Congresswoman Giffords Shot in Tucson

[Archangel M]

Not comparing this guy to terrorists. My comments are aimed at people here on MT, not outside the gates.

You're missing the point...

I think you better explain it clearly then. Dark sarcasm isn't playing very well at this point.

 

[Scott T]

I didn't know trolling had a valid point

It's not really trolling as he is making a point about perceptions and reactions to this tragedy by comparing it to others, albeit it is on a slight tangent from the original topic.

 

[Flea]

Oh yeah because nobody has ever condemned white Americans right? White American males are the last group that it’s Politically Correct to still bash.

I think the only demographic that needs bashing are the people trying to put a political spin on this tragedy tonight. Let it go for now.

 

[Archangel M]

The really sad thing is that so far it looks like the shooter was a nut with no real political goals (that I can understand) in mind. The politicization is all "US" so far. People who don't like the Tea Party or Sarah Palin will see this as an "opportunity" and if and when it comes out that he was "liberal" in his viewpoints, the other side will try to make points off of it.

While it is sad, I also don't really think it's anything that "new". Look at the Civil War and the lawlessness of the post war west.

Lets see how quickly there are calls for new laws and restrictions on "hate speech" and "political rhetoric". Not to mention gun control.

 

[Big Don]

WTF is any crazy white guy who goes on a shooting rampage automatically assumed to be a member of the Tea Party???

Of all people I didn't expect to jump to that conclusion....

But, that isn't racism

 

[Big Don]

We also are deeply concerned about the heated political rhetoric that escalates debates and controversies, and sometimes makes it seem as if violence is an acceptable response to honest disagreements. Shortly after President Obama took office, the head of the NRA crowed that “the guys with the guns make the rules;” participants in Congressional forums and Presidential events started carrying guns in public; and then, just last year a candidate for U.S. Senate said the citizens unhappy with elections results should consider exercising their “Second Amendment remedies” and Sarah Palin used gun “target” metaphors encouraging voters to defeat Rep. Giffords and others.
So, logically, the Brady people would have to HATE this:

From the DLC website, wouldn't they?

 

[Flea]

Nonsequiter. This is about someone who had major psychological issues who latched onto a political paradigm as a framework for an illness that was already in motion. If it is a partisan based crime, we don't know that for sure until the investigators have had a chance to work it out. I really doubt it though. I think the guy is just sick. If he didn't latch on to politics he would have latched on to something else. Mind control is a very common theme among people with serious delusions.

Let's let the investigators do their job before we jump to any more conclusions, please?

 

[Tez3]

On the BBC news just now it said a woman disarmed the shooter, any news on that, who and how for example? A brave thing to do if that's the case.

 

[Carol]

That would indeed be brave. Not sure if the authorities have released that level of detail yet.

Found this as an attributed quote:

The gunman tried to run, but "some very brave people" wrestled him to the ground and sat on him, a Pima County sheriff's spokesman said.

Read more: Motive unknown in shooting of Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords | freep.com | Detroit Free Press http://www.freep.com/article/201101...Arizona-Rep.-Gabrielle-Giffords#ixzz1AX7LPmvZ
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Also thought this was interesting:

Arizona state Rep. Steve Farley said Daniel Hernandez, his former campaign manager -- and a trained nurse -- was interning for Giffords and staffing Saturday's meet-and-greet event.
"He said that when he was in the back ... he heard shots in the front. He rushed to see what had happened. Gabby was on the floor," Farley said. "He was able to use his nurse training and snapped right into it and was able to apply pressure to the wound and keep her active and alert. He rode with her in the ambulance to the hospital."

http://www.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/01/08/arizona.shooting.scene/

The quick thinking of Mr. Hernandez may have saved her life, and/or made a difference in the quality of life she will have after the shooting.

 

[Archangel M]

Media here is already blaming Sarah Palin for this. Instead of looking at the person who pulled the trigger we are already looking to blame it on something someone else said.

 

[Archangel M]

Instead of blaming it on Sarah Palin I could just as easily blame it on marijuana.

Little was known about Loughner, a sometime community college student who lived with his parents. A former classmate described him as a pot-smoking loner with rambling beliefs about the government and mind control.

Read more: Motive unknown in shooting of Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords | freep.com | Detroit Free Press http://www.freep.com/article/201101...Arizona-Rep.-Gabrielle-Giffords#ixzz1AYJGcyuY

 

[Big Don]

“If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun,”

Obama

“We talk to these folks… so I know whose *** to kick.“

Obama on the private sector, June 2010
The use of violent metaphors (Oh the friggin horror) is only OK when used by the left.
When used by the right, it clearly incites nut cases to violence and therefore is obviously wrong wrong wrong...

 

[Cryozombie]

Obama
Obama on the private sector, June 2010
The use of violent metaphors (Oh the friggin horror) is only OK when used by the left.
When used by the right, it clearly incites nut cases to violence and therefore is obviously wrong wrong wrong...

Yes, and Daily KOS had a blog calling her "Dead to me" too which has since been taken down, so lets realize that BOTH sides use metaphors like this all the damn time, and focus on WHY he did what he did instead of finger pointing.

 

[Archangel M]

Blaming Palin for this reminds me of how quick the media was to blame Marylin Manson and "Doom" for the Columbine killings. For all we know this kid may not even know who Sarah Palin or Glenn Beck was. We have not one shred of evidence that he ever even heard of them and tons of people are already scrambling to lay blame. Was this kid yelling "Reload eh?" or "Glenn Beck Akhbar!" as he was doing the shooting? No.

 

[billc]

Glen Beck Ahkbar, that was pretty good Archangel.

 

[WC_lun]

My sympathies to the families and friends of those effected by this tragedy. It is a very, very, sad thing no matter which way you lean politically.

I do think this further highlights the need to not use over-the-top language when it comes to our political debates. Its okay to disagree, but when you paint the other guy as an enemy of the US because they disagree with your view it can lead to bad things. There are crazy people out there who can't tell when a person is exagerating for effect. Words have a lot of power and we need to keep that in mind in our political discourse.

 

[Big Don]

My sympathies to the families and friends of those effected by this tragedy. It is a very, very, sad thing no matter which way you lean politically.

I do think this further highlights the need to not use over-the-top language when it comes to our political debates. Its okay to disagree, but when you paint the other guy as an enemy of the US because they disagree with your view it can lead to bad things. There are crazy people out there who can't tell when a person is exagerating for effect. Words have a lot of power and we need to keep that in mind in our political discourse.

Yeah, this woman should be stopped...
This guy:“If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun,” obviously shouldn't be allowed public office...

 

[Archangel M]

We will be violating our 1st Amendment soon. I can see it coming....

 

[billc]

Video of Msnbc blaming the "right" while two months ago there was a guy on advocating violent revolution from the left, it comes in at the 58 second mark.

http://www.breitbart.tv/msnbc-asser...eatured-guest-calling-for-violent-revolution/

Remeber, speech is not the problem here, it is illegal violence that is the problem. I do not agree with censoring any sort of speech, except as an individual. Political speech and the freedom to use it is what a free country is about. The "tone the rhetoric down" idea is the same as trying to ban dungeons and dragons. One guy, shoots a politician out of over 300 million people. That is not a reason to attack free speech, no matter how passionate that speech is.

 

[Flea]

It's a ghastly thing to say, but I'll be interested to see how Giffords recovers from this. There are cases of people who attempt suicide with a shot to the temple, only to sail through recovery after giving themselves a clean, precise frontal lobotomy.

* shudder *