the Sunday shooting death of late-termabortion provider George Tiller of Kansas and the Monday shootings oftwo Arkansas military recruiters.
Tiller’s suspected murderer, Scott Roeder, is white, Christian,anti-government and anti-abortion. The alleged gunman in the militaryrecruitment center attack, Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, is black, aMuslim convert, anti-military and anti-American.
Both crimes are despicable acts of domestic terrorism. Thedisparate treatment of the two brutal cases by both the White House andthe media is striking.
President Obama issued a statement condemning “heinous acts ofviolence” within hours of Tiller’s death. The Justice Department issuedits own statement and sent federal marshals to protect abortionclinics. News anchors and headline writers abandoned all qualms aboutlabeling the gunman a terrorist.
An almost gleeful excess of mainstream commentary poured forth onthe climate of hate and fear created by conservative talk radio, blogsand Fox News in reporting Tiller’s activities.
By contrast, Obama was silent about the attacks that left24-year-old Pvt. William Long dead and 18-year-old Pvt. QuintonEzeagwula gravely wounded.