Osler's Razor

 At the moment, President Trump is trying to whip people into fear of left-wing extremists. Certainly, the evidence shows that such extremists exist, and that they can be dangerous. But the evidence also shows that right-wing extremists have done far more damage than leftists. The General Accounting Office-- hardly a biased source-- reports that over 70% of terrorist incidents in the US from 9/11 through 2016 (including those by Islamic terrorists) were committed by those on the right. Consider these incidents, for example (all of which were committed by people who publicly espoused right-wing ideology):

-- Timothy McVeigh was a right wing extremist who quit the NRA because he felt they were too weak on gun rights. He killed 168 innocent people and injured over 600 in the 1995 bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building.

-- Between 1996 and 1998, Eric Rudolph bombed abortion clinics, a gay bar and the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, creating over 100 causualties.

-- In 2008, a right-wing terrorist shot up a Unitarian Church in Knoxville, killing two and injuring eight people.

-- In 2010, a right-wing terrorist shot up a bookstore in in Wichita Falls, killing one and injuring four innocents.

-- In 2012, six people were killed by a right-wing terrorist at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin.

-- In 2013, six people were injured and one died in a right-wing terror attack at LAX.

-- In 2015, an attack on Emmanuel AME church in Charleston left nine dead.

-- In 2017, a car attack on counter-protesters injured 19 and killed one in Charlottesville.

-- 2018 was a big year for right-wing terrorists. They killed 11 people at a synagogue in Pittsburg, two people at a Kroger store in Kentucky, and two more at a Yoga studio in Florida.

-- In 2019, 23 people were killed by a right-wing extremist at a Walmart in El Paso.

President Trump argues that those who oppose him are lethally dangerous. However, it is those who support him who appear to be more dangerous. 

# posted by Mark Osler @ 1:00 AM