This is why they're so desperate to destroy the school system. These "I'm not touching you" types of defenses don't work against anyone with a HS diploma or a basic understanding of history

Exactly. Hitler never killed anyone himself, but his rhetoric is directly responsible for the murder of tens of millions.

If you take a gas tanker and spray down the lawn and outside of the white house, and something else causes a spark that turns the entire place into an inferno, you didn't start the fire. That doesn't mean the fire would have still happened without your actions.

To my knowledge Manson never murdered anyone with his own hands either. (Though I'm prepared to be corrected.) Same thing 100%.

Edit - arguing against myself a little - maybe not, I'm sure Manson coerced his followers with more than words at times.

"I am not violent. I simply said that all those people should be exterminated."

A righty will just say it was action, directives, legislative action.

But the point is that modern right-wing mouthpieces can effectively toe the line of hate speech versus incitement. Dog-whistles and stochastic rhetoric that indirectly radicalizes others.

When this is all said and done, we're going to need to overhaul our education for critical-thinking to spot this and perhaps broaden the definition of inciting violence or clamp down on hate speech. Though I look at Germany that has stricter laws and we see AfD neo-nazis rising there too albeit to a lesser extent?

Pol Pot killed 30% of the nation using words.

"I was only giving orders!"

Agreed. Kirk balanced along a very fine line of "just debating" or "expressing opinions" but anyone with half a brain engaged could hear the dog whistles all through his arguments and neither side is as dumb as the media and memes make them out to be. Those whistles are heard loud and clear, it's why some loved him, and others hated him.

Likewise and with much less nuance, a Fox presenter comments that the mentally ill and/or homeless should euthanized. Then days later a homeless camp is attacked. Wow, what an unlucky coincident?

I wouldn't want to lose the right to free speech but when it appears to incite violence, I struggle to see how - particularly the Fox presenter scenario - is any different to "shouting fire in a crowded theatre"? Words causing others to take action that lead to the death of innocent people.

HOWEVER, one person's violence-inspiring words are another person's Rage Against the Machine or genuine call to action against oppression. Innocent people can and do get caught up in these struggles too.

I don't have a solution. I have no idea how we fix this without trampling existing freedoms and ruining everything good. All I know is that it's not an easy solution that some halfwit media personality or politician is going to solve with one easy action.