January 10, 2011
Above is an advertisement Sarah Palin published on her Facebook. It contains a list of twenty Democrats who voted for ObamaCare. Each was elected in a district that was formerly held by a Republican. Please note that Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) is on that list. Also note that her location on the map is marked by a crosshair, an easily recognizable symbol for target practice. These politicians in the crosshairs have received death threats. Their offices and homes and the homes of their family members have been vandalized. Each has been forced to ramp up security measures for themselves and those who are close to them.
Is Sarah Palin responsible?
We have all no doubt heard that gunman, Jared Lee Loughner, 22, shot Congresswoman Giffords as she met with constituents outside a grocery store, killing Arizona’s chief federal judge John M. Roll, and five others including a five-year old, and leaving Ms. Giffords fighting for her life with a bullet through her brain.
Has Palin crossed the line from free speech into criminal speech? Probably not. Her Facebook advertisement would most likely be considered political speech, which is the highest form of protected speech under the First Amendment. But she is not blameless. Remember, she is a public figure and a former vice presidential candidate with a large following. Her words count to a lot of people, some of whom are mentally unstable.
I would expect and hope Palin, Republican, and Tea Party rhetoric to be more civilized in the future.
The Hunger Site
January 14, 2011 at 8:41 pm
farmdave,
It’s not just crosshairs on a political map. That was just a juicy tidbit in a feast of violence served up as par for the course in our society. Those who have a world view that demonizes people only stir the pot. There’s got to be an “enemy”. That’s how the thinking goes. And it’s easy to see how guns conveniently fit in to that world view. Guns go with enemies, don’t they? It’s a different tack to look beyond the surface of things and get to a place of common humanity. Violence begets violence. I’m not demonizing Sarah Palin, but I do think she needs to take responsibility for adding to a culture of violence with her choice of words: “don’t retreat, RELOAD” and all the rest of it. That’s using a pretty in-your-face blatantly violent metaphor, no? you can *say* you’re not intentionally meaning to harm anyone, but look at your own language: calling yourself and those who think like you the true Americans, and calling the rest of us names, which is a key component of demonizing–lay a label on someone to make them an easy target–to essentially de-humanize them. So call us “socialists”, “communists”, “liberals”, and never get to the heart of the matter behind those perceived labels, to come to a mutual understanding.
As you say, we all want a safer, better, richer America. But if all you see are potential enemies out there, and that’s your reason for gun laws that allow guns to be got so easily, and taken into civilized public spaces like you’re just taking your wallet, then you get what you deserve. You’re creating an unhealthy brew that invites violence.
We need better education that will help us to see our commonality so that the notion of guns making us safer recedes into the recesses of history…
Mindfulness meditation, nonviolent (aka compassionate) communication, peace studies, and education about the different cultures that populate our region and the histories that took place–starting with the cultures that were here (and still are) before we got here.
And lastly, if all the $$$$ spent on our perpetual (violent) wars were spent instead on $$ to bolster mental health facilities, and any other social service you care to think of, we would have the stronger, safer America you speak of. Contrary to what someone conditioned to thinking in terms of “the next enemy” might think.
January 11, 2011 at 9:40 am
Gimme a break; it’s way too easy to blame Sarah Palin for everything that going to hell in the USA, and she’s the best thing the Democrats have going for them in 2012. If Sarah Palin runs for prez, the Dems can terrify all the now nattering about knocking Obama out of the Democratic Primary out into the streets to campaign for him just as fanatically as they did in 2008.
January 11, 2011 at 7:47 am
A sick man in Arizona did some terrible things, however this is nothing to cause panic. This sort of “crazy” act by a single individual is always a possibility and always has been through history. Sarah Palin is not responsible for any part of this. Neither are the laws covering firearm ownership in Arizona. Neither can blame be placed on radio commentators who oppose the socialist path followed our elected officials. These People and these laws in Arizona all have one thing in common, the goal of each is a safer, better, richer America. Just consider this a reality check.
It is a terrible personal attack to even hint that Gov. Palin might be responsible in any way for the actions of this dishonorable man. It is important that Moral Americans rebuke slanderous remarks such as those in the comments section attached to this article.
January 11, 2011 at 7:02 am
farmrdave, I bet can’t explain what you mean by socialism. To me it basically means a redistribution of wealth or publicly-funded programs that capitalism would not pay for. We already have many so-called socialistic programs in the U.S. such as our progressive tax system, social security, public housing, unemployment insurance, medicare, schools, libraries, etc. I like to think that many of these programs provide social safety nets for the have-nots in our society who otherwise would fall through the cracks when unregulated capitalism goes awry. You know the Bush kind of capitalism that got us into our present financial mess. Looked at this way, socialism equals compassion for the less fortunate in our society. What is the Tea Party afraid of?
January 10, 2011 at 9:31 pm
yes, of course sarah palin should carry her share of responsibility. this is the first time i see the ad in question. they’re trying to pass the imagery off as just “surveyors’ symbols”. well, i’m not a surveyor, i’m not gun-savvy, and i grew up on the east coast where guns are simply not around the way they are out west…and it looks sinister to me. i know what crosshairs look like more than i’d know what surveyors’ symbols look like.
i’ve said it before and i’ll say it again: we live in a violent culture. it was founded on violence (the massacring of native americans), you turn on the mass-media news and all you get is violence. look at the video games out there (for kids!) and how violent they are…we are awash in violence. arizona’s gun laws? well, you don’t even need a permit to carry a concealed weapon–anywhere! you’re quite allowed to carry a gun into a bar there!
listen folks, yesterday, i heard an official being interviewed (this was on npr) who actually referred to the gunman as (hold on to your hat for this) “the gentleman” who fired the shots. Whaa????? this, my friends, is the freudian slip par excellence. The gentleman? really? a guy who kills 6 people point blank is referred to as a gentleman? this either means the interviewee is completely disconnected from his body to not know what he is saying, or that perhaps our society is so awash in violence that the guy in question was just another bloque (spelling?) to him, if you will…i nearly fell out of my chair.
there is so much to say about this. i will simply say the following: nonviolence is not “nothing”. peace is not merely an absence of conflict. nonviolence is a skill that must be learned. meditation is a good place to start. because everything starts in our heads/hearts. i wish it were taught in schools. apparently, it already is starting to be (in Oakland, for one). from there, nonviolent communication is something else i wish was taught in schools. i don’t think it would possible to engage in violence if one was familiar with the profound teachings that are found there. even gandhi said “if we are to reach a real peace in this world and if we are to carry on a real war against war, we shall have to begin with the children.” But the fact of the matter is, we can all learn it.
I’ll leave you with this, because I think it sums it up. To answer your question did sarah palin play a role in gifford’s assassination attempt?
“Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”
—The Buddha
January 10, 2011 at 8:41 pm
The crosshairs on the political map, maybe it did and maybe it didn’t make a difference to this deranged young man who also ended his own life as well as those persons who he shot. One thing for sure is that Sarah Palin has no intent to harm anyone. Neither do the rest of us.
As for politicizing this tragic event I learned during the last election that those who oppose American values and support the socialist path toward Government control of everything have no limits on what they are willing to do or say to discredit those who believe in the American way of life. The only thing that I know that is nicer than apple pie is the tea party movement. It is composed of the cream of the crop. There are no communists, liberals or socialists, just honest American Folks who live their lives within their ideals. God Bless America, land that I love.
January 10, 2011 at 8:18 pm
No.
January 10, 2011 at 5:06 pm
Right-wingers, or their hitmen, like Sarah Palin and the Tea Party, have been assassinating Liberals for decades. Right-wingers assassinated John Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, and Martin Luther King, Jr. Now the right-wingers have assassinated Giffords, another Liberal. Right-wingers have caused so much trouble because of their quest for money and power, like Palin and the Tea Party. Republicans have cut taxes on the wealthy, yet want to cut Senior citizens Social Security, which the Senior paid their OWN money into ! That is stealing. Republicans are a menace to society.
January 10, 2011 at 2:04 pm
Yes, Ralph, you need to hold Palin and others to a “higher standard”– but expecting it, or a more civilized future from them and others who are responsible for or abetted a decade of mayhem and war and a media-disguised economic war on the people may be a bit too optimistic.
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2011/jan2011/pers-j10.shtml
I would not be surprised to see Democrats ratchet the Patriot Act and profiling to a higher gear because of this senseless act in Tuscon– and see the Teaparty Right tiptoe to a “higher standard” until it is done.