How Palin Is Responsible For Rep. Giffords' Being Shot

Or, as I like to call it, "Palin Derangement Syndrome On Steroids."

No doubt, you have already heard or read that many in the media made the leap that Gov. Sarah Palin is responsible for this assassination attempt on Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, one of the truly good politicians. Yes, because Gov. Palin had a map with crosshairs for those districts to target in 2010, it is all her fault.

Never mind that the DLC had one similar, and its was up before Gov. Palin's. Oh, no - pay no attention to that. It might momentarily impede the self-righteous, sanctimonious meme that it is all Palin's fault. Can't have that.

And never mind that Jared Lee Loughner is one seriously deranged dude, who had already been visited by police several times for making death threats. Or that, according to people who know him, he is actually a leftist-leaning liberal. We all know how much THOSE people, those Lefty communist-types do whatever Palin wants them to do, right? Right. Snort.

All of this was recently captured in a Facebook exchange I had with my Obot follower sister. It all started with me writing this "incendiary" comment. Okay, ready? It's really provocative, so hold onto your seats:

What a senseless, horrendous, cowardly act, this shooting of Rep. Giffords, members of her staff, a Federal District judge, and innocent bystanders. My thoughts and prayers go out to those families who lost loved ones this day, including the parents of the 9 yr old girl, and Judge John Roll. I pray for the speedy and... complete recovery of Rep. Giffords, her staff, and others fighting for their lives after this attack.

I included a link to The Hill, "Politicians React To Shooting Of Rep. Giffords." Perhaps that is where it started. Who knows? What I got was this exchange:

Sister, I've read some of the comments on the news sites about this, including "how dare you associate Sarah Palin with this shooting!" Um... maybe because on her website, she has Gabrielle Giffords depicted in a rifle's crosshairs? Public figures, while not personally responsible for pulling the trigger[s], need to remember to communicate responsibly.

How many more shootings do we need to have happen before this country WAKES UP and says NO MORE?!

Me,And the DCCC had the same kind of map before Palin did, so it surely is not Palin's fault, nor is it a Tea Party thing, as some have tried to claim. This was a deranged 22 yr old who opened fire on a crowd for whatever his own screwed up reasons were. The BIG question is how someone so completely unbalanced was able to purchase a gun. THAT is the issue, as opposed to trying to blame Palin for this despicable act.

Me, As I continue looking at reports on Giffords, I don't understand why Palin is being blamed for this when Loughner was a far leftist, who claimed the Communist Manifesto and Mein Kampf as his two favorite books. I doubt those are two of Palin's faves. Wasn't it Obama who instructed his followers, "if they bring a knife, we bring a gun"? Or a DailyKos blogger who wrote, just two days ago, that Rep. Giffords was "dead to" him? So, are they to blame? No. The one to blame is Loughner himself, not anyone else but him.
Sister, I'm on the DCCC mailing list, and I sure don't recall seeing anything with gunsights on it, or talk about reloading.

And yes, how someone that unstable was able to buy a gun is a very good question!

Me, I'll send it to you. It most definitely was. The DLC had one, too. Heck, DailyKos targeted Rep. Giffords in 2008. Again, to blame this on Palin is ridiculous - the kid was a far lefty, not exactly a Palin follower, I'd wager.

Seems like a reasonable wager, does it not? I mean, really - from all reports, this young man was not exactly the kind to dvr "Sarah Palin's Alaska," or anything. Well, evidently, I am wrong:

Sister,Hitler was as far right as they come. And it doesn't matter what Palin's fave books are, it's the words coming out of her mouth and the graphics on her website. (Those were just taken down today, a little late, if you ask me.)

...Palin is not the ONLY person spewing hatred, but in this particular case,
she did spew hatred directly at this particular Representative.

As did Markos at DailyKos. He targeted her back in 2008. And he's pretty left-leaning. But I digress. I guess I should be amazed she conceded that Palin isn't the ONLY one hate-spewing, though that continues to assert that Palin IS engaged in hateful rhetoric.

But wait, it gets better, albeit a bit repetitive (I know, I know, I should stop banging my head against the wall):

Me By all accounts, this young man was a far Leftist. That DailyKos targeted Giffords, even claiming she was dead to him two days before the shooting, that doesn't figure in at all? Or Obama telling his followers, "if someone brings a knife, you should bring a gun"? Honestly, I don't think it should - but you sure shouldn't try and pin this one on Palin. (The DCCC had their bulls-eye one up for a long time, too - but I guess that's different.)

Me, As for Hitler being "far right," he advocated a centralized government, a National Socialism (hence, "Nazism).

And that, dear friends, got me this response from a childhood friend:

With all respect, somehow Hitler doesn't come to mind as someone to defend. I think a take home from all of this should be a recognition that words have power. There is far too much violence and hatred in political speech these days. It serves no good and only weakens this country.

Defending Hitler? By defining what Nazism is?? That kind of "logical" leap defies, well, logic:

Me, Good grief...I am not defending Hitler. Don't know how you made that leap. My sister said he was far right, which is incorrect, in her attempt to connect Sarah Palin to this murderer who listed Hitler's book as one of his faves, as well as the Communist Manifesto. From all reports, Loughner is a liberal, so the attempted connection to Palin defies logic. That was ALL I was saying - I was not defending Hitler in any way, shape, or form...

So you see, ladies and gentlemen, if you try to point out that the person responsible for this heinous act is the one responsible, not Sarah Palin for some map she did MONTHS ago, you are a Hitler apologist.

Wow.

Thankfully, my friend just wrote back and said this:

My apologies. It read that way. My view, whether the shooter was far left or far right in the center of apolitical, the tone of political speech here has become increasingly bellicose, hateful and intolerant. Words have power. It creates... an atmosphere in which violence can occur. So no matter which "side" uses it, it creates and contributes to conditions for violent actions. Whether it influenced this guy, I hope this serves as a wake up call for the country to step back and change the way we talk to and about each other.

True that. Though, still, the machinations people go through to resist in any way not blaming Palin for this, which ends up with someone reading a simple definition as an apology for Hitler, is staggering. Good grief. That should tell them something, shouldn't it? I know, stop banging my head against the wall.

It seems that people have completely lost sight of what is most important in all of this: a US Representative had an assassination attempt against her, one she has miraculously, so far, survived. In the meantime, though, a member of her staff was murdered, along with a Federal District Judge, John Roll, and several others. I just learned this morning, the 9 year old girl, Christina Greene who died, was born on 9/11:

[snip] A neighbor was going to the Giffords event and invited Christina along because she thought she would enjoy it, said her uncle, Greg Segalini.

Christina had just been elected to the student council at her school. The event, held outside a Safeway supermarket north of Tucson, was an opportunity for constituents to meet Giffords and talk about any concerns they had related to the federal government.

"The next thing you know this happened. How do you prepare for something like this. My little niece got killed-took one on the chest and she is dead," Segalini said outside the girl's house.

Christina was involved in many activities, from ballet to baseball, Segalini said.

"She was real special and real sweet," Segalini said. (Click HERE to read the rest.)

So sad. It is a tragic, horrible, disturbing situation, resulting in a home-grown terrorist attack on one of the People's representatives, and innocent bystanders. That there has become this extreme level of vitriol directed at Palin, or anyone else, is a failure to look at how we treat each other, the height of the vitriol we are willing to tolerate, the amount of hatred we are willing to spew at each other from the safety of our keyboards.

Rep. Giffords is the best type of politician. She listens to her constituents, and thinks for herself. I hope and pray for a full and speedy recovery for her, and all those who were shot during this rampage.

And for those whose lives were lost, my deepest sympathies and condolences to their families. This should never have happened, and we cannot allow it to happen again...

We have become so disconnected from one another, it is heartbreaking. I brought back the conversation that this should not be about Palin, but about Rep. Giffords and the others in this attack. Another friend, a retired military chaplain, wrote the following:

In the end I think we will learn that this was simply the deranged act of a very disturbed young man. It reminds me to "love GOD (higher power) with all my heart and soul, & to love my neighbor as I love myself. On these 2 commandments hang... all the law and the prophets."
in many ways I think I (we) have lost love for neighbor because I (we) have wandered away from the ability to genuinely properly love myself (ourselves). Just a thought... In many ways I think fear and "terrorists of all kinds" are winning. I pray I am wrong!!!!

...One day at a time...NAMASTE

Amen to that.