Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) Shot In Head

[rednblacklumberjack]

[Mr. Perfect]

[thecontributer]

[Mr. Perfect]

Not quite tc. Not quite.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162- ... ColumnArea

[AzariLoveIran]

[ansuchin]

.
Political violence is certainly not unique to America and happens all over the world and in some countries more than others. In Thailand, we had Khattiya Sawasdipol assassinated last year, the attempted assassination of Sondhi Limthongkul the year before, and regular periods of political instability, murders, and violence. I have been far enough from America for long enough now to no longer be in any position to comment on her troubles, and I also consider my treading into the minefield of America's political controversies as unwise. Nevertheless, occurrences of political violence follow some common themes and outcomes wherever they occur.

These events occur both within a personal and a political context. At a personal level, there is the grief and loss of the families, the friends, and the loved ones as with any sudden, violent death, as well as the worry, the fears, the sadness, and the anger of the families and friends of the injured. The motives of the perpetrators are sometimes obscure and frequently open to dispute.

Some political figures will pay customary deference and reverence to both the private and public pain in an attempt to elevate the political context beyond grim implications of the violence committed. They may also seek to isolate the event in an effort to minimise or to dismiss its greater implications. Nevertheless, the indictment of the greater political context cannot be avoided when any political violence occurs, regardless of the alleged motives or assumed derangement of the attacker.

Words matter. Words create the framework of attitudes and actions and are the basis upon which all humane standards are upheld or degraded. The most pernicious and destructive thoughts to justify human evil are founded upon words and built by words, one by one, phrase by phrase, paragraph by paragraph, each verbal brick, each stone of hyperbole, deception, and distortion, often seeming somehow reasonable and justified in the contingencies, passions, and understandings of the moment. Nevertheless, I also believe that words can form the foundation of a decent, dignified, and just society when used judiciously and with wisdom and compassion.

Any political violence, no matter how bizarre the motivation of the perpetrator, should oblige our discerning reflection upon our collective narratives, the words that formed our narratives, and how those have been applied. Such events, at the very least, should bring the decency and wisdom of how we communicate into question and demand our honest reflection. Candid self reflection is, however, a difficult challenge, particularly collectively, so recoiling from the essential examination of civil discourse through finger pointing, the trading of accusations, or by simply being dismissive of such considerations is far easier and is usually what ensues. The greater implications of political violence therefore typically become part of reinvigorated, competing political narratives to support and preserve assorted ambitions, ideologies, and images, or are simply dismissed as irrelevant sometimes by people who really should know better.

Political violence is a crime born in a collective context that requires a collective accounting. Therefore, in my opinion at least, political violence, assassinations, and murders are the responsibility of every member of the society in which these occur, regardless of our understandable needs to distance ourselves from the evil actions of others. All of us, from politicians to anonymous participants of cyberspace have, in some way, failed at times to uphold worthy standards of communication, and, by doing so, have undermined our civil discourse.

A decent and just civilisation is built by the judicious application of language, word by word, phrase by phrase, but it can also be more easily disassembled and corrupted in the reverse manner by mindless, callous, opportunistic, and careless use of language that fertilises our collective soil for future harvests of violence, demoralisation, and suffering, regardless of our present intentions.

My thoughts and prayers go out to all the victims of the violence in Arizona last Saturday. Christina Taylor Green, a promising and loving 9 year old girl was one of those killed. There is never a way to make any sense of such a loss. Perhaps all the living can do is to endure and to go on with life trying to do better.

[Mr. Perfect]

What a load of hogwash.

[Mattmovies]

[Tinker]

[Mattmovies]

It's not the republican/democrat thing. It's just that ansuchin is bringing an outside perspective into the matter that I don't think needs to be dismissed. We can slam around inside the American mentality all day, but an outside perspective should be welcome to the discussion.

I don't spend any real time on the assassinations and violence in Thailand, and since ansuchin is spending some time on American violence, I want her contribution respected more than being instantly written off.

[Ibrahim]

[Colonel Sun]

[Tinker]

[amos]

[Demon of Undoing]

I think I have figured out what I am going to do. The next time I hear about poisonous rhetoric and charging the emotional environment , I am going to look and see if the speaker has engaged in it themselves. If they have , I will look and see if they ever confessed to it and said they were sorry and that they will never do it again. If there isn't some sort of confession and repentance somewhere out there , I am just going to assume their words about healing and all the other Oprahisms are in fact tactics to try to make the other side look bad before poisoning the rhetoric again at a later time. Because so far I don't have any reason to assume they won't.

[amos]

[Demon of Undoing]

I read the selection and I get the idea. And I was talking about Barry , and a host of others on the political stage.

[Mr. Perfect]

[Mr. Perfect]

[Ibrahim]

Mr. P, do you see yourself more as a victim of blood libel, or a rape victim? I really want understand your sense of victimization.

[Demon of Undoing]

I just think it ought to come down to ownership , not platitudes that can create convenient rhetorical cover. I can't take someone seriously unless they understand their own role in the thing.

And P is right in his general sentiment. If someone said your name and " inspired a murderous rampage " in the same paragraph , you'd feel pretty violated , too. The actual words that are being used to convey the shock at being linked to that may vary from person to person , depending on their proximity to accusations of helping kill a nine year old kid. I don't know that I would say " raped " and damn sure wouldn't use the term "blood libel " , but I am fairly sure I'd have some sort of unpleasant verbiage to deal with being accused of something the accusers do all the time. In fact , I imagine Palin gets that quite frequently. I'd be steamed, too.

[Demon of Undoing]

And I have figured out something else she ought to be pissed about. I have heard a ton of people say she is not responsible , but then go right on talking about behavior that many do that makes for incremental responsibility, all of it pertaining to her. Conveniently , nobody else gets an incrental mention.

It's like the TANG accusations with Bush; we know these charges have been proven false and everything , but they are still true.

[Mr. Perfect]

[Mr. Perfect]

[amos]