I already know how this is going to play out … The shock, revulsion and horror of the recent assassination attempt of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and the mass murder in Tucson, Ariz., will slowly but inevitably wear off and recede into our rearview mirror. And despite the calls for more tempered and rational political discourse, extremists and demagogues like Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck will resurface to spew violent and racially divisive rhetoric on the airwaves once again.
The tragic bloodbath at a shopping mall event on Saturday, Jan. 8 is a stark reminder to President Barack Obama and other leaders that unchecked vitriolic rhetoric and inflammatory race-baiting by Palin and others of her ilk can have catastrophic and deadly consequences.
This recalls the incendiary campaign from Obama’s enemies who tried to use Bible scripture to encourage people to pray for Obama’s death.
It’s no coincidence that Giffords’ district was on Palin’s “crosshairs” list, an unmistakable and dangerous reference to the sights on a rifle. Giffords, a three-term Democrat, was shot in the head at point blank range by a deranged sociopath at an outdoor event. Five victims were murdered and 18 others suffered gunshot wounds at the scene of the carnage.
The suspected shooter, Jared Lee Loughner, an unstable 22-year-old college dropout, will likely be dismissed by ultra right-wing fire breathers as a crazed nut acting on his own volition instead of being spurred on by a particular ideology. But that’s what they tried to say when John F. Kennedy was gunned down. That same talk also arose when brother Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. were assassinated. An unstable individual also tried to take out President Ford and then President Reagan.
But I like what House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said. He claims that prolonged inflammatory rhetoric played a role in stoking the anger in unbalanced viewers who are more likely to manifest the violence that’s first being spoken.
“Far too many broadcasts now, in so many outlets, have the intent of inciting [viewers] … into thinking that the other side is less than moral,” he said. “And I think that is a context in which somebody who is mentally unbalanced can somehow feel justified in taking this kind of action.”
For Sarah “Don’t Retreat, Reload” Palin, her camp is now retreating, meekly putting out a statement that Palin’s people “never, ever, ever intended it to be gun sights.” But when the gun sights appeared on Palin’s website and were included on innumerable e-mails, Palin did nothing to stop it or change it. She’s like a cowardly terrorist who chucks bombs that kills scores of people then runs for cover and acts like she had nothing to do with it.
While Palin cannot be held liable for what happened Saturday, the incident should give every verbal bomb thrower pause as they consider what can happen when masses of people are repeatedly and irresponsibly whipped into a mindless fury. Eventually, someone’s going to act on the not-so-subtle hate being spewed from the podium. –terry shropshire
