I have delayed writing this post. What can I say about the tragic events in Tucson which has not already been said by others? Nevertheless, before I can move on, I must say something. So some thoughts.
What happened in Tucson last weekend was simply horrible. We were at a restaurant counter in Phoenix when CNN started breaking the news of the shootings in Tucson. As the afternoon wore on, the news began to reveal the enormity of the tragedy. A Congress woman shot in the head fighting for her life, several dead including a nine year old girl and a Federal judge, many more injured. The next day, when the interviews were aired of the parents of the young girl, it was hard not to cry. The composure of the parents as they spoke of their precious daughter was unbelievable. Their strength and their faith must be very strong. The tales of the heroes who risked their lives to help the wounded and bring down the shooter were inspiring. Where do these heroes come from? Is the act of risking one's own life to save others instinctive or learned behaviour? What would I have done had I been there?
The tragedy must have reinforced negative views that some of us have of the United States, or maybe Arizona. Too many guns out there, too many unstable persons on the loose. Is that the problem? Could anything have been done? Or are these things inevitable?
What happened next however totally took me by surprise. What I think I have seen before when Americans suffer a national tragedy is a coming together. A putting away of the divisions, and a unity of purpose. Not this time. What happened next was an obscenity. As all of you know who have been following this story, especially on the cable news channels and on the internet, what happened next was a despicable, insensitive, and hateful debate about "blame". The victims were still fighting for their lives, the dead not yet buried, but the pundits and political opportunists were at it. Action from the left, reaction from the right.
I will not enter that debate. I have neither the information nor the expertise to even begin to try to explain what happened and why. And even if I did, now is not the time. Perhaps some of those who jumped in when they did are regretting that decision; at least I hope so. For their sake, I hope the victims and their families who might have been watching this spectacle, will forgive them.
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Hi Professor Klar,
ReplyDeleteI haven't been watching much TV, but the reactions I saw from the Left were thoughtful and non-accusatory. Here is Jon Stewart's take. He disapproves of using the shooter as a foil for a larger, pitched battle-- to crucify the increasingly-unhinged Right.James Fallows' piece in today's Atlantic was the most widely-disseminated by progressive blogs. Like Stewart, Fallows doesn't cast blame on anyone but the shooter, and tries to place him in the context of past assassins, many of whom were similarly unhinged.
I agree with them (and with you). But there are still some lingering questions. Maybe it's not a tasteful time to ask them. But: despite President Bush being widely reviled by the Left, there are nearly four times as many credible threats against President Obama than his predecessor. Do you think the tone of the Tea Party in some way enables or exacerbates the frightening climate from which these threats grow-- with its constant references to being under attack by an illegitimate, unconstitutional government; talk of preparing for armed resistance; apocalyptic prophecies about what the left wishes to do to the country; freighted hyperbole like 'communist' and 'fascist', 'Nazi' and 'Soviet' and the self-conscious linking of the "fight" against these presumed enemies with the American revolution. The Tea Party is a bizarro version of Fred Phelps-- his insanity uncomfortably reminds people of the not-pretty direction political discourse is taking.
The tone can't help, is all I'm saying. The right isn't responsible for Jared Loughner. But that doesn't mean they shouldn't use this sombre occasion to take a deep breath.
Scott
This takes the cake in terms of hateful - and blasphemous:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cnn.com/2011/US/01/11/arizona.funeral.westboro/
What kind of a church pickets funerals?
The reasoning is so circular: "we need to make semi-automatic weapons legally available - because so many people have them."
And then there's the lax libel laws... what they get away with saying about each other down there, never ceases to amaze me...
I was very sad to hear about the shootings.
May the victims rest in peace.
What has been lost in US political discourse is a sense of proportion and reason. (I realize that some wag might point out that that ship left the harbour shortly after the Federalist papers were published, but I think it is fair to see that there has been a marked increase in the depth of vitriol, both from elected officials and from interested observers and media, in the past 20 years.) I expect that when we know more about the shooter's motivations, the slogan "Don't retreat - reload!" will not be able to be reasonably viewed as contributing in any material way to what happened in Tucson. But if the Tucson shooting prompts a little more restraint and proportion in political discourse (which might actually prompt someone to fill the void with substance), then at least some good can come from this dreadful event. And, if it happens to shame a certain Alaskan demagogue into a welcome period of silence (which, so far, it appears to have done), so much the better.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, we shouldn't be so smug in this country. When I worked in politics, I fielded two death threats against my employer (a quite conservative provincial cabinet minister) and was assaulted (or, in tortspeak, battered) twice by supporters of his political opponents, and I am constantly astonished at the depth of malevolence that is occasionally expressed by the Harper-haters. This is not to tar all of them (or even most of them), but rather to point out that the US, and in particular the US right, does not have a monopoly on over-the-top, inflammatory and rabble-rousing rhetoric that might provoke some wacko into a violent act. They just happen to be prevalent (or noisier) these days.
Russ
Great comments, Scott. I've posted them on this blog-post here: http://www.myspace.com/cupidflirt/blog/541628821
ReplyDeleteScott:
ReplyDeleteTake a look at the following piece by David Brooks. He is a very level headed analyst who often appears on PBS with Mark Shields. He refers to some of the rhetoric to which I made reference:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/11/opinion/11brooks.html?_r=1&ref=opinion
Scott,
ReplyDeleteThe point is not whether we agree with the Tea Party or their rhetoric, but rather the point is that neither the Tea Party, nor Sarah Palin, is responsible for this tragedy. In fact, one of the murderer's favorite books was . . . The Communist Manifesto. Not exactly a Tea Party favorite I'm sure. Further, he had no direct or indirect association with the Tea Party or any conservative groups.
You cite the fact that President Obama has had more than 4x the threats of his predecessor in the same time period, but once again make the stretch that this is related to politics rather than the more obvious issue of racism.
While you do note some thoughtful and balanced views from the left, perhaps you didn't have a chance to read Paul Krugman's op-ed from the New York Times, which was much more representative of statements from, as you call them, so called progressives:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/10/opinion/10krugman.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
Not that we expect much more from Krugman, but to suggest that conservatives are engendering this climate is disingenuous at best.
After living through and working at the 2004 Republican Convention in New York City, I can tell you from first hand experience the left is a vitriolic as the right, if not worse and less classy.
There is clearly a reason that politicians in the United States are as unpopular as they have ever been and it because they, and their media mouth pieces, constantly fan the flames of political discord. This was an opportunity for the left and the right to come together in a moment of national tragedy, and they failed miserably. Primarily, in this instance, because of the "progressive" movement.
It is time for a deep breath, for those from both ends of the political spectrum.
Cheers,
Daryl Jones
Bassano, Alberta