Politicizing a Tragedy: Alinsky Rules #9, 10 & 12

“In the arena of action a threat or a crisis becomes almost a precondition to communication.” Taken from Machiavelli’s “The Prince”

Monday, April 15, many of us watched in horror and despair as reports of two explosions ripped the Boston Marathon. Most of us were sending our thoughts and prayers in various ways including social media sites.  While the vast majority of people do the right thing and refuse to speculate, judge or try to politicize tragic events, within a short period of time the leftist wing of media outlets began to do just that.

Alinsky Rule 9: “The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself.” Imagination and ego can dream up many more consequences than any activist.

Following Rule #9, National security analyst Peter Bergen was on CNN’s Wolf Blizter show and, with only minimal information Bergen somehow connected the Boston bombings with Timothy McVeigh’s 1995 attack in Oklahoma City.

“I’m reminded of Oklahoma City, which was a bombing, which was initially treated as a gas explosion,” Bergen said.  “First reports are often erroneous.”

The only reason a left-wing “news” program like CNN would even mention Oklahoma is to try to inject the thought that a “right wing extremist” might’ve had something to do with the Boston bomb attack.  The only similarity between Boston and Oklahoma is that both bombings occurred in April. With the Oklahoma bombing, 168 people were killed due to an irrational, Libertarian-minded individual with extremist views.

(And for the record and despite popular leftist belief, McVeigh was neither a Christian nor a conservative.) 

Soon after CNN’s insinuation, Al Sharpton’s radio producer apparently got the leftist memo that it was time to start tweeting the “right wing extremists” accusations, as did Esquire.

Again, Alinsky rules are being played perfectly.

Alinsky Rule 12: “Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it”. Cut off the support network and isolate the target from sympathy. Go after people and not institutions; people hurt faster than institutions.

While leftist propagandists like Sharpton and others in the left wing media use tragic events like this to further their progressive radical agenda, in reality the actual perpetrator has yet to be determined.  And unlike the “right wing extremist” type CNN/Esquire/Sharpton were seemingly hoping for, CBS News confirmed earlier reports from the NY Post that a “young Saudi national” was being held in a hospital under police guard “with shrapnel injuries”.  However, as this is being written we still do not know for certain whether this man is an actual suspect or not.

Alinsky Rule #10: “If you push a negative hard enough, it will push through and become a positive.” Violence from the other side can win the public to your side because the public sympathizes with the underdog.

Let’s be clear:  no matter who masterminded the Boston bombing—whether left, right, Al Qaeda or anything else–there is no justification for what this person has done. The majority of Americans have expressed disdain for the way our government has been handling the economy, education, regulations, etc. and most Americans would never dream of harming another fellow citizens.  Acts like the Boston bombing—as well as Newtown and others–are carried out by the mentally unstable, plain and simple. To suggest otherwise, as CNN, Sharpton and Esquire have done, is only serving a desperate and dangerous political purpose.  These people will have to face judgment for their own actions and false accusations someday.

While we remember and pray for the victims and the families affected, let us also celebrate and honor the men and women who gave their time without question or hesitation to help the people injured in the bombings.  Citizens helping citizens; wounded helping wounded; police and emergency officials along with the bomb squads were all the heroes of the day.  After all, that is something Americans seem to do best—we pull together during tragedy.  May our loving God bring peace and healing to the people affected in this senseless act.