I think it's worth noting that the congresswoman represents Arizona's District 8. Yes, the same congresswoman and the same district that were put in the cross-hairs of a rifle sight by Sarah Palin last year.
Coincidence?
I'm not so sure.
Please don't misunderstand. I don't mean to say, or even imply that Sarah Palin, or anyone else on the left or the right is responsible for this tragedy in Tucson. I don't even believe that. This was obviously the act of a single loan, mentally disturbed and obviously unbalanced gunmen.
I do believe however, that the recent escalation of vitriolic and incendiary rhetoric in our political discourse is dividing our nation like no other time since perhaps maybe the Civil War. An Horrendously Bloody War That Had Us Fighting - Region against Region, State against State and Brother against Brother.
All This at a Time, When What Our Nation Really Needs Most, Is Unity and Healing.
Which is not something very likely to be achieved, when we hear irresponsible rhetoric like...
"Be Armed and Ready"
"Don't Retreat; Instead - Reload"
"We'll Beat Them with Ballots Not Bullets,
But If the Ballots Fail, We'll Have the Bullets Ready"
"If need be, We Can Always Use Second Amendment Remedies!" (Right to Bear Arms)
You may recall, I blogged about the divisive nature of this type rhetoric back in March of last year.
Please take a moment to click on this blog link to see how very prophetic the blog post really was...
http://eddieoreilly.blogspot.com/2010/03/hostile-and-violent-backlash-shows.html
It is perhaps also worth noting that Arizona is one of only three states that permits people to carry handguns and concealed weapons without a permit.
It's also the same state where people showed up protesting Obama campaign rallies with rifles and machine guns.
Just Thinking
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Palins' comments have always been highly irresponsible.
ReplyDeleteThis is exactly what we have been talking about and the Right Wing say we were overreacting. Sarah Palin and her tea party wackos, now have real blood on their hands!
Yes, I agree that Palin and the other Teaparty rhetoric has contributed to the massacre of today. This day will live for a long time in history as the day that Americans must change the discourse and rules of communication. As an Obama supporter, I have been aghast at the level of hatred in some of the media and political cartoons. Unfortunately, I am not surprised that an elected official has been targeted.
ReplyDeleteThe right wingnuts will, of course, speak to the shooter’s mental imbalance, history of pot smoking, and wide range of influential literature as the impetus for his crimes.
As a cognitive anthropologist, it is my professional opinion that you cannot separate the individual identity from the larger cultural and political contexts ESPECIALLY when the individual suffers from mental illness.
It is those larger cultural and political contexts that we as a country now need to focus. It is not about blame.
As the first Jewish congresswoman representing Arizona she would, unfortunately, become a target for Neo-Nazis groups. Neo-Nazis have been terrorizing this country for decades.
Hatred is on the rise in this country. When a vice-presidential nominee spews hated and uses war metaphors, it is time to begin legislation that might step on the free speech toes of some, but could save the lives of many.
Ditsy Sarah Palin is no more than a soulless celeb media whore, who happens to be one of few attractive citizens of Alaska.
ReplyDelete"Family, Faith, Flag," aye? Well lets break that down.
Family - divorce, grandchildren out of wedlock...not managed very well at all, but hardly the point.
Faith - Invented in medieval times by similar soulless Governing Systems to navigate from political problems and increase production by brainwashing surfs/citizens. Similar to Bush, her platform relies on the fiction, falsehood and illusions of faith, in-lue-of substantial cognitive function or dealing with problems and unpopular but good solutions.
Flag - Her patriotism is a turn of the century mindsets: forging a homestead from a frontier, gunning down defenseless animals and perpetual denudation the Pacific Ocean.
Her concepts contradict true modern day patriots, who promote sustainable lifestyles and other environmentally friendly issues.
In terms of her flashy three F's slogan, she gets three additional F's for FAILED on all three, as far as I see.
With media image guru pseudo-leaders running things, it's no wonder this country is as ethically and financially bankrupt as it is.
Furthermore, if I, a working class man, created and published an image with gun cross-hairs targeting governors, I would be branded as a domestic terrorist and shadowed by the FBI for the rest of my life, if not hunted down and thrown in jail.
Yet for some reason, I am forced to except it, when a cutie soccer-mom / private-citizen media-darling spouts it.
I'd sooner vote for Santa than Two Face Palin.