Are We Going To See More “Isolated” Incidents?
Palin Crosshair map
It has barely been a year since the tragic shooting in Arizona that killed nine and nearly killed Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. This week, she announced her resignation from the House in order to focus on her recovery.
One year.
Also this week, five Democratic state senators in Missouri found images of sniper crosshairs on their office doors. You’ll recall that Gabby Giffords was “targeted” by Sarah Palin with crosshairs on a map before she was shot.
Are we getting ready to start seeing more “isolated incidents“?
To be sure, the blame for the attack in Arizona last year cannot be laid squarely at Palin’s feet. And until they catch – if ever – the individuals that placed the crosshairs on the office doors, there’s no way to know their political leaning. But it’s about the atmosphere that has been created.
Somewhere, it became acceptable, and even encouraged to make physical threats. Last week, the campaign manager for a Democrat in Arkansas came home with his kids to find their cat dead and the word “Liberal” carved into it. At what point did this become acceptable, in any way?
Have we not learned the lessons that violent rhetoric only makes the problem worse? How long will it be until we get another “isolated incident” that will be disavowed and put off to coincidence? As the campaign rhetoric heats up, and as the candidates make their cases, how long until someone decides to eliminate a candidate for good?
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- Tea Party Vitriol – The Hits Keep Coming Let's see... comparing opponents to the Nazis, claiming 'a billion deaths', usurping the image of ground zero to use it to attack their opponents, 'polish off the enemy'. ...
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