I am finding myself deeply affected by what happened in Arizona yesterday. Many of my favorite bloggers have posted great opinion pieces on what they think was behind the tragedy.
Tomorrow is the beginning of the new week and finally all the talk radio hosts will get their two cents in. It will be very interesting to see how Beck, O'Reilly, and Limbaugh will try spin their way out of this one. How they will deflect blame from themselves and somehow make this all Obama's fault.
Progressive radio hosts Stephanie Miller and Alan Colmes (two radio programs I enjoy daily) will be feasting on the red meat served them by Sarah Palin. I am looking forward to them eviscerating Palin. I hate that I have to wait until Friday to hear what Bill Maher is going to say after he has had a week to digest all the events.
One of my favorite bloggers is Field Negro (he calls himself that) who is based out of Philadelphia. His blog deals mainly with black issues and how life is for a black person in America. He has a great entertaining style and gave his opinion today. Check out his stuff if you are interested in the whole article. I think the part I post here sums up his viewpoint.
"Still, Jared Lee Lougher's political and ideological leanings are irrelevant. As usual the wingnuts are missing the point. This is not about a deranged individual named Jared Lee Lougher going on a shooting spree. This is about the leaders of a movement (insert tea party here) and of a major political party calling for citizens to rise up against the government to regain political power. The rhetoric on the right came from the top. ("You lie!") It's about a major political figure on the right putting the congresswoman's face in her "cross hairs" with the image of the scope of a rifle for special effect."
-Field Negro
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4 comments:
You're posting. The speed and the variety are still amazing to me. And makes me worry about my own recently neglected blog. Huge start to the year for this puppy.
Kal this shooting is big on our TVs even here in tiny distant NZ. It's been gripping and evenly reported. However I must say your points, opinions and insights have added to my own thoughts on this issue. As do the insights of your friend here.
Thanks for sharing and please don't you ever dare stop being such an outspoken bloghard.
The gun lobby is responsible for this...It's crazy that America has such lax laws.
Political discourse in the US has always been a ramped up charicature of the underlying differences that divide the two sides. People continue to promote the idea that Rush, Beck, et.all are breaking ground in their rhetoric these days. I would also include Olberman, Mathews, et. al. in the list of cartoon characters.
The truth of the matter, for anyone that has looked at political rantings throughout our history, is that modern day rhetoric pales in comparison - regardless of how much you and I may dislike what we hear from both sides today.
Looking forward with glee to one's own side feasting on the red meat this tragedy offers up is more of the same - though I'll not try to convince you of that. Suffice to say, there truly is no new thing under the sun.
A lone, obviously disturbed, stoner will be the impetus for all sorts of calls for change. The bodies aren't even cold yet and blame of the tea party, talk radio, the Right, Conservatives, Gun Owners, and virtually anyone to the Political Right of whoever it is pointing a finger at the time. This is in spite of the fact that there's absolutely no evidence that he was even a listener to conservative talk radio, a member of the teaparty, or even knew who Sarah Palin is. The same thing happens on the Right under similar circumstance.
There will be suggested solutions to solve this problem offered up in the days to come. I don't think the problem will be solved, but maybe I'm wrong. I would caution you, however, to be skeptical of anything remotely involving legally silencing or reigning in the rhetoric that you do not like. My reason for that caveat is very simple.
Who decides what is acceptable rhetoric and what is not?
Is it the same people who refuse to prosecute armed Black Panther thugs intimidating voters on polling place grounds, while denying conservative voters the right to cast their vote because they wear a sweatshirt with a teaparty logo on it? Is it the same people who turn a blind eye to SEIU thugs beating up a black conservative man in a wheel chair because he dared to hand out little flags at a rally?
I'll steal a quote:
"If you want a vision of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face - forever."
Wow buddy, that was terrific. I mean that. I can be expected to go over the top crazy in the hours and days following one of these incidents. It's just my way. What you wrote brought me back from the edge. Using that quote from 1984 hit me right where I live too.
I know the connection to Palin may be thin but I can't help find satisfaction in the fact that this event has gotten to her. It has scared the shit out of her. That much is evident from the sanitizing of her twitter and facebook posts. No matter what she does, Lady McBeth cannot wash the blood from her hands.
The blame she carries for this is the blame we all carry. Keith Oberman may be in love with the sound of his own voice too much for me at times but he got this one right. Everyone needs to step back from the rhetoric. Even though their may not be a connection between the shooter and the politics of fear and hate - we ALL went there in our minds when we first got the news. We all recognize there is a problem here is that is the perception.
And it is about perception. I am reminded of 9/11 when good people who truly wanted change were perverted by the power and freedom they now had. All events from the Patriot Act, warrantless wire taps, renditions, waterboarding, ect came out of a sincere desire to prevent what happended in New York from ever happening again.
Events like this make it too easy to demonize the other side. It's a very human trap to fall into. I fell into it and I like to think I can be above such things.
But I still want my pound of flesh from Sarah Palin. I want to hear her, for once, admit that she just might be in the wrong.
That will do a lot to begin the healing.
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