Bile, and also ice
I'm apprehensive about weighing in too heavily on the business of Rep. Giffords, for fear of sparking off exactly the kind of argument that's currently at task. Perhaps that's sort of the point, though- I won't talk about rhetoric for fear of getting a face full of it.
Here's the first thing to remember, though: rhetoric alone does not cause violence. Rhetoric provides an easy excuse for people looking for violence to begin with. Think about it for a second. Take one look at the photo of Loughner in his prison orange and it's absolutely apparent that the man is not well. If the political stage in this country were calmer; if people could actually have intelligent conversations about anything anymore, he probably would have done it anyway. Perhaps he wouldn't have shot a representative... and who knows? Perhaps he wouldn't have shot anybody, but it's not hard to imagine that he would have opened fire one something eventually. People like that are not foot soldiers in the Tea Party Liberation Front. They are just crazy.
That said, what upsets me the most about this is that while the above paragraph is true, it doesn't mean that the public debate has not long since passed well beyond the realm even of insanity. What we have is a cruel parody of an electorate; the worst imaginable forum of shrieking, ignorant howler monkeys all all trying to one-up each other for volume and extremism. It's easy to tie people like Jared Lee Loughner to a particular party because it's so easy to find a message that fits his actions. I mean, really... remember the posters of liberal politicians in cross-hairs? Or Sharron Angle and her "Second Amendment Rememdies" for Harry Reid? Have you noticed how Sarah Palin used to keep talking about reloading? Or how there's not just a movement to "repeal" health care, people want to "kill" it? It's not an illusion- there is a lot of violent imagery floating around politics these days, and it's not hard to imagine that it's having some effect.
If nothing else, what it's doing is driving the wedge farther into our already divided system. It's making talk radio hosts decry the "Obama regime" with renewed vigour, and it's causing the bloggers to return with proof that the GOP is out to set up a gun-mandating theocracy. The worst part is that people believe it. I have had (and I really couldn't make this stuff up on my most cynical of days) conversations with people about how Sharia law is a serious threat in this country, about how the government is hell-bent on repealing the second amendment, and about how "death panels" would sit around in shadowy rooms, deciding who lives and who dies. At best, it's pretentious bullshit and the most repugnant form of cowardice imaginable. It's using fear to achieve political ends. It's terrorism.
So what do we do? We remember that the shouting heads on both sides of the floor depend on our attention for their continued existence. We ignore them, and they will lose their relevance. Turn off the AM radio. Stop watching Fox News. Write to your senators and representatives that you're sick of their shit and will vote them out if they don't learn to play nice. Don't ignore people who agree with the demagogues- they'll keep the message going. Instead, lean on them. Your friend wants to convince you that Obama wants to start death panels that'll force women to have abortions? Well, my fiancée has health insurance because of the new law. Stephen Hawking is a British citizen, and he's obviously not been sentenced to summary euthanasia. The fact of the matter is that all views have some relevance at some point, but most of the time the answer lies somewhere in the middle. Keep illegal immigrants out, but don't create a police state to alienate legal residents. Keep government from outgrowing itself, but don't cut taxes to pander to the people who don't need them. Let people have guns, but for fuck's sake, write laws strict enough to keep a person who set off as many red flags as Jared Lee Loughner from legally obtaining one, and don't let him carry it concealed without a permit. Use common sense, basically.
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That said, Atlanta has been crying out collectively about the ice and how no human being has ever lived who had the ability to drive on it, and my response is: shenanigans. Ice is not hard to drive on if (again) you use common sense. Don't floor it off the line, you will never have traction. Don't let your wheels spin to try to get traction, when they catch you will rear-end the car ahead of you. Don't take turns at 70mph. Don't drive if you're not comfortable, but don't work yourself up into a panic if you have to. Gentle applications of power, lower speeds, NO TEXTING, and engine braking will keep you safe. If you do lose your traction and the back end slides out, remember that "turning into the slide" means turning the wheels to keep them aligned with the direction of travel and don't apply brakes until you regain your directional control. Ice deserves respect and consideration as a driver, but it isn't impossible.
-The Proprietor
Here's the first thing to remember, though: rhetoric alone does not cause violence. Rhetoric provides an easy excuse for people looking for violence to begin with. Think about it for a second. Take one look at the photo of Loughner in his prison orange and it's absolutely apparent that the man is not well. If the political stage in this country were calmer; if people could actually have intelligent conversations about anything anymore, he probably would have done it anyway. Perhaps he wouldn't have shot a representative... and who knows? Perhaps he wouldn't have shot anybody, but it's not hard to imagine that he would have opened fire one something eventually. People like that are not foot soldiers in the Tea Party Liberation Front. They are just crazy.
That said, what upsets me the most about this is that while the above paragraph is true, it doesn't mean that the public debate has not long since passed well beyond the realm even of insanity. What we have is a cruel parody of an electorate; the worst imaginable forum of shrieking, ignorant howler monkeys all all trying to one-up each other for volume and extremism. It's easy to tie people like Jared Lee Loughner to a particular party because it's so easy to find a message that fits his actions. I mean, really... remember the posters of liberal politicians in cross-hairs? Or Sharron Angle and her "Second Amendment Rememdies" for Harry Reid? Have you noticed how Sarah Palin used to keep talking about reloading? Or how there's not just a movement to "repeal" health care, people want to "kill" it? It's not an illusion- there is a lot of violent imagery floating around politics these days, and it's not hard to imagine that it's having some effect.
If nothing else, what it's doing is driving the wedge farther into our already divided system. It's making talk radio hosts decry the "Obama regime" with renewed vigour, and it's causing the bloggers to return with proof that the GOP is out to set up a gun-mandating theocracy. The worst part is that people believe it. I have had (and I really couldn't make this stuff up on my most cynical of days) conversations with people about how Sharia law is a serious threat in this country, about how the government is hell-bent on repealing the second amendment, and about how "death panels" would sit around in shadowy rooms, deciding who lives and who dies. At best, it's pretentious bullshit and the most repugnant form of cowardice imaginable. It's using fear to achieve political ends. It's terrorism.
So what do we do? We remember that the shouting heads on both sides of the floor depend on our attention for their continued existence. We ignore them, and they will lose their relevance. Turn off the AM radio. Stop watching Fox News. Write to your senators and representatives that you're sick of their shit and will vote them out if they don't learn to play nice. Don't ignore people who agree with the demagogues- they'll keep the message going. Instead, lean on them. Your friend wants to convince you that Obama wants to start death panels that'll force women to have abortions? Well, my fiancée has health insurance because of the new law. Stephen Hawking is a British citizen, and he's obviously not been sentenced to summary euthanasia. The fact of the matter is that all views have some relevance at some point, but most of the time the answer lies somewhere in the middle. Keep illegal immigrants out, but don't create a police state to alienate legal residents. Keep government from outgrowing itself, but don't cut taxes to pander to the people who don't need them. Let people have guns, but for fuck's sake, write laws strict enough to keep a person who set off as many red flags as Jared Lee Loughner from legally obtaining one, and don't let him carry it concealed without a permit. Use common sense, basically.
---
That said, Atlanta has been crying out collectively about the ice and how no human being has ever lived who had the ability to drive on it, and my response is: shenanigans. Ice is not hard to drive on if (again) you use common sense. Don't floor it off the line, you will never have traction. Don't let your wheels spin to try to get traction, when they catch you will rear-end the car ahead of you. Don't take turns at 70mph. Don't drive if you're not comfortable, but don't work yourself up into a panic if you have to. Gentle applications of power, lower speeds, NO TEXTING, and engine braking will keep you safe. If you do lose your traction and the back end slides out, remember that "turning into the slide" means turning the wheels to keep them aligned with the direction of travel and don't apply brakes until you regain your directional control. Ice deserves respect and consideration as a driver, but it isn't impossible.
-The Proprietor