The Arizona Massacre

[guido911]

You republicans sure are quick to argue on this one...it clearly hit a nerve.

The DailyKos said the district should be targeted. Sarah Palin put gun crosshairs on her.

Do you not think there is a difference?

RM. I want you to watch this video of the mother who lost the 9 year old girl in this shooting:

But by all freakin means, let's talk about Sarah Palin. There are some real heartless _______ in this forum.  BB, thanks for calling out some of these opportunists out.

[RecycleMichael]

No guido.

Palin was wrong.

You should be ashamed to defend her on this.

[Red Arrow]

You republicans sure are quick to argue on this one...it clearly hit a nerve.
The DailyKos said the district should be targeted. Sarah Palin put gun crosshairs on her.
Do you not think there is a difference?

Actually I'm surprised there wasn't a nearly successful attempt to assassinate George W Bush with all the rhetoric that went on about him. I seem to remember some attempts on Gerald Ford and Ron Reagan.  There are crazies on all sides.  No, I am not forgetting JFK, RFK, Lincoln, McKinley (I believe), and maybe a few others I am forgetting.  I'm sure some of the trash talk about Inhofe and Coburn, even on this forum, could be spun into cause to assassinate to someone with mental "issues".

This whole thing is tragic.  For someone to think that Palin's symbolic crosshairs were intended to be actual gunsights is only possible for someone with other "issues".

[guido911]

No guido.

Palin was wrong.

You should be ashamed to defend her on this.

I'm not defending anyone, except the memory of that little girl. YOU should be ashamed for taking the opportunity to attack Sarah Palin while this child's family, and the families of five others, are in mourning. YOU should be ashamed for your disgusting attempt to take advantage of these peoples' losses to advance some bullsmile partisan crap. I think I read everything in thread (I could be wrong), but please show me where you have given two smiles about the lives lost at the hands of this madman (after all, you care so much about kids).

[Hoss]

Actually I'm surprised there wasn't a nearly successful attempt to assassinate George W Bush with all the rhetoric that went on about him. I seem to remember some attempts on Gerald Ford and Ron Reagan.  There are crazies on all sides.  No, I am not forgetting JFK, RFK, Lincoln, McKinley (I believe), and maybe a few others I am forgetting.  I'm sure some of the trash talk about Inhofe and Coburn, even on this forum, could be spun into cause to assassinate to someone with mental "issues".

This whole thing is tragic.  For someone to think that Palin's symbolic crosshairs were intended to be actual gunsights is only possible for someone with other "issues".

We all know that it wasn't.  My problem with it is that it remained up on her FB page and website until yesterday.  And then someone explains it away as being a 'mistake'.  Sure.

I don't think anyone is saying this nutjob did this BECAUSE of the image.  I think what most of us ARE saying is that the imagery and rhetoric has been so thick in the last two years that I'm surprised no one has taken a shot at someone yet.  And yes, most of that rhetoric comes from people who align themselves with the party out of power.  the Dems did the same thing in the late sixties and early seventies.  Just not so much.  And back then, they didn't have the luxury of the Internet for instant news updates and bloggers working with less than a six-pack upstairs.

[RecycleMichael]

YOU should be ashamed for taking the opportunity to attack Sarah Palin while this child's family, and the families of five others, are in mourning. YOU should be ashamed for your disgusting attempt to take advantage of these peoples' losses to advance some bullsmile partisan crap.

I wrote that I think Sarah Palin was wrong to put crosshairs on a congresswomen on her website. Please explain how that is me taking the opportunity to take advantage of other people's losses.

I think you have lost all reason on this thread. I am surprised by your posts on this topic.

[we vs us]

The sad part is that you could see something like this coming.  Someone was going to do something pretty spectacularly horrible to someone prominent in government.  Given the animosity, the crazy rhetoric, the almost calculated pushing of boundaries, both in Washington and at specifically Tea Party rallies . . . not to mention Beck's nutso ranting, there's just no way we were going to get out of this era without something like his happening.  In some ways it's a miracle that we didn't have something on the scale of Oklahoma City to contend with, and there's nothing to say that we couldn't still.

For what it's worth, here's a well-documented timeline of the last two and a half years in "insurrection," or just in escalating craziness.  When you see some of the more disparate acts brought together in this form, they make sense as part of a rising tide of loners and fringe whackos egged on by the obviously inciteful rhetoric on the right.

Here's a good article by James Fallows in the Atlantic.  It's short and quick, and makes excellent, smart distinctions about how politics does and does not square with what we know about the shooter.  

[Breadburner]

I wrote that I think Sarah Palin was wrong to put crosshairs on a congresswomen on her website. Please explain how that is me taking the opportunity to take advantage of other people's losses.

I think you have lost all reason on this thread. I am surprised by your posts on this topic.

Lol...You should look in the mirror......

[Hoss]

Lol...You should look in the mirror......

Oh, that was certainly a zinger!

[Gaspar]

Shame on everyone who immediately jumped on this in an attempt to make it political.

This kid was a nut.  It seems now from reports that he was an undiagnosed or non-compliant Psychotic. Ever since highschool people have feared that he would kill someone.  He was kicked out of community college because as his teacher explained "Every time I would turn around to write something on the chalkboard, I would always turn back quickly to see if he had a gun."  His politics are immaterial because they were formulated in an unhealthy mind.

There are accusations on both sides.  Former classmates claiming he was a religion-hating left wing pot-head, and other accusations that he was a tea party flag waving right wing nut job.  Either way, he was mentally ill and someone was going to die by his hand without intervention.

Shame on anyone who uses him for political gain! 

[BKDotCom]

Why [This Tradgedy] Means That We Must Support My Politics
http://www.boingboing.net/2011/01/09/why-the-shootings-me-1.html

Many people will use this terrible tragedy as an excuse to put through a political agenda other than my own. This tawdry abuse of human suffering for political gain sickens me to the core of my being. Those people who have different political views from me ought to be ashamed of themselves for thinking of cheap partisan point-scoring at a time like this. In any case, what this tragedy really shows us is that, so far from putting into practice political views other than my own, it is precisely my political agenda which ought to be advanced.

Not only are my political views vindicated by this terrible tragedy, but also the status of my profession. Furthermore, it is only in the context of a national and international tragedy like this that we are reminded of the very special status of my hobby, and its particular claim to legislative protection. My religious and spiritual views also have much to teach us about the appropriate reaction to these truly terrible events.

Countries which I like seem to never suffer such tragedies, while countries which, for one reason or another, I dislike, suffer them all the time. The one common factor which seems to explain this has to do with my political views, and it suggests that my political views should be implemented as a matter of urgency, even though they are, as a matter of fact, not implemented in the countries which I like.

Of course the [shootings] are a uniquely tragic event, and it is vital that we never lose sight of the human tragedy involved. But we must also not lose sight of the fact that I am right on every significant moral and political issue, and everybody ought to agree with me. Please, I ask you as fellow human beings, vote for the political party which I support, and ask your legislators to support policies endorsed by me, as a matter of urgency.

[RecycleMichael]

I am amazed how the republicans on this forum act as if politics didn't come in to play. The shooter was a republican who shot a democrat politician and had earlier confronted her about her votes on a bill.

Everything is political about it.

[Red Arrow]

I am amazed how the republicans on this forum act as if politics didn't come in to play. The shooter was a republican who shot a democrat politician and had earlier confronted her about her votes on a bill.

Everything is political about it.

Got it.  Republicans are psychotic killers.  Has nothing to do with one sick dude.

[RecycleMichael]

Got it.  Republicans are psychotic killers.  Has nothing to do with one sick dude.

Of course I am not saying that.

The guy was wack. He turned violent. Politics was a factor.

Why else would he shoot a politician?

[Gaspar]

Of course I am not saying that.

The guy was wack. He turned violent. Politics was a factor.

Why else would he shoot a politician?

Multiple factors.

The blame for the incident lies squarely on him and his state of mind.

What we know now and what we know in a week may be very different. 
Allow this to be a tragedy before you use it as a political tool.

I just prey that she will make a full recovery and ask that God lift up those who are morning the death of loved ones.