More wrongs
Only one person pulls the trigger.
It doesn't matter how badly you want to blame a group or a politician.
Only one person pulls the trigger.
A fire storm of controversy erupted after Arizona's Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was shot in the head during an attack at a Tucson, Ariz., Safeway while she was meeting with her constituents. Nineteen people were injured and six died during the attack.
Jared Lee Loughner, 22, was arrested for the shooting.
It didn't take long for television pundits and national media to start pointing fingers.
Some stories contain ridiculous information, which appear to insinuate blame on people and organizations that had nothing to do with a man pulling the trigger of pistol. Walmart was blamed for selling him ammunition. An Arizona game agent is blamed for letting the suspect go after he ran a red light earlier in the day. Sarah Palin is blamed for - everything. Look at the fury generated over the term "blood libel."
The publication The Jewish Week wrote this about the use of the term.
"Sarah Palin is right. She is being slandered. Nothing reflects the vulgarity of the national conversation over the past few years more than the relentless 'hating' of Sarah Palin ... Yes, articles, such as Michael Daly's in the Daily News, are exactly a blood libel, with headlines charging 'Giffords' Blood Is On Sarah Palin's Hands.'"
One member of Congress is ignoring the First Amendment of the Constitution in publicly wanting to forbid "violent imagery" used in politics.
They are abusing the public by using this tragic event to take attacks of opportunity. The blame and finger-pointing is childish, unprofessional, and despicable. They are cheap shots taken at enemies while forgetting the people who were hurt in the attack, and we mean more than a member of Congress.
The motive for the shooting is irrelevant. All that matters is proving beyond a shadow of doubt, who pulled the trigger.
"We must reject the idea that every time a law's broken, society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions," President Ronald Reagan said years ago.
He couldn't be more right today.
- Editorial board