Now, some idiot with an axe to grind and who has previously been identified as being unstable, decides to shoot people and we're somehow to believe this moron acted because of heated political rhetoric by the likes of Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin or Glenn Beck? Anyone who believes that is just not paying attention to the facts. This guy was not a follower of any of these people. And what about those "targets" on Sarah Palin's website? I say so what? Politicians and activists (on both sides of the political aisle) put bullseye targets on maps all the time. Does that mean it should translate into an order to kill? I don't think so.
I say it is high time our moronic society wake up and face the facts. Our elected officials lie to us, the media lies to get us to believe what they want and many people vote for the person who promises the most freebies.
Should the Arizona shooter have been locked up long ago? Yes! Why wasn't he? I don't know; maybe we believe there's too much good in people to lock them up. Maybe we don't want to stigmatize the poor loser. Maybe we don't want to spend the taxpayer's dollars to put away people who show a penchant for violence but might be rehabilitative.
In any case, it wasn't the "political discourse" that caused this. Right is right and wrong is wrong. It is high time we live up to that moral standard. This country used to. Not now. Now we blame everyone but the guilty. Well sorry people; as a member of the village, I am not responsible for the actions of this crazed lunatic. If it had been up to me we would have kept a few asylums open for nut-jobs like this guy.
Comments?
I understand your comments. First of all, there are no more state run assylums because Ronald Reagan de-regulated them (I am a Ronald Reagan fan this is fact). The problem is that jail is now the only place to put people with physchological disabilities.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, I agree that all politicians play the name calling game. However, people like Rush Limbaugh, Glenn, and Sarah Palin do make statements that are not factual and people listen to them.
The question that I ask is that if these people (Rush, Glenn, and Sarah) are so influential, why don't they have people with opposing views and engage in honest debate? One reason would be that I saw Glenn do that on health care and his own panel (that he selected) said he was wrong and making a leap that did not exist.
I do believe that this country needs honest, respectful discourse. Not because of the shooter but because I am tired of hearing lies all over the place from all sides.
As for the shooter: He should have been locked away. It does not help that the Governor of Arizona has submitted a budget cutting $59 million from mental health services (which may have caught this).
I would also suggest that we are responsible for people in the village. People will act individually, but when we as a people call for the end of a program in order to save money, then we bear some responsibility. When we stay silent over debate of a federal law that allows a person to carry a 30-round clip when 10 would suffice for protection, then we all bear some responsibility.
To the anonymous commenter I say; I stand by my statements. Limbaugh, Palin and Beck were not responsible for this idiot. You and I weren't responsible for this idiot's actions. As long as we blame the village instead of the idiot, we'll all be in danger.
ReplyDeleteI challenge you to state facts that Rush Limbaugh has fabricated. I don't follow the other two, but have listened to Limbaugh for many years and have come to know that if he makes a statement that is not factual, he quickly corrects it.