January 8, 2011
Breaking
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) has reportedly been shot in the head at point blank range at an event in her district.
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Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) has reportedly been shot in the head at point blank range at an event in her district.
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Is she ok?
That qualifies as an event, all right.
Dead. And I can see it now–the violence hawkers at the back of crowds slinking away for a moment of plausible deniability.
Reports are that Giffords died.
Daryl, I keep hoping that the shooter isn’t some crazed teabagger and is, instead, just some guy angry he couldn’t get into his Safeway when he needed a bag of doritos.
Perhaps it wasn’t wise of Sarah Palin’s people to put targets on people.
Marco, I was just thinking, “Is it too much to hope that maybe certain people will now ramp down the over-the-top rhetoric?” In the interest of good taste, if nothing else.
Sad to say, I think I know the answer to my question.
I think it’s too early to say what motivated the shooting. Let’s hope it’s not what we fear.
In an ideal world we wouldn’t have to wonder if things like this were connected to the violent rhetoric of mainstream politicians.
What I hope (though I am not optimistic) is that no matter the killer’s motivation, the force of Palin’s creepy visual metaphor will so unsettle people that we can begin trying, at least, to engage in intelligent discourse.
Speaking of . . . , here is something creepy. Last night I was on the phone with Jon and he said, prior to asking a favor, “Know what I’d like you to do? I mean, aside from shooting Sarah Palin . . . ”
The point being that this was, of course, a tasteless figurative expression spoken in the context of a private conversation and that it’s not something either of us would even remotely think of uttering in public, let alone representing and disseminating in either verbal or visual form.
And I’m only relaying it here because of the weird synchronicity and because . . . I’m not sure why.
I would be less inclined to voice suspicions if the killing didn’t involve a democrat in Arizona involved in a political event at the time.
Well said, Michael.
Oh, I assume the same, Daryl.
Indeed, Daryl (and Deron). It is too pointed to seem random or apolitical.
That’s my hope too, Sheila. Sometimes there are thoughts, drifting in social realms, that are looking for unthinking agents. Unthinking if we are lucky. Plans for violent action gain legitimacy by way of social myth-making: martyrs wearing explosive vests are often admired even by their parents.
My God.
Remember Ben Quayle, who ran for Congress in Arizona, said, “I love Arizona. I was raised right,” he says. “Somebody has to go to Washington and knock the hell out of the place.”
Rollback. That was a CNN, NPR report. Now docs saying “cautiously optimistic.”
A federal judge, too.
not dead, still alive.
Sounding less and less random shoot-whomever with each passing moment.
The alleged gunman’s youtube channel
npr reports that a 9 year old child was killed, 5 in surgery and 5 in critical care.
Jesus H Christ on a raft, Joel. I made it just a wee bit past the “English Grammar” plank of the manifesto and had to go make myself a drink.
Firstly.
Also, conscience dreaming.
I feel really really unwell.
don’t look at it sheila, it won’t help anything.
I’m not going back. There is too much shit in my head as it is.
Godammit, so sad. I suppose it would be too much to hope Sarah Palin could be indicted as an accessory to murder.
Health care. Care, and people caring about it for the sake of others–not just when they need it for themselves. And the sickness of not caring about this in a way that feeds other needs: losers seeking the heroic power that ending things confers for a moment. And here I am not speaking just of this murderer.
It would indeed be appropriate for a lot of political figures to stop talking about second amendment remedies and “taking out” their opponents. Will it happen? Who knows? It is sad that I am surprised that two figures who have expressed their grief are Texan Joe Barton and the inimitable Michele Bachmann, but I salute them for that. It is also sad that no one should be surprised that this happened in Arizona, but it might just as easily have been Texas.