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[echo_fish]

A huge thank you to all of you for your kind comments and for keeping Tucson in your thoughts these past few days.  When I posted, we didn't know what was going on; we were waiting for the hospital press conference.  The local news just kept repeating that their sources were telling them that Giffords had died and I was so scared.  It wasn't until

Comments

[flippet]

Absolutely sending vibes, as we call them in my circle.

I've been so angry about it, from the minute I heard, I've hardly been able to talk coherently about it. Because it's so completely obvious what the 'cause' really is. Mental illness, certainly - but that doesn't negate the fact that it's somehow become 'okay' to talk about our hardworking public servants in violent terms. And there have been warnings all along - this kind of talk has made people nervous from the start. And yet those doing the talking refused to tone it down, they only ramped it up, and this is the inevitable conclusion. Which they will now be denying responsibility for like their hair's on fire.

I've seen too many comments whining 'we don't even know if he's a tea party supporter, we don't even know if he saw the map'---it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter if he was a card-carrying Democrat. What matters is that when you allow that kind of vitriol to permeate the public scene, it soaks into every corner. It says that it's okay to solve problems, any problems, with violence. And everyone picks up on it.

I saw posted on Twitter - 'if this was a school shooting, the student who posted the crosshair map would be in custody right now.' That's absolutely right. Why should we treat this situation any differently?

Anyway. I'm glad you weren't there - I'm sure it's terrifying enough to be close to it. I'm glad Gabby's a fighter, in so many ways. There are a lot of lessons to be learned here...I can only hope that we, as a nation and as individuals, do.

[echo_fish]

Thank you so much for the vibes. They are so greatly appreciated.

*hugs* for this comment. and this: What matters is that when you allow that kind of vitriol to permeate the public scene, it soaks into every corner. It says that it's okay to solve problems, any problems, with violence. And everyone picks up on it. Exactly. I just posted in a comment above -- all this talk about 2nd Amendment remedies, and "if ballots don't resolve this, bullets will" -- what the hell did they think was going to happen? Even just bringing guns to political events (which is absurd on its face), I can only see the sole purpose is just to "persuade" people by intimidating them with the threat of violence? This wasn't done in a vacuum, we have such a long history of political violence in this country. They created the monster but are backpedaling so hard to avoid any responsibility. "No one could have anticipated" that our constant drumming up of fear of "government" and advocating the use of guns metaphorically...could lead to a (thankfully attempted) political assassination. Charmingly, the local tea party "head" is just blaming Giffords for not having security...not that anyone should be fearful of the violent rhetoric. More guns for everyone! That's the ticket.

That is absolutely true. But of course, she's the real victim in this. Blech. And didn't she have the Secret Service come and tell her/McCain to cool it with the rhetoric in the campaign? Perfect example of knowing your words have a tangible and dangerous effect on others.

Thanks for letting me rant. And thanks--I'm glad I wasn't there, either. I can't even imagine. The thought of it is scary enough; the fact that I pass by there (and will go back to that store...eventually). Everyone's still shocked, but we're all being demonstrably friendlier to one another, so I hope we can hold onto that. If we can do that locally, I have hope for us. I'm just so amazed and thankful that Gabby's, well, alive, and making such a promising recovery. Patience and hope, patience and hope.