The Tucson Massacre: Who is to blame?

The obvious target of blame is Jared Lee Loughner. I do not deny his guilt, but he did not act alone. Hateful rhetoric from both sides pushed him to violence. The Conservatives call the Liberals idiots, the Liberals call the Conservatives assholes. The hate-speech from both sides is to blame. We must tone down the hate, learn to be nice to our fellow humans, and maybe sometimes be willing to compromise on issues.

Gabby Giffords update

Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, known as Gabby to her friends, remains in critical condition today. She has been able to respond to basic commands such as raising her thumb and wiggling her toes. Doctors are cautiously optimistic, and she is not out of the woods yet. The Congresswoman is the only victim of Saturdays shooting to remain in critical condition at this time. Let us hope we are not forced to charge Jared Lee Loughner with the assassination of a member of Congress.

This whole issue brings forth a larger topic. Gun control. One cannot deny, if the purchase of firearms was illegal, twenty people would still be in full health. Here at the Humanist, we respect the 2nd Amendment. However, we have actually read the Amendment. It says all states have the right to keep a well-regulated militia. Not that all homicidal maniacs are allowed to purchase semi-automatic weapons. It is our stance that firearms should be carried solely by military and law enforcement. With tighter gun laws, we can greatly reduce incidents like this one.

Call your congresspeople and senators. Tell them to do something.

Six dead, fourteen others injured in Arizona shooting

Yesterday a gunman in Tucson, Arizona, shot twenty people. Six of them died. Their names are Gabriel Zimmerman, age 30, Dorothy Murray, age 76, Dorwin Stoddard, age 76, Phyllis Scheck, age 79, US District Judge John Roll, age 63, and Christina Greene, age 9. Tragedy is printed in blood red ink on every article about these killings.

But this was no random act of violence. Jared Lee Loughner, age 22, was specifically targeting Gabrielle Giffords, a Democratic Congresswoman from Arizona's eighth congressional district. Loughner shot Giffords in the head at point blank range. Doctors say the bullet passed through the left side of her brain and exited, leaving her critically injured but alive. She is currently conscious and able to use basic nonverbal forms of communication. Let us hope that she is able to make a full recovery and return to her seat in the House of Representatives.

We must never forget that, while there are those who condemn violence, there are those who revel in it. The Westboro Baptist Church (not in any way affiliated with any other branches of the Baptist Church) has decided to take signs saying things like, “Thank God for the Shooter-6 dead!” and, “God sent the shooter to shoot you!” It is people like this that sometimes make us doubt the wisdom of having freedom of speech. But we must pay them no mind, their numbers are few and if we give in to their hate-mongering and openly hate them back we will only encourage them.

What strikes me as odd is that Giffords is only injured and doctors are as optimistic as the situation allows for her recovery, yet the headlines say, "Gabrielle Giffords shot," not, "Six, including 9 year old, killed." While Giffords is a Congresswoman and is needed in our capital, who knows what young Christina Greene would have become. Maybe, had she lived longer than 9 years and 4 months, she'd have cured cancer. Maybe she'd have become a paramedic and saved people's lives. Maybe she'd be President someday, if her heartbeat hadn't been cut short.

We should all try and ease the pain of the victims and their families. Maybe send a check if you can spare the money. It's capitalist, I know, but one cannot deny that money makes this world work. A better idea might be to write a sincere, heartfelt card to the one of the victims or one of their family members. They need to know that they do not stand alone. If you cannot do anything, then convince someone else to do something.

I feel there is nothing more I can say on this matter, so I shall end this post by saying something that you have long ago gathered. This is a terrible, terrible thing and we should all do everything in our power to make sure nothing like it happens again.