# Eric Rudolph--Sympathy for the Devil? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 2, 2003, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eric-rudolph-sympathy-for-the-devil/179114 "2003-06-02T13:11:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2003, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eric-rudolph-sympathy-for-the-devil/179114/41 "2003-06-02T18:20:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Eve \* > \*\*—OK. Now, I know not _everyone_ in NC is a knuckle-dragging Kluxer, and I feel sorry for those _non_-insane NC’ers who have to live in the same state with people like this. But, _jiminy!_ What is _wrong_ with these people—they don’t even have enough sense not to mouth their hateful nonsense to _reporters?!_ \*\* It’s the “Hey Ma! Ah’m own thu tee-vee!” phenomenon. Some people would say anything to see their names in print or faces on television. The reporters sought these people out. Most people down here realize that there’s a little thing called “aiding and abetting a fugitive from the law” which is “illegal.” These are the people who live lives of blissful anonymity. If you ever watch the movie [Gummo](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0119237) you’ll see the kind of people who’d gladly help a bombing suspect hide out for five years. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2003, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eric-rudolph-sympathy-for-the-devil/179114/42 "2003-06-02T18:37:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jarbabyj \* > \*\*I knew his would happen last night, when they aired a short piece about his childhood indicating that everyone else in the world was to blame for what sort of person he was, except him. HIs mother was a white supremacist, then he ‘accidentally’ joined a white supremacist church, where he met a creepy pastor who ‘brainwashed him’ and this piece basically pleaded with the viewer to cast him in the role of innocent victim. > > Made me sick. \*\* Yeah, and they wouldn’t let poor Rudolph play in any Reindeer Games too. **FRY 'IM.** …and then shoot the mourners too. ---
**Author:** ![wring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@wring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wring)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2003, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eric-rudolph-sympathy-for-the-devil/179114/43 "2003-06-02T18:46:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jackmannii \* > \*\*I’m more struck by the major differences in the two situations. > > In the U.S. (this thread is one example) there is major disgust among the vast majority of people at the activities of people like Eric Rudolph and the concept of harboring and protecting him. And our government, far from sponsoring home-grown terrorists or ignoring their activities, mounts major efforts to bring them to justice. > > Not that this particular operation worked all that well. in an area as large and providing as much natural cover as western North Carolina. > > And if Rudolph was getting all that much help from the natives, what was he doing foraging in a dumpster? \*\* My feeling was that folks kept assuming that there had to be colusion at the highest level since folks weren’t turning him in. I believe that all it would take is (as demonstrated here) a few people wanting to help, a few more not wanting to get involved, and a whole lotta territory to cover. In addition, I don’t think we’re really able to assess the level of sympathy/support Randolph has here, (evidence of SDMB should be considered atypical imho); nor are we really able to assess the level of sympathy/support terrorists have in MENA. Folks aren’t always able to/intersted in giving their opinions to the media. Diving into dumpsters doesn’t preclude lots of help from folks. Reportedly, he was clean, well fed, had new shoes etc. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2003, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eric-rudolph-sympathy-for-the-devil/179114/44 "2003-06-02T18:55:22Z")
There’s been a long tradition in this country (and elsewhere) of some people romanticizing and helping out bad guys, partly out of an urge to stick it to the government. When it comes to mass murder and attempts to commit same, our sympathy level drops to near zero. John Dillinger never targeted medical workers or set bombs to kill innocent people in a park. ---
**Author:** ![wring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@wring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wring)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2003, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eric-rudolph-sympathy-for-the-devil/179114/45 "2003-06-02T19:08:22Z")
“our sympathy drops to zero” ?? then who the fuck are the people being interviewed? ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2003, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eric-rudolph-sympathy-for-the-devil/179114/46 "2003-06-02T19:12:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jarbabyj \* > \*\*Maybe this has been answered somewhere else, but what exactly IS the evidence that he is the Olympic bomber? \*\* [Evidence against Rudolph](http://www.cnn.com/US/9802/27/rudolph.update/) Basically steel plates all cut from the same plant where a friend of Rudolph’s was employed. Also, matching nails, that is nails produced in the same small batch, were found in all the bombs, as well as in a garage rented by Rudolph. I believe that investigators also have some testimony from family and associates of Rudolph, but I’m not positive about that. ---
**Author:** ![tiny\_ham](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a183cd/32.png) [@tiny\_ham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tiny_ham)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2003, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eric-rudolph-sympathy-for-the-devil/179114/47 "2003-06-02T19:18:27Z")
Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2003, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eric-rudolph-sympathy-for-the-devil/179114/48 "2003-06-02T19:39:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by wring \* > \*\*“our sympathy drops to zero” ?? then who the fuck are the people being interviewed? \*\* > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by wring \* > \*\*“our sympathy drops to zero” ?? then who the fuck are the people being interviewed? \*\* I said _“near zero”_ - which I think reflects the actual percentage of Americans who think Rudolph is a misunderstood hero. I just can’t recall any celebrations in the streets when the clinic or Olympic bombings hit the news - no newspapers condoning his actions - no denial that the events had taken place. And as for government action/inaction, I’d dearly love to hear what evidence there is of any official coverup/protection of Rudolph existing “on the highest levels”. Since Rudolph’s fugitive career began in '98, I assume believers in that theory think that the Clinton Administration must have been involved in the conspiracy. I know Bill is regarded as the fount of all evil, and while I don’t think he was a good president, I can’t quite get myself to believe that he and/or his appointees were shielding Rudolph. ---
**Author:** ![wring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@wring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wring)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2003, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eric-rudolph-sympathy-for-the-devil/179114/49 "2003-06-02T19:48:21Z")
**jar** - his [url=“[http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/06/02/rudolph.court/index.html](http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/06/02/rudolph.court/index.html)”]truck was also seen near one of the bombings near/whatever. neither of us would be able to substantiate the claim. I’d tend to nudge the number up from the percentage of ijiots who’re willing to be interviewed w/that sentiment, though, rather than assuming that’s most of 'em or whatever. ---
**Author:** ![wring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@wring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wring)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2003, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eric-rudolph-sympathy-for-the-devil/179114/50 "2003-06-02T19:56:34Z")
**jack** - folks were claiming that the Taliban was in cahoots w/OBL, since they didn’t turn him over. IOW, their evidence was mainly the failure to turn him in. I suggested that failure to be able to lay your hands on him may not be the conclusive evidence that was suggested. re: the dancing in the streets etc. IIRC, several of those who are familiar w/MENA suggested that the dancing in the streets wasn’t nearly as widespread as was touted. However - I’m not at all going to get into a pissing match about which group is more vile. levels of the same sort of thing. YOu wish to believe that it’s a rarity in the US, but widespread in the MENA. I’m not certain that you’re correct. (damn coding here’s the [link](http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/06/02/rudolph.court/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2003, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eric-rudolph-sympathy-for-the-devil/179114/51 "2003-06-02T20:06:40Z")
Has anybody seen mention of the security guard who spotted the bomb and got railroaded for reporting it? I didn’t see anything in the articles I read on this. > [@](#): > > But, jiminy! What is wrong with these people—they don’t even have enough sense not to mouth their hateful nonsense to reporters?! Remember, it takes a whole village to raise an idiot. ---
**Author:** ![wring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@wring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wring)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2003, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eric-rudolph-sympathy-for-the-devil/179114/52 "2003-06-02T20:12:21Z")
Richard Jewel. I heard him mentioned on the Today show, but only in passing. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2003, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eric-rudolph-sympathy-for-the-devil/179114/53 "2003-06-02T20:16:28Z")
I think they should give Richard Jewel ten minutes alone with Eric Rudolph . . . ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2003, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eric-rudolph-sympathy-for-the-devil/179114/54 "2003-06-02T20:19:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Diogenes the Cynic \* > \*\*So who _did_ do all those bombings, and why, of all the white supremacist crackers in the world did they single out poor Rudolph? > > Also, why did Rudolph rabbit before it was known that he was a suspect? > (This is not addressed to you, **Captain Amazing** , but rhetorically to the redneck fans of Rudolph) \*\* Ok, to play devil’s advocate, because the government saw a way to get rid of a man of God who was standing up for babies and against the homosexuals and the liberal atheists who control this country. ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2003, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eric-rudolph-sympathy-for-the-devil/179114/55 "2003-06-02T20:35:03Z")
Yeah, Richard Jewell’s been mentioned a few times. His lawsuit is still pending, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2003, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eric-rudolph-sympathy-for-the-devil/179114/56 "2003-06-02T21:28:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by wring \* > **jack - folks were claiming that the Taliban was in cahoots w/OBL, since they didn’t turn him over. IOW, their evidence was mainly the failure to turn him in. I suggested that failure to be able to lay your hands on him may not be the conclusive evidence that was suggested.** This is an interesting theory - the Taliban just couldn’t _find_ bin Laden. Of course, it’s nonsense. The Taliban kept close track of bin Laden, [shielded him](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/1543135.stm) and [supported him](http://www.afsa.org/fsj/Dec01/Schiff.cfm). Our government did no such favors for Rudolph. Mentioning Rudolph and bin Laden in the same breath goes beyond weird, by the way. In terms of homicidal capacity, that’s like comparing Ted Bundy and Stalin. ---
**Author:** ![wring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@wring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wring)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2003, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eric-rudolph-sympathy-for-the-devil/179114/57 "2003-06-02T21:48:16Z")
Not comparing them, thanks all the same. I am (and was) saying that to claim that the Taliban’s failure to turn him over to the US was proof that they were working closely together isn’t enough. your first link (from the BBC) doesn’t seem to demonstrate what you claim. It reiterates the Taliban position that they didn’t believe that OBL was behind the 9/11 attacks (I believe they were wrong), and that they wanted proof before they’d cooperate w/the US about it. I don’t see any reason to believe that OBL trusted the Taliban w/direct information about where he was located at any particular point in time. I don’t dispute that there were connections between the organization of AQ and the Taliban, that they at times worked together, had some similar goals, maybe even played golf together. What I did dispute (and still do) is that such connections rose to the level of the Taliban being able to locate and turn over OBL at any given point in time, to the US. To spell it out simply for you: A. at the time, “Some” folks contended that the Taliban’s failure to turn over OBL upon demand to the US was ‘proof’ all by itself that the two were completely linked, working together completely etc etc. B. I suggested that there was possability B: that the Taliban was sympathetic to OBL, anti-US, willing to let him stay in their country etc, but not necessarily in possession of his whereabouts at any given time. That _similar to the Olympic bomber case_ that failure to locate a single suspect in a rough, sparesly populated large track of real estate was not **all by itself** significant of anything more than the fact that it’s difficult to locate a single human being in a large tract of land. the other ‘similarity’ that comes to my mind here, is that there exist, **in both cases** local people who are sympathetic to the cause of the fugative and may in fact have been helping the fugative to successfully hide. rather than make assumptions about what I believe(d), could you perhaps ask the question instead? thanks ever so. I’ve tried to make my thoughts clear. I’d be willing to clarify them further if necessary. I’d much prefer that to having to dislodge words crammed into my mouth. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2003, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eric-rudolph-sympathy-for-the-devil/179114/58 "2003-06-02T22:37:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by wring \* > **your first link (from the BBC) doesn’t seem to demonstrate what you claim…I suggested that there was possability B: that the Taliban was sympathetic to OBL, anti-US, willing to let him stay in their country etc, but not necessarily in possession of his whereabouts at any given time.** From the BBC link that does not impress you: "\*The Taleban has denied reports that Mr Bin Laden is under house arrest, but said it had restricted his contact with the outside world, thus making it difficult for him to run any kind of global network. The Taleban representative in Pakistan said Mr Bin Laden had no fax, internet connection or satellite phones."\* Riiiight. “We’ve kept him under wraps, we know he has no fax service and can’t surf the web, but _we haven’t the foggiest idea where he might be_.” That’s a hot one.\*\* > [@](#): > > rather than make assumptions about what I believe(d), could you perhaps ask the question instead? thanks ever so. I’ve tried to make my thoughts clear. I’d be willing to clarify them further if necessary. I’d much prefer that to having to dislodge words crammed into my mouth. 😉 \*\* I don’t believe I’ve misrepresented you, **wring**. In any case, your complaint would have more resonance had you not misquoted me earlier. ---
**Author:** ![wring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@wring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wring)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2003, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eric-rudolph-sympathy-for-the-devil/179114/59 "2003-06-02T22:46:40Z")
“know he doesn’t have fax” etc. He was reportedly hiding in the mountains, much like Randolph. I’d have bet that Randolph didn’t have access to stuff like that. No, it didn’t impress me. and, no, it doesn’t say what you claim it did. You _infer_ from their statements that your position is substantiated, but it’s still your interpretation of what’s stated. Like I said, they don’t claim they know where he was. They claim to know that he doesn’t have access to stuff. not the same thing at all. Even if they had a ‘general’ idea where he was, kinda like the authorities had a ‘general idea’ where Randolph was, **didn’t mean they could pinpoint his exact location and grab him** , which was my point. The misquote you’re talking about is ? that one where I didn’t care if you meant zero or ‘few’? Yea, I didn’t bother scrolling up to get the exact wording, sorry 'bout that. But the difference in quotes wasn’t relevant to my point, so I hardly thought it was worth the effort. Apparently it should have been 'cause it allowed you to misstate my position, then get snippy about it when I asked you nicely to simply ask. got it. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2003, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eric-rudolph-sympathy-for-the-devil/179114/60 "2003-06-02T23:30:07Z")
Okay, wasn’t there some guy back in the 1980s, who was wanted for murdering two police officers or game commissioners, and the people in his hometown tried to make him a hero? I think I saw it on Unsolved Mysteries-he was supposedly charged with poaching, hunting without a license, some minor thing-but when they went to issue him his arrest or whatever, he just shot them and then he was a fugitive? And everyone thought he was a hero? (I mean, the people in his area.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eric-rudolph-sympathy-for-the-devil/179114.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eric-rudolph-sympathy-for-the-devil/179114.md?page=4)