Gabrielle Giffords shooting and the sad reaction.
America witnessed another tragedy over the weekend when a member of the U.S. Congress and others around her were shot while she was attending a meeting of her constituents. Reports suggest that although Congresswoman Giffords may survive, six were dead and many others injured. In a sick and ironic twist, the weekend has been filled with highly charged and partisan rhetoric over the cause of the shooting and accusations have been leveled at everyone including: talk radio, TV pundits, Sarah Palin and the Tea Party. The people doing the accusing need to recognize that their premature and sometimes baseless accusations consist of the same vitriolic speech that they themselves are bemoaning.
The suspect is Jared Lee Loughner and information coming out suggests that this 22 year old youth was incredibly deranged and mentally unstable. However because Gabrielle Giffords is a Democrat, some have simply assumed that this was a partisan attack. Yet Loughner's writings and video manifesto do not provide any indications of his politcal views per se, instead he can be best described as fringe. He lists Mein Kampf and the Communist Manifesto as one of his favorite books. He is apparently a 9/11 Truther and his video is a compilation of nonsense regarding "new currency" and literacy. More importantly though, the Wall Street Journal reports that Loughner had a grudge against Giffords going back to 2007, well before Sarah Palin "targeted" Gifford's district.
By bigger, could this be another manifestation of an angry public using violence as the last attempt in making a statement? It is certainly easy to write off the suspect as a nut job and move on, but in this day and age it is possible that any violence against any public figure will be interpreted as insanity. Remember the incident when a "desperate" and "deranged" man flew an airplane into an IRS building? Some reported this as just a crazy act, but Joseph Stack left a very clear explanation behind his actions. He was far more lucid and direct than Loughner and Stack's motive was to punish the Government for what he believed was to be an injustice. Both acts were horrific and very sad, but unless we as a collective body perk up and pay attention we may be missing an underlying trend.
The last thing we want to do is to slap the 'insane' label on those committing violence and presume that we are intellectually and mentally superior. There is no way of knowing at this moment whether there is any correlation, but it's not impossible to assume that these acts are the beginnings of something more sinister. We have a population that is getting increasingly frustrated and angry with the political process and how little is getting accomplished. We have economic conditions that exacerbate this feeling as people get crushed by debt, unemployment and general stagnation. What would happen to this country if these isolated incidents committed by unstable individuals form a pattern?
Violence is by far the worst way to achieve anything, yet humans have turned to violence repeatedly over the course of history. Whether it is individuals lashing out at establishments or establishments turning to conquest the end result is usually the same - pain and suffering. We need to stop thinking that in 2011 we are above that and that "it can't happen here", because history repeats itself. Over and over. Instead our politicians will respond with more stringent gun control policies, speech policing and tighter surveillance.
Condolences and sympathies to all who died and were injured during this tragic incident.
The suspect is Jared Lee Loughner and information coming out suggests that this 22 year old youth was incredibly deranged and mentally unstable. However because Gabrielle Giffords is a Democrat, some have simply assumed that this was a partisan attack. Yet Loughner's writings and video manifesto do not provide any indications of his politcal views per se, instead he can be best described as fringe. He lists Mein Kampf and the Communist Manifesto as one of his favorite books. He is apparently a 9/11 Truther and his video is a compilation of nonsense regarding "new currency" and literacy. More importantly though, the Wall Street Journal reports that Loughner had a grudge against Giffords going back to 2007, well before Sarah Palin "targeted" Gifford's district.
A safe at Mr. Loughner's home contained a form letter from Ms. Giffords' office thanking him for attending a 2007 "Congress on your Corner'' event in Tucson. The safe also held an envelope with handwritten notes, including the name of Ms. Giffords, as well as "I planned ahead," "My assassination," and what appeared to be Mr. Loughner's signature, according to an FBI affidavit.It is always tragic when those dedicating themselves to public service become the victims of violence, but it is just as sad when the population is subjected to impulsive reactions that provide no opportunity for discourse or dialog and instead pour fuel on the fire. We need to ask ourselves, is this an isolated event committed by a deranged and mentally disturbed individual or is this something bigger?
By bigger, could this be another manifestation of an angry public using violence as the last attempt in making a statement? It is certainly easy to write off the suspect as a nut job and move on, but in this day and age it is possible that any violence against any public figure will be interpreted as insanity. Remember the incident when a "desperate" and "deranged" man flew an airplane into an IRS building? Some reported this as just a crazy act, but Joseph Stack left a very clear explanation behind his actions. He was far more lucid and direct than Loughner and Stack's motive was to punish the Government for what he believed was to be an injustice. Both acts were horrific and very sad, but unless we as a collective body perk up and pay attention we may be missing an underlying trend.
The last thing we want to do is to slap the 'insane' label on those committing violence and presume that we are intellectually and mentally superior. There is no way of knowing at this moment whether there is any correlation, but it's not impossible to assume that these acts are the beginnings of something more sinister. We have a population that is getting increasingly frustrated and angry with the political process and how little is getting accomplished. We have economic conditions that exacerbate this feeling as people get crushed by debt, unemployment and general stagnation. What would happen to this country if these isolated incidents committed by unstable individuals form a pattern?
Violence is by far the worst way to achieve anything, yet humans have turned to violence repeatedly over the course of history. Whether it is individuals lashing out at establishments or establishments turning to conquest the end result is usually the same - pain and suffering. We need to stop thinking that in 2011 we are above that and that "it can't happen here", because history repeats itself. Over and over. Instead our politicians will respond with more stringent gun control policies, speech policing and tighter surveillance.
Condolences and sympathies to all who died and were injured during this tragic incident.
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