Do you believe that political pundits cause violence against those they oppose?
Define "cause".
Their words make people act out violently.
Their words make people act out violently.
you mean incite violence
Actually I mean "cause", meaning it's the pundits fault when someone acts out violently.
Are you asking is it possible for someone's word to "force" someone to act, as if they have no choice at all?
No, no. I'm asking, essentially, if the pundit is at fault if violence occurs. I guess I should've worded it differently. I was doing a spin off of the video game thread so I used the same words.
OK. It depends. If the pundit calls for people to kill a political figure and then someone does, I believe they can be charged. Other than that, if it is just "aggressive" speech, then NO, each of us is responsible for how we interpret what is said and what we do with that information.
I was going for just aggressive speech. Crap. I messed this poll up. Fail.
Do you believe that political pundits cause violence against those they oppose?
Of course they do, else why do you have revolutions, attacks on political and governmental infrastructure. Someone has to stir up the pot with words to make people do those things.. they do not happen by themselves. It would be like saying Hitler is not at fault for Nazi Germany.
I can change it and zero out the results. Tell me how you want it worded.
Actually I mean "cause", meaning it's the pundits fault when someone acts out violently.
I would rather it say "If a political pundit speaks aggressively (but never mentions physical violence) against a person they disagree with and someone who listens to the pundit hurts that person, is that pundit just as guilty as the one who got physical?"
Does that make sense?
Do you believe that political pundits cause violence against those they oppose?
At this point, you might want to just start a new poll thread or you will likely get minimal at best response.
How is this for wording "Are angry, aggressive political pundits responsible for politically motivated violence or threats, even if they do not advocate such acts?"