It Can't Happen Here?
“Don’t retreat," Palin tweeted after the health-care vote. "Instead — reload!”
Let me be absolutely clear. Sarah Palin has the Constitutional right to say whatever she wishes to, about whomever she wishes to, and I defend that right.
And I, as well as other Americans, have the right to question her behavior and hold her accountable. And we will, here and elsewhere.
It doesn't matter whether the would-be assassin was a Tea-Party" member, a "loner," or a "crazed nut." It doesn't matter whether he acted alone. It doesn't matter because none of those factors are directly material in what must happen in the wake of this event.
What matters are these three critical truths:
(1) Palin and others targeted the Congresswoman shot today with vicious hate messaging, including "targets" and provocative statements such as Palin's above. They now must be held accountable.
(2) Gun control laws are too weak in this country. There is no excuse for anyone to own assault-type weapons and magazines such as those used by the shooter today. Nineteen innocent people were shot today -- how many more must die?
(3) There will be extensive political repercussions from today's assassination attempt. Nobody, certainly not me, can say what those will be, but I can offer an educated guess: The days of unrestrained incitement to violence by the likes of Palin are numbered.
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3 comments:
DAMMIT, man. This is spot on.
The following is gleaned from an MSNBC article speaking of the suspect in this shooting:
"A 22-year-old woman in Arizona, Caitie Parker, claimed on her Twitter feed that she went to high school and college with the gunman, and was in a band with him. She described his politics in the past as 'left wing, quite liberal, & oddly obsessed with the 2012 prophecy.' She also described him as having a lot of friends 'until he got alcohol poisoning in '06' and dropped out of school. 'Mainly loner very philosophical.'"
Hardly arguments that the 'sky is falling and we must silence those radical right-wing nuts'.
If you are criticizing political rhetoric that is provocative, perhaps you could include these statements:
“They Bring a Knife…We Bring a Gun”
“Get in Their Faces!”
“I don’t want to quell anger. I think people are right to be angry! I’m angry!”
“Hit Back Twice As Hard”
When the other side wins it means “hand to hand combat”
“It’s time to Fight for it.”
“Punish your enemies.”
These are not tea party statements, they are statements by Obama.
My point is, vitriol is on both sides of the political spectrum.
I think it is wrong to rush in to blame one political side for this national tragedy, before having evidence.
If you want to curb vitriolic speech, you should acknowledge that the vitriol is on both sides of the political spectrum.
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