The US had one of those tragic moments on Saturday January 8th that causes deep sadness and reevaluation of ourselves. When Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and 19 others were shot six of whom were killed including a 9 year old girl, we have to step back and naturally find out why this happened and can it be prevented from happening. A larger picture also has to be to examine if the air of our political debates was poisoned by violent imagery and rhetoric that came mostly from the right. I believe it’s poisoned and they need to tone it down.
Right now I don’t care if the Tucson shooter was a Glenn Beck/Sarah Palin fan or not. What I do know is those on the right like Beck and Palin who freely use violent imagery and rhetoric in their public speeches may not have pulled the trigger but they spilled a can of gasoline in an enclosed room just waiting for a spark.
You really have to examine yourself if you think violent talk is a good way to discuss politics especially with our history of political violence and assassinations.
How did that become okay?
The corporate media is complicit in creating and allowing that kind of talk to take root. They should have jumped on it and nipped in the bud but instead they stayed on the sideline counting their advertising dollars.
The right and the media have been quick to get defensive and claim “Both sides do it…” but that is a big lie meant to distract us from seeing the blood on their hands. Both sides DON’T do it. Right now the poison is coming from the right and their defensiveness – like a debutante getting the vapors – is telling.
And if Sarah Palin feels bad for being made a scapegoat for her stupid cross-hairs graphic and “lock and load” tweet when it was posted, then there are some Muslims who know exactly how she feels. She should find out how they coped with it after the Fort Hood shooting.
And no I am not calling for censorship – just think about how you say things. Most people don’t use curse words in every day speech and no one complains about censorship. Personally I think anyone who has to use violent imagery and rhetoric for political discussions come off as big douchebags.
As uber nerd Wil Wheaton says “Don’t be a dick”. You can still get your point across – about how much you hate Democrats and President Obama – without using violent words and images to do it. We will all understand.