Last night a US congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (D) was shot, and 6 other people killed in Tuscon, AZ. I reacted to this unusually strongly. I know a family who lives in Tuscon, a family that I love. They are actually Republican, and pretty conservative, but they are also loving, accepting and intelligent. We've been arguing about the appropriate responses to this tragedy as we tracked the progress of Giffords in the hospital via the news. I have spent some wonderful times with them when I lived in the US. Yes the killer was a mentally disturbed nutter (but wasn't also Hitler?) and he did not mention Sarah Palin in his rants. But he was certainly from the anti-establishment, anarchist fringe of the political spectrum. I don't think it will be as easy to separate this incident from the hate-filled political spirit that's been interwoven in the recent Republican, and especially Tea Party's rhetoric. I don't think Palin's unfortunate metaphorical references to "reload, aim and fire" uttered a last year before the election bear any real responsibility for this shooting. However, I do think the Tea Party's gone too far and it's hijacked the Republican Party way far to the right. And what's up with the gun laws? The case for liberal gun laws states that since law abiding citizens carry guns, it is safer to walk on the streets, knowing some law-abiding Joe will protect you with his Ruger 9mm semi-automatic when you are attacked. Really? Where were the law abiding gun carriers during the shooting of Congresswoman Giffords and 6 other people, including a girl born on 9/11? How come they didn't materialize? Is it because when there is a terrorist attack of this sort people don't think clearly and panic? Is it because people need special training to take down criminals, special training which allows them to think clearly in a highly emotional and disturbing situation?
I am upset at the thought that it could've been someone I know in that crowd. I am also upset at how easy it is to get a gun, go out and shoot at politicians. But I am also upset that the American right wing has the audacity to defend its rhetoric and attempt to turn this around and blame the other side! Hello? A liberal got shot! So what that the killer was a 22 year old nut, he chose to kill a Democrat, not a Republican. Perhaps he found comfort in the Tea Party calls to abolish this government and took it as a personal responsibility? Aditionally, Sarah Palin's little map of targeted Democrates, who DARED to support Obama's healthcare reform bill, featured crosshairs on the locations where these Democratic reps live. Correct me if I'm wrong but the only place you normally see crosshairs are gun scopes, not maps. Gabrielle Giffords was one of the targets on the map. One down, nineteen to go?
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