Sunday, January 9, 2011

Impressions on the Tucson Shooting

I've had a hard time with the way the Tucson shooting is being used in the media, both conservative and liberal, to wave the bloody shirt at the other side.  The shooter seems to have been an equal opportunity whack job.

Tam does a good job dressing down those who immediately assume that the perpetrator is someone from the opposite side of any issue.

Deebow over at Blackfive does excellent work in arguing that political speech didn't make the troglodyte who shot a Congresswoman in the head and then spray a crowd.

As for me, I want to see the wounded healed, the dead buried and mourned, the families comforted, and the monster who did this prosecuted.  If there was a larger conspiracy, I want it tracked down and obliterated.  But I refuse to blame anyone other than the man who pulled the trigger for the death and suffering he caused.

Part of the responsibility entailed in adulthood is taking responsibility for your actions, and holding others responsible for theirs.  Nowhere in there does it say you get to blame a third party in order to score political points.

8 comments:

bluesun said...

I believe you are mislabeling certain parties as "adults" who have never given any reason to earn that title.

DaddyBear said...

Yes, but they are demanding a seat at the adult table, so I expect them to act like adults. Whether or not they have done that or even have the capacity is immaterial.

J. Moseley said...

Nice post. I must say I couldn't have put it any better

cybrus said...

A lot of people confuse adults for grownups. Becoming an adult is simply a function of aging. Becoming a grownup requires acting responsibly.

It seems every year there are more adults but fewer grownups.

Shannon said...

Completely agree.

DaddyBear said...

Good point Cybrus. Being an adult does not necessarily make you a grown-up.

Old NFO said...

Concur, and I posted basically the same thing...

MrGarabaldi said...

I finally posted on my blog about the events in Arizona, I had borrowed it from monster hunter nation. Basically everytime there is a kook with a gun, I immediately think " here we go again, the blame game to tea partyiers, angry white people, veterans, gun owners, ete,ete.

I was sickened and saddened when I saw people mostly on the left side of the spectrum immediately try to use the tragedy to score political points against their opponents and to support their pet political cause. I swear these people were gleeful in their joy and that is the most sad thing I can say about the state of discourse in this country.

in the past, people would blame the criminal as is proper. When you are an adult, you have the fun and responsibility of your actions. Now it is fashionable to blame a group, not the individual. this is in keeping with the present fashion with group rights and group identity politics. This is a danger for our country because the constitution protects our individual rights from an abusive gov't. The constitution doesn't endow us with group rights. The gov't has been doing that a lot. I believe that is part of the plan, once people are dependent on some group right, they are chained to the gov't for survival and do what is necessary to guarantee this group right.

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