Reprinted from Pied Type, January 9, 2011
Yesterday in Tucson, Ariz., Jared Lee Loughner shot 20 people, killing 6. His apparent target was US Representative Gabriel Giffords (D-AZ), who was critically wounded and remains in intensive care.
Yet as horrifying as the shooting was, we cannot call it surprising. The rhetoric of hate and violence in our country has risen to unprecedented levels in recent years. We’ve been bombarded with talk of targeting or taking out enemies, shooting from the hip, being armed and dangerous, taking up arms, locking and loading, reloading instead of retreating, having bullseye lists, ad nauseam.
Responsible public figures should realize that such talk does not fall on deaf ears. Day after day, it builds an atmosphere of permissiveness and hammers away at inhibitions. It condones and incites anger, bigotry, and physical violence, if only metaphorically. And unfortunately there are and always will be people in our society who take such language literally. Saying “I didn’t mean it that way” is no excuse after a tragedy occurs.
There may or may not be a direct cause and effect in the Tucson shooting, but Americans should be considering carefully what this and similar incidents mean for our right of free speech and for our system of free and open government. Will thoughtful, serious public-minded citizens step up to serve as legislators if it means risking their lives? And what becomes of our country if they won’t? What kind of America do we want to live in?
Words matter. Words have power. And words have consequences.
In Memoriam
John Roll, 63
Gabe Zimmerman, 30
Dorwin Stoddard, 76
Christina Green, 9
Dorothy Murray, 76
Phyllis Schneck, 79
This totally struck a chord with me! Says so very much about where we’ve come today.
Needs to get reposted a LOT!!!
I was chatting with WP people this afternoon trying to figure how to get social reposts/reblogs enabled here. But the WP plan I have doesn’t allow for reblogs and the other social links can only be enabled with plugins that, so far, I don’t understand and can’t get to work. Anybody can copy the URL and paste it elsewhere, but a simple reblog click apparently is not possible. I’m not a happy camper today. I appreciate the thought, however, and thanks for reading.
Scary to think that since 2011 the level of violent speech (and actions) has gotten so much worse.
Frankly I was stunned when I first read this and realized I’d written it in 2011! It could have been written a few days ago.
Social media have changed the landscape of public rhetoric. The jury is still out on whether democracy (small “d”) can survive this development. Survival is not assured. Mankind is a mere blip on the geophysical calendar. Except for a chance asteroid, the age of dinosaurs would still be going on.
I watched a panel discussion somewhere in the last week or so that quickly agreed social media are indeed the primary cause/source of the metastasizing hate and dissension in America. No cure for the problem was proposed, but getting rid of social media seems unlikely. Perhaps another chance asteroid will rid the planet of our species, if we don’t do it to ourselves first. Short of that, a meteor strike in Washington DC might be a good start.