A fantastic post from Josh Rosenau of the National Center for Science Education that counters some of the rampant speculation while providing some insight into the effects of militant political rhetoric. Long but worth it.
Most people reject any attempt to justify political violence, and for most people, seeing a violent political ad doesn't change that. But Sides explains:
Seeing violence political ads DID have an effect among those with a predisposition to aggression, as measured with a standard psychological battery. Among those with the greatest predisposition to aggression, being exposed to a violent political ad increased their support for political violence by about 20 points on a 100-point scale. Among those with the least predisposition to aggression, being exposed to a a violent ad actually decreased their support for violence.
This conditional relationship -- between seeing violent ad and a predisposition to aggression -- appears stronger among those under the age of 40 (vs. those older), men (vs. women), and Democrats (vs. Republicans).
Kalmoe draws the obvious conclusion from this result: "The evidence here might be sufficient to make political leaders think twice before infusing violent language into speeches and ads, particularly in situations when their audiences are already boiling over with hostility."
Sides also references a research summary by Lee Sigelman, describing a project that synthesized the narratives constructed by militant extremists globally: from Germany's Baader-Meinhof gang to Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood to Timothy McVeigh and the Unabomber. While no single set of traits unified each of the extremists, there were sixteen common themes, which can be constructed as this narrative:
We (i.e., our group, however defined) have a glorious past, but modernity has been disastrous, bringing on a great catastrophe in which we are tragically obstructed from reaching our rightful place, obstructed by an illegitimate civil government and/or by an enemy so evil that it does not even deserve to be called human. This intolerable situation calls for vengeance. Extreme measures are required; indeed for realizing our sacred end any means will be justified. We must think in military terms, annihilating this evil and purifying the world of it. It is a duty – we must kill the perpetrators of evil, and we cannot be blamed that we had to carry out this violence. Those who sacrifice themselves in our cause will attain glory, and in this struggle supernatural powers should come to our aid. In the end, we will bring our people to a world that is a paradise.
Link:
http://scienceblogs.com/tfk/2011/01/asking_why_without_the_blame_g.php