Aftermath of Tucson shooting as dismaying as actual event
Judging from comments well into Sunday, people still feel a need to vent regarding the tragic shooting Saturday in Tucson. However, before we start down this treacherous road again, let me at least try to put things into context.
First, the attack was perpetrated by a young man who by all available evidence is mentally ill. Anyone who tries to attribute a political agenda of any sort to a soul like that is himself trying to advance a political agenda. It is wrong and disrepectful to the victims of this tragedy to try to distort it for political gain. Please, don’t go there.
However, if the incident itself was not political, there’s no question that the reaction to it became intensely political. What could have and should have been an opportunity to unite as Americans was instead quickly seized as an opportunity to divide ourselves further, to heighten rather than dampen the animosity and vitriol. The reaction told us a lot more about ourselves as a country than did the initial incident, and it was not reassuring.
We like to blame our leaders for a lot of our own shortcomings these days. Congress, for example, has never been held in lower esteem. But the truth is that our elected leaders are doing what we tell them to do. The pettiness and rhetoric in Washington reflect our own selfishness and shortsightedness here at home, and if we don’t like what they mirror back at us, well, blaming the mirror is never the answer.
That said, our elected leadership for the most part has acted appropriately and cautiously in response to Saturday’s attack, perhaps because the violence struck one of their own. Whatever the reason, the poison that infected our discussion over the weekend bubbled up from below, from among us, rather being inspired from above. The ugliness and rancor was our doing, not theirs. We — speaking in general terms — were handed a chance to leap at each others’ throats again, and too many of us eagerly jumped at it.
A lot has been made about the misuse of violent metaphors, such as crosshairs on websites and turns of phrases in speeches. For the most part, that’s nonsense. Metaphors and turns of phrases do not drive violence, and those who try to claim otherwise are again trying to smear their political opponents with innocent blood. They are contributing to the problem they claim to be identifying.
That said, “Second Amendment remedies” is not a metaphor; it is a direct legitimization of violence. American political thought is infected with the idea that violence is a legitimate political tool that can and should be employed at some unspecified point, when some unspecified political actor takes some unspecified political action that crosses some unspecified line. The decision of when such a line is crossed is typically left to the would-be patriot, but always with the suggestion that the line is getting closer, the day is drawing nearer, the threat is growing larger.
That mindset is fed by descriptions of our elected leadership as tyrants or as illegitimate usurpers out to destroy America. After all, once their tyrannical and destructive character is established, violence as a means of addressing the threat to liberty becomes justified. “Sic semper tyrannis,” as John Wilkes Booth so infamously proclaimed.
Again, there is no evidence that Jared Loughner was responding in any way to that ideology rather than to the voices echoing in his own head. But it is foolishness to pretend that others out there cannot be seduced by the false romanticism and heroism inherent in the idea of political violence.
Finally, we as a people need to acknowledge and adjust our thinking to the changing mediascape. We humans have always been afflicted with demagogues, as the ancient roots of that word demonstrate. But the easy accessibility of modern media has done more than give would-be demagogues a louder voice. There is now money to be made and a following to be gained by stripping us of our larger loyalties to the country and instead dividing us into cliques and cults defined by our animosity to each other.
Free and open debate is the lifeblood of democracy, and it is not always a genteel process. But we set the boundaries of appropriate rhetoric when we decide where to place our loyalty and attention. And we will pay the consequences of choosing wrongly.
– Jay Bookman
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627 comments Add your comment
cborgia
January 10th, 2011
5:10 pm
You aren’t even smarter than the average idiot, scuddy. Suburban schools on average are better than urban or rural schools because that’s where the property tax money is, and that’s where kids have more resources. As far as your claim concerning republican and democratic areas, red states on average are less educated and have worse schools than blue states. USMC dawg: this guy was a registered Republican, as I have been from time to time. I don’t think all Republicans need beat their breasts and mutter ‘mea culpa’ over him. He did have a whole lot of right wing and Tea Party junk, and was obsessed with currency issues. It is irrational to pretend that this kind of murder, and previous less publicized ones, haven’t been influenced by all the (mostly fake) revolutionary rhetoric. When I hear people talk about secession and second amendment solutions, it makes me sick with disgust. Any of you ever been somewhere that was having, or recently had, a civil war? USMC dawg, you were a real soldier. Would you really take a rifle to a political rally?
Do any of you think that a representative democracy can survive if armed citizens menace elected officials? Do you honestly think that’s what Jefferson and Adams had in mind?
DebbieDoRight
January 10th, 2011
5:10 pm
destroy my point is that you aren’t educated at ALL!! You called Mao, Stalin, Pal Pot etc., “leftists”. That is NOT something someone who is educated would say — that is something that a kid with milk around his mouth says, OR someone who learned how to read and write in the prison school systems. It’s truly a sad day for america……….
DebbieDoRight
January 10th, 2011
5:13 pm
Have a great day everybody and cborgia – good luck trying to talk rational to the irrational.
A+A
January 10th, 2011
5:14 pm
As far as Loughner’s political affiliation, I direct you here: http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lesm7i7PE61qc8qqg.png
From the office of the Arizona Secretary of State.
I don’t know how one could find anything more official
A+A
January 10th, 2011
5:16 pm
And yes, I’m going out to play in the nice, clean snow.
jm
January 10th, 2011
5:21 pm
Well, clearly this has been a lively topic. Let me just say this psychopath that killed the folks in Tucson was clearly deranged, on drugs, he was just clearly deranged.
If it says anything, it says something about the quality of the Tucson police, or mental assistance funding. But the police aren’t perfect, and the world isn’t perfect….
Here’s to hoping Gifford survives and thrives.
cborgia
January 10th, 2011
5:25 pm
Peace. I hope to God we can stop talking about killing off those we disagree with, especially where the deranged can hear it.
Todd
January 10th, 2011
5:39 pm
Having read the ongoing exchange between Destroying Liberal Lies and Debbie Downer here is my observation: DLL is a reasonable normal American that wants what is best for his family and our beloved country. The vast majority of the populace falls under this category. Debbie D is likely an overweight lesbian with deep anger issues as a result of inner conflicts with her sexuality. America is a hostile place that must become more deviant friendly. Her hope is that Obama’s left wing vision for our country will allow her to live in an amoral culture with no values and most importantly provide a government “daddy” that will not judge her for the human failure that she is.
A+A
January 10th, 2011
5:45 pm
troll
Lil' Barry Bailout
January 10th, 2011
5:46 pm
A+A
5:14 pm
——————-
Hate to tell you the bad news, but your link is to a photoshopped fake. It was debunked early this morning. You’ll have to find some new material to keep that hard-on you have for conservatives and Sarah Palin.
Lil' Barry Bailout
January 10th, 2011
5:47 pm
(Note that Tucson is misspelled on this supposed “official” Arizona web site. Retard.)
Serpico
January 10th, 2011
5:53 pm
“People, I just want to say, you know, can we all get along? Can we get along? Can we stop making it, making it horrible for the older people and the kids?…It’s just not right. It’s not right. It’s not, it’s not going to change anything. We’ll, we’ll get our justice….They won the battle, but they haven’t won the war….Please, we can get along here. We all can get along. I mean, we’re all stuck here for a while. Let’s try to work it out. Let’s try to beat it. Let’s try to beat it. Let’s try to work it out.”
20th Century philosopher Rodney King
A+A
January 10th, 2011
5:54 pm
So prove he’s a Democrat.
Lil' Barry Bailout
January 10th, 2011
5:56 pm
Why?
A+A
January 10th, 2011
6:09 pm
I just thought you might want to add some legitimacy to your claim. Never mind. The fact that this guy shot up a bunch of Democrats proves my point anyway. I don;t need to bother with you.
Lil' Barry Bailout
January 10th, 2011
6:11 pm
Oopsies!
————————–
Jared Lee Loughner was a registered independent, didn’t vote in 2010 election
By Chris Cillizza
Suspected Tucson gunman Jared Lee Loughner registered as an independent voter in Arizona in the fall of 2006, according to the Pima County Registrar of Voters.
Loughner registered to vote on Sept. 29, 2006, identifying himself as an independent. Records show he voted in the 2006 and 2008 elections but is current listed as “inactive” on the state’s voter roles — meaning that he did not vote in November.
The political affiliations of Loughner, who is being charged by state and federal authorities with the shooting of Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D) as well as 19 other victims outside a Tucson grocery store on Saturday, have become the subject of a white-hot partisan debate in recent days.
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, liberals sought to paint Loughner as an anti-government, tea party conservative. Conservatives retorted that Loughner lacked anything close to a coherent political philosophy — a case strengthened by subsequent glimpses into his personal life that suggests someone struggling with mental illness.
Lil' Barry Bailout
January 10th, 2011
6:13 pm
And you do know that the judge who was targeted was a Republican, right?
Retard.
A+A
January 10th, 2011
6:18 pm
Good luck with that. He shot up a bunch of Democrats. He didn’t shoot up a bunch of Republicans.
And the writer of the piece you quote is right wing and therefore holds no water.
Also, troll. Not feeding. Playing in the snow now.
Richard Cornett
January 10th, 2011
7:10 pm
No red state vs. blue state here; no right vs. left here; no liberal vs. conservative here. Sadly, just an obsessed mentally deranged individual who should have been forced into treatment had someone been brave enough to speak up and act to save him and society. We can talk about Virgina Tech, or Columbine, or Oklahoma City or any number of instances in which dormant killers finally take action. Our media will feed off this tragedy for the next couple of weeks — would’ve, could’ve should’ve laments will broadcast to all — until the next tragedy. For all of us, live every day as if it were our last. Tucson reminds us that we may not be fortunate enough to return home in the evening. That’s how the script is written. This is the uncertain drama of life. Nice piece Jay.
Lil' Barry Bailout
January 10th, 2011
7:31 pm
A+A doesn’t like facts. Like the fact his link got blown out of the water. Or the fact that the WaPo reported Loughner was a registered independent.
Bummer, eh?
cborgia
January 10th, 2011
9:50 pm
What a lot of bull you guys have stored up in hte pace where your brains should be. A+ may have been misled on a detail, but is dead right on the overall facts. You, on the other hand, have no idea of what you are taking about. I’ve seen the rants Loughner posted about gold and silver backed currency; its was straight from the Paul’s Tea Party drivel. He attacked a Democratic function, and Judge Roll was just unlucky that he’d gone here to see a Democratic representative. It’s just another one of your lies to pretend that this had no political motivation; the guy was a nut, but he didn’t open fire on shoppers, did he?
Roro, your offensive drivel is not much less irrational than the ranting of Loughner. You have no idea political philosophies; just what is the ‘one conclusion’ that your tiny tiny brain drew from the information that you provided? It is so contradictory that only an idiot would conclude that Loughner had any coherent political philosophy, left wing or right. That strongly suggests you are an idiot. Nobody with any sense is pretending that Loughner is an agent of the Tea Party. However, pretending the violent rhetoric out of the Tea Party, Palin, Allen et al had no role in this is garbage.
Oh, by the way I have saved your comments to post nest election so independent voters can see how Tea Party nitwits view hem. I have quite a collection of such drivel from assorted morons. It won’t matter that much, because it won’t be an off-year election and you’ll be dealt a defeat of historic proportions. Keep up the apologies for hate speech. You are digging in deeper and deeper, and in a few years the demographics will ensure that you will never win another election. You can become a pitiful wino recluse, muttering to yourself about libruls and commies. Watch out or Acorn will get you.
Adam
January 10th, 2011
10:55 pm
That was well thought out and well written Jay. I agree completely and seriously hope we can all one day get past our tendency to fight each other in response to violence.
That said, violence does beget violence, and that is perhaps no more clear than it is now, when we seek to destroy our perceived threat either through words or violent action.
As I said earlier today, I know I have certainly spent a lot of time trying to make sure that I never suggest violence as a solution, no matter how angry I become. It doesn’t solve anything and only creates more violence.
Adam
January 10th, 2011
11:01 pm
All that said too, it’s important to note that there is one party that likes to push for making sure our mentally ill are helped in whatever ways possible, and not unleashed on society without means to be helped. There is one party that seeks to protect and defend those who do not have the ability to do so themselves. Those ideals must be defended and upheld.
Get Real
January 11th, 2011
12:50 am
I have been off line most of the day but it appears nothing has changed. Still a lot of left wing hatred being spewed with no real facts to back it up…..their credibility continues to dwindle with rational minded Americans
Ragnar Danneskjöld
January 11th, 2011
7:02 am
Good morning Jay, I missed yesterday – was walking the beaches in the Keys – but your essay merits a compliment – well-written.
Lil' Barry Bailout
January 11th, 2011
7:07 am
Arizona suspect had made death threats-sheriff
Jan 8 (Reuters) – The suspect in Saturday’s shooting rampage in which a U.S. congresswoman was critically wounded was unstable and had been known to make death threats in the past, the local sheriff said.
Sheriff Clarence Dupnik of Pima County, where the shooting happened, told reporters the suspect had a troubled past. “All I can tell you is that this person may have a mental issue,” Dupnik said.
Dupnik said there had been earlier contact between Loughner and law enforcement after he had made death threats
————————–
No wonder this sheriff is trying to blame on conservatives…he sees a whole bunch of lawsuits headed his way.
TnGelding
January 11th, 2011
9:44 am
It angers me that a lowlife with a gun could create such chaos and death among the cream of our society. Let’s free the druggies and concentrate on locking up the dangerous and deranged.