Reactions to the attempted assassination of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ)

[Deck Knight]

First attempt at somewhat serious discussion in a forum:

You may have heard of the shootings in Arizona committed by noted nutcase Jared Lee Loughner. For anyone with a conscience, now would be the time to pray for the ded, their families, and the families of people who are still in the hospital as we speak recovering from gunshot wounds, including Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords herself.

Unfortunately, no one in the American media seems to have a conscience. Before Rep. Giffords (D-AZ) had even been put on an ambulance, there were already scumsucking dirtbags trying to politicize these deaths.

Witness Politico:
Obama's Oklahoma City Moment
Tuscon shooting marks turning point for Sarah Palin

Yes. This is what I was thinking of 48 hours after a bunch of people got shot: How Obama can use this to his advantage, and why Palin has to answer for this because according to Politico:

With a long list of enemies, a taste for incendiary rhetoric and responsibility for a campaign website graphic that placed gun-sight logos on a map of targeted congressional districts, it didn’t take long for Sarah Palin to get pulled into the orbit of Saturday’s massacre in Tucson, Ariz.

I agree with Politico. Look at what Palin did:

Oh sorry guys my hand slipped. I inadvertantly linked to a Daily Kos screenshot where they use the same "incendiary rhetoric" and gun metaphors to suggest a politician should be voted out of office. Whoopsy I am so clumsy.

This is the map of Palin's targetting campaign:

GODDAMNIT I DID IT AGAIN!

OK, for real this time:

The point I'm belaboring is that "targetting" is a political mainstay and has been forever. So is "incendiary rhetoric."

So please everyone, can we get back to

PRAYING FOR THE INJURED, THE DEAD, AND THEIR FAMILIES? THANK YOU.

If you want to help, please send a notice to any publication trying to exploit these deaths informing them you intend to cancel your subscription. That is the only way bullshit like this is going to stop.

 

[Ancien Régime]

inb4 massive liberal asshurt because they quite literally tried to make it look like anyone to the right of Nelson Jay Rockefeller collectively pulled the trigger that shot those 20 people - the pundits were desperately searching for anything that they could pin on something remotely similar to anti-state views.

I mean, it was really fucking tacky how they immediately tried to make the issue about "anti-government sentiment" as if not supporting what the government does makes you a bad person (granted, liberals generally believe this).

 

[wickdaggler]

I read in the paper today that while there is quite the political war going on outside of washington, people there had taken a moment to stop and pray for the families and well being of Gabrielle. It was described as 'eerily quiet' iirc. I'll need to take another look at that when I get home.

Anyway I hope this will eventually spark some interest in enforcing gun laws, although it's doubtful because things like this have happened in the past, and no real action has been taken.
Also Sarah Palin is attracting a lot of criticisms for her ad, and rightfully so. I mean, come on, there is always going to be one nutcase who takes this kind of shit literally and goes ape shit. The entire (quite literal) attack ad was idiotic imo.

Anyway this is just my view on the subject, and I can only offer the deepest condolences and hope for strength to the 19 or so people who were maimed and killed in the shooting. Sorry if my view seems a bit 'sheltered' or 'uneducated' since I've only read like 1 1/2 articles on this thing.

 

[JimBob]

I don't like Sarah Palin but putting any semblance of blame on her for this is really stupid. The targets on the states are to emphasize the area, not a sign for violence.

 

[billymills]

I don't like Sarah Palin but putting any semblance of blame on her for this is really stupid. The targets on the states are to emphasize the area, not a sign for violence.

I agree here, I don't think there's any sense in blaming Palin at all.

However, I think there will be messages taken out of this shooting regardless, and probably ones that neither side would really want. Possibly more protection/less accessibility to representatives, or even representatives that aren't as willing to meet with regular civilians.

Also Sarah Palin is attracting a lot of criticisms for her ad, and rightfully so. I mean, come on, there is always going to be one nutcase who takes this kind of shit literally and goes ape shit. The entire (quite literal) attack ad was idiotic imo.

Uhh, what? How is that Sarah Palin's fault in the slightest. If you think that attack add is quite literal, I'm worried about what'll happen when someone you agree with releases an advertisement...

 

[Toothache]

Lest we forget, one of the victims of this shooting was a 9-year-old girl. This jump to start political rhetoric is certainly an insult to the death of Christina Taylor Green, since even from her young age she was very interested in politics and the potential for good it has. Unfortunately, there is also potential for bad, and that potential was realised the minute Palin opened her mouth on the issue.

 

[akuchi]

I don't like Sarah Palin but putting any semblance of blame on her for this is really stupid. The targets on the states are to emphasize the area, not a sign for violence.

No, they weren't an explicit call to violence. But violent imagery is being used on both sides - 'Second Amendment remedies' is an Angle phrase, similarly Palin's Commonsense Conservatives & lovers of America: Don't Retreat, Instead – RELOAD!'. And this shooting could, perhaps, have ended up being executed (pun not intended) by a left-wing person.

Don't exploit the dead, yourself.

 

[evan]

I changed your title to something a little less incendiary (and more likely to attract serious discussion).

That being said, I do agree with the overall sentiment that people have lept to conclusions about the motivations behind Laughner's attempted assassination of Rep Giffords. However, i don't think that you can ignore how the violent political rhetoric (which does exist on both sides) and the political theatre that is keeping some elected officials in office (and was used on the campaign trail) and the demonising of political enemies helps to create an environment where events like this are much more likely. No, Laughner was not taking his marching orders from Sarah Palin or Rush Limbaugh or Sean Hannity or Glenn Beck, but they are a large part of the problem in creating an atmosphere where someone who is weak minded would think that people would fine with him assassinating an elected official.

If there's one thing that everyone in the media needs to learn from this tragedy, it's that our political discussions are unfeasible, acimonious, and dangerous. Time to tone it down and stop treating people whom you disagree with politically as "The Other."

 

[cim]

That we're discussing someone's life and their being shot in a political context is absolutely disgusting and inhuman.

 

[Nastyjungle]

That we're discussing someone's life and their being shot in a political context is absolutely disgusting and inhuman.

Well, the crime was politically motivated all around, what do you expect?

 

[billymills]

That we're discussing someone's life and their being shot in a political context is absolutely disgusting and inhuman.

Does this go for all people?

Is it inappropriate the question why Abraham Lincoln was killed, and simply pray for him instead?

Unless you're being ironic, which I admit is a possibility, you're just as bad as everyone trying to get political results out of this attack. As evan pointed out, calling others disgusting and inhuman simply because they have a different view is one of the underlying reasons this attack happened (the second being some people are stupid enough to believe the comments).

Yes people should wish all those injured should get better soon, but there are messages to be taken from this event as well, and we should make sure they're reasonable and instead of provocative.

 

[wickdaggler]

Hey billy I think you might have misunderstood what I was trying to say. I mean, I was trying to outline the irony in that the attack ad might have promoted an actual attack. Also you can't deny the violent imagery that's there, and although I'm pretty sure Palin probably didn't mean for anyone to get assaulted or killed, using that sort of imagery isn't wise in the slightest.

 

[Arch]

Well, the crime was politically motivated all around, what do you expect?

It goes to shows how idiotic and inhuman politics have gotten. Everyone looking for an excuse to put them on top, even in such a tragedy. It's unacceptable...using the death of innocent people to prove their point? for such a childish thing?


Rush Limbaugh's idiotic rant made me sick to my stomach. It's just....go kill yourself. I don't even know how to reply to that level of scum.


My prayers are with the dead and injured individuals and families.

 

[cim]

Is it inappropriate the question why Abraham Lincoln was killed, and simply pray for him instead?

That's not what I'm saying.

I'm saying if we're talking about which other politician stands to gain, lose, and should or shouldn't game the attempted murder of a politician we're going too far.

 

[lati0s]

For anyone with a conscience, now would be the time to pray for the dead, their families, and the families of people who are still in the hospital as we speak recovering from gunshot wounds, including Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords herself.

Please tell me you weren't trying to make a jab about how only religious people have consciences.

 

[Lanturn314]

Now, I certainly don't like republicans, but I really think it's stupid how everyone is going crazy about their use of incendiary rhetoric, because it does exist on both sides. And the person who was responsible for the shootings, Jared Lee Loughner, was obviously mentally unbalanced, so it doesn't even make sense to try to use him to characterize Republicans as a whole. Especially since we don't even know his political beliefs. So politicizing these deaths is completely stupid and unwarranted. For once, I actually somewhat agree with Deck Knight. Wow.

 

[Trax]

All I'm going to say is this.

"If ballots don’t work, bullets will.."
- Joyce Kaufman

"You've got to make the fellow scared to come out of his house."
- Allen West

If you're saying people involved with the Tea Party movement haven't directly endorsed using violence to subvert due process, these two quotes pretty much nullify any point you may have had.


The Tragedy here is that someone took them seriously (regardless of if the statements were merely intended as metaphor, which I would assert they were not) and now 6 people are dead, this is why you can't have people irresponsibly throwing out inflammatory rhetoric - some whack job somewhere is going to believe it.

 

[Glen]

i agree that politicizing this whole event is absurd and disrespectful. however, infinitely more absurd is the notion that deck knight himself would not do exactly that were the parties reversed.

furthermore, 'praying for their families', in addition to being the most egregious copout in the history of copouts, is probably the least effective way to solve any problem ever. i'm not interested in turning this into a religious debate, honest, but really dude, putting demands for others to pray in a large font? does that make God more likely to listen to them or something?

maybe if you instructed people to think about the reflect upon the ills of the world instead of pray about them, we wouldn't have so many gosh-darned problems!

 

[wickdaggler]

I sort of took 'pray for the families' as a sort of way of saying 'try to help them out, be there to help them' etc.
As an atheist I tend to just brush that sort of stuff off. Although I feel that praying is not going to help, neither will arguing about why it happened and turning tragedy into a battle ground for politics.

Although we really shouldn't turn this into a political debate, I hope that some sort of help will go out to those families, and maybe America will use this as a base for creating stricter gun laws. Or something.

 

[Nix_Hex]

i agree that politicizing this whole event is absurd and disrespectful. however, infinitely more absurd is the notion that deck knight himself would not do exactly that were the parties reversed.

Maybe I'm reading this wrong, but it is absurd that you completely fabricated a slam on Deck Knight's values just because he generally (I use that term loosely) sways towards the right. Correct me if I'm wrong, sometimes I read stuff wrong especially when it comes to multiple negatives.

Anyways, you can't expect people to just brush Rep. Giffords off as just "another person," especially when the government and political offices of this country are considered sort of a drama; it's not right, but it is true. Also, one nut taking cheesy political rhetoric seriously does not justify banning such rhetoric in the future. If someone is insane or has political motives, it doesn't matter what drives them. Should we have banned that Jodie Foster movie because some whack job took the plot literally and came up with some convoluted reason to shoot the Ronald Reagan? Where do we stop if we get into this needless censorship?

 

[HerbieTG]

I actually live in Tucson, and this kind of turned the entire city upside down. Nobody was asking about the political crap behind it, we were all just worried about the people who were shot and killed and if Giffords would survive. It doesn't matter if you agree with the politics, it's a damn shame to see so many innocent people hurt over such stupid and selfish reasons.

 

[akuchi]

Maybe I'm reading this wrong, but it is absurd that you completely fabricated a slam on Deck Knight's values just because he generally (I use that term loosely) sways towards the right. Correct me if I'm wrong, sometimes I read stuff wrong especially when it comes to multiple negatives.

Anyways, you can't expect people to just brush Rep. Giffords off as just "another person," especially when the government and political offices of this country are considered sort of a drama; it's not right, but it is true. Also, one nut taking cheesy political rhetoric seriously does not justify banning such rhetoric in the future. If someone is insane or has political motives, it doesn't matter what drives them. Should we have banned that Jodie Foster movie because some whack job took the plot literally and came up with some convoluted reason to shoot the Ronald Reagan? Where do we stop if we get into this needless censorship?

I'm not advocating for banning it, but maybe we need to sort of look a bit at what can obviously happen in a country where guns are widely available and people are being told that politically it's pretty much okay to shoot people. Some people are weak-minded, some people are ill, and some people won't be able to distinguish fantasy from reality. And really, there's no need for it. You're not fighting a war, you're supposed to be debating politically.

And it's not like this is the first time this woman has been attacked/harassed/had her property damaged because of her political nous. Why wasn't a fuss made before?

 

[Arch]

I actually live in Tucson, and this kind of turned the entire city upside down. Nobody was asking about the political crap behind it, we were all just worried about the people who were shot and killed and if Giffords would survive. It doesn't matter if you agree with the politics, it's a damn shame to see so many innocent people hurt over such stupid and selfish reasons.

This is exactly my point. Even now on this topic people are starting arguments over this political nonsense. It's gotten so ridiculous an event as tragic as this is fair game to prove a political point. Why? Is it so important to be "right" to the point where you delibrately exploit people's deaths as a cause for personal gain?

 

[Son of Disaster]

All I'm going to say is this.

"If ballots don’t work, bullets will.."
- Joyce Kaufman

"You've got to make the fellow scared to come out of his house."
- Allen West

If you're saying people involved with the Tea Party movement haven't directly endorsed using violence to subvert due process, these two quotes pretty much nullify any point you may have had.


The Tragedy here is that someone took them seriously (regardless of if the statements were merely intended as metaphor, which I would assert they were not) and now 6 people are dead, this is why you can't have people irresponsibly throwing out inflammatory rhetoric - some whack job somewhere is going to believe it.

you really should show the whole quotes

“And I don’t care how this gets painted by the mainstream media. I don’t care if this shows up on YouTube, because I am convinced that the most important thing the founding fathers did to ensure me my First Amendment rights was they gave me a Second Amendment. And if ballots don’t work, bullets will. I’ve never in my life thought that the day would come where I would tell individual citizens that you are responsible for being the militia that the founding fathers designed – they were very specific. You need to be prepared to fight tyranny: whether it comes from outside or it comes from inside


West told activists they need to “make the fellow scared to come out of his house. That’s the only way that you’re going to win. That’s the only way you’re going to get these people’s attention. You’ve got to put pressure on them and make them understand that you’ve got to come back and live the laws that you establish. Don’t let them be a ruling class elite. You’ve got to let them know that the clock’s ticking

Not nearly as crazy as you make them out to be. People have been throwing out rhetoric and playing dirty politics since America was founded. Quit being so dramatic. We don't even know Laughner's motivation at this point so don't jump to half baked conclusions. I highly doubt he even heard those quotes and it's even less likely that he took it so to heart that it turned him to assassination. And if that happens to be the case then he cold have taken anything and used it. There's no blame to be had in the above quotes. It feels ridiculous even trying to think about it.

 

[akuchi]

you really should show the whole quotes

“And I don’t care how this gets painted by the mainstream media. I don’t care if this shows up on YouTube, because I am convinced that the most important thing the founding fathers did to ensure me my First Amendment rights was they gave me a Second Amendment. And if ballots don’t work, bullets will. I’ve never in my life thought that the day would come where I would tell individual citizens that you are responsible for being the militia that the founding fathers designed – they were very specific. You need to be prepared to fight tyranny: whether it comes from outside or it comes from inside

right, and that's your argument against the idea that political rhetoric was encouraging people to go and shoot politicians?