A horrible day in America as 6 are killed and 13 are wounded, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, in Tucson. It's been a day where Sarah Palin's widely seen "Crosshairs Poster" has gotten a LOT of blame for what happened...even before anyone knew ANYthing about the gunman or motive. And so a friend of mine on Facebook was livid over this blaming of Sarah...and this friend is NOT a Sarah fan. The following is my 2:30am Facebook response:
I've had several beers and am rather tired, so -- along with this being rather complicated -- I may not articulate this as best as I could. I'd also like to say up front that while I'm a registered Democrat, I'm 1) a pretty damn reasonable ...human being who 2) knows dumbass politicians exist on both sides of the aisle and 3) would vote Republican if someone REASONABLE came along.
I think there are elements of truth to what you say. I understand to a degree where you're coming from. The shooter was the shooter. Period. Sarah Palin, I am SURE, did not wish any other human being to be shot in the head...I guess. I mean, I don't know WHAT that crazy bitch thinks, but my BEST guess is that she didn't wish death upon Democratic rivals...and certainly not upon innocent bystanders, including children.
But words have consequences. As do posters with crosshairs on opponents. Someone of her stature -- running for VP and possibly (God forbid) President of the US -- should not be doing such an unbelievably irresponsible thing. *And whether she did the "crosshair artwork" herself or had a graphic designer come in, she clearly eventually saw it and could've vetoed it...LONG ago. Yes, she SHOULD have "approved it" or not; it was a pretty damn prominent image in her campaign, and not something she wouldn't have seen. She was INCITING. She and her REPUBLICAN ilk have been slowly, surely, steadily INCITING a culture of fucking loons to literally take up arms and "take the country back."
NOW...when all the facts come in, it is quite possible that the gunman was a liberal leftist with ZERO interest in anything Palin had to say. Palin could have NOTHING to do with THIS particular lunatic...but that's beside the point. Should we then go "oh, OK, Sarah, you can put your crosshair poster back up, you weren't remotely responsible THIS time"...and then wait for the day that she IS? Today's events highlight the dangerous possibilities going on with the CONSISTENT whipping up of rage with violent words and imagery by ONE SIDE of the political aisle.
I put up the Crosshair Poster on my page today...but pretty much stopped there in terms of "blaming Sarah," though i'm sure to many it appeared I was RAGING against her. But I realized the risk of "jumping the gun"...and I put it up mainly because it was instantly a news item, and not just because people were instantly linking Palin to today's events, but because SHE obviously felt some link herself...since she TOOK IT DOWN from her site. If you've got nothing to feel guilty about, Sarah, why are you taking down the image? She was covering her ass and/or feeling regret over an IDIOTIC poster.
OK, I think I covered all my points. I'm exhausted, though, and need to finish my latest Yuengling. Thank you for your time and God bless America!
