The shooting in Tuscon was a hard pill to swallow for the country. We get caught up in each day's tasks and events such as the one on Saturday make all of us shake our head and appreciate what we have. It's unfortunate that this event happened and clearly my thoughts and prayers are with all of the victims and those affected by this senseless tragedy.
And as we learn more about the young man who seems to be a complete sociopath, you would think we play the card for what it is.
But no, Deputy Clarence Dupnik had to address the media hours after the event (while still possibly looking for a second shooter???) that this tragedy was spurned by venomous political rhetoric.
Huh? When did this Deputy decide that he would use this public stage as a personal outcry of what's wrong right now in American politics? Instead of delivering facts and focusing on the investigation at hand, the Deputy decided that it would be in the public's best interest to gauge the cause of this unspeakable crime.
Well, we all know what would happen next. Not even a day of focusing on the victim's lives and what they lived for, the talking heads started....talking.
It quickly became a war of words. Democrats finally pointing the finger saying, "you've gone to far with your words you crazy republicans!"
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| Yes this is wrong. But it doesn't have anything to do with Saturday |
Republicans matching this word fight by saying, "your policies caused this to happen!"
WHOAAA... everyone slow down here. Let's take this for what it is. This was a sociopath committing a heinous crime that had nothing to do with the rhetoric of politics. Rather, this was a sick and twisted individual who should be put to death because of his actions. Actions that had nothing to do with a Palin map with crosshairs.
In the book Columbine by Dave Cullen, he describes the two individuals that committed one of the worst tragedies in American history. He analyzes the influences they might have had. And while Dylan for the most part followed Eric in whatever he did, Eric was just a sociopath. It wasn't Marilyn Manson or violent video games. He was just a sociopath.
So while I agree that there is a problem with the way congress addresses each other and the public, I think that it would be best to talk about the "venomous political rhetoric" on a different day. Because it really has nothing to do with this.
Instead, let's honor the victim's of this tragedy. Here are their names:
Gabe Zimmerman, 30
Phyllis Scheck, 79
Christina Taylor Greene, 9
John Roll, 63
Dorwin Stoddard, 76
Dorothy Morris, 76
And to those who are injured, we keep them in our thoughts and prayers including congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords
I would agree with you 90%. Agreed that Deputy Dupnik was out of line in analyzing what may have caused this tragedy. I also agree that the alleged gunman's mental disposition deserves most of the focus here, as well as the failure of gun laws to provide adequate safeguards against this kind of tragedy.
ReplyDeleteBut it would be wrong to completely ignore the role of pundits and politicians in perpetuating extremist rhetoric. it concerns me that anyone who draws attention to the pundits or politicians culpable for our current toxicity are automatically perceived as partisan opportunists. Let me be clear: it is wrong to assign blame to a broad group of people or a political party. But individuals like Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck must be taken to task for their irresponsible rhetoric. Not for political gain, but so that they may see the error of their ways and grow past this to lead the conservative movement more peacefully and productively.
We know for sure that the alleged gunman is deranged. But lets be honest about our national culture of violence. Bob Herbert put it best:
"If we were serious, if we really wanted to cut down on the killings, we’d have to do two things. We’d have to radically restrict the availability of guns while at the same time beginning the very hard work of trying to change a culture that glorifies and embraces violence as entertainment, and views violence as an appropriate and effective response to the things that bother us.
Ordinary citizens interested in a more sane and civilized society would have to insist that their elected representatives take meaningful steps to stem the violence. And they would have to demand, as well, that the government bring an end to the wars overseas, with their terrible human toll, because the wars are part of the same crippling pathology."
Thank you. @Jewinspace