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Democratic congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona was shot in the head at a public appearance today. Six others were killed in the attack; one a judge, one a 9-year-old girl. Giffords is reportedly recovering after surgery to treat her wounds. The suspect is in custody; he’s apparently a conspiracy nut.
As a number of observers have already pointed out, this kind of violence is the predictable outcome of the sort of violent rhetoric we’ve been hearing for years from Republicans, Tea Partiers and others on the right. And of course there have been numerous instances of right-wing activists bringing guns to public events. As the Daily Beast notes:
At a town hall at another Safeway store in Arizona in August, Giffords called the police when an angry opponent of the legislation dropped a gun on the floor during the event. After the bill passed, Giffords was one of several Democratic members to have their office windows vandalized.
Giffords was also included on Sarah Palin’s “target map,” released in March of last year, which featured gun crosshairs superimposed over her target’s districts on a United States map. The graphic was removed from Palin’s website today. Giffords’ Republican opponent, Jesse Kelly, held a campaign event in which he invited supporters to shoot a machine gun. “Get on target for victory,” an ad for the event read.
Blogger Echidne of the snakes observes:
The Republican right has been using explicitly violent language for more than a year, encouraging people with guns to insert themselves into politics, in the case of Sharon Angle, explicitly advocating the use of guns when politics doesn’t produce the results they want. There is nothing ambiguous about it, this is the open advocacy for assassination. This isn’t a tragedy, there is nothing mysterious or unintentional about it. This will not be the last. Sarah Palin was the Republican Vice Presidential candidate, Sharon Angle was a Republican candidate for the Senate, many, official Republican candidates clearly advocated the use of guns in politics during the campaign. The killing has started, the time to let them off the hook for the results of their policy just ended, people are already dying.
I think Echidne is overstating the intention of those talking about guns. But at the same time I think any politician who claims to be “surprised” that someone with a gun took their talk about guns seriously is being disingenuous at best.
But we shouldn’t just talk about the Republicans and Tea Partiers. While they may be the ones who are primarily to blame for introducing violence into mainstream political discourse, those fringe-dwelling conspiracy-mongers who talk in similar terms, and fill their readers’ and listeners’ head with apocalyptic nonsense, may have been the primary influence in this particular case.
This is one of the reasons that I’m troubled by the violent anti-women rhetoric I sometimes see in the mansophere. For some people, it’s merely rhetoric. But the fact is that some people take this sort of rhetoric all too seriously — as those who use this rhetoric know or should know. All those who’ve engaged in it have blood on their hands.
EDITED TO ADD: Below, a graphic (now taken down) from Sarah Palin’s web site:
>YEP I just did a video on this and tied it into MRAs and their bullshit that women are just as violent as men. NO and liberals are not "just as violent" as these nut jobs that follow Palin and Beck and Limbaugh. Where is the massacre done by a feminist with a manifesto? I have another screen shot that says, to HELP US prescribe a solution." This is what was on her website that she took down. http://twitpic.com/3o7pgoSo if Liberals had some website with crosshairs up on targets, and Limbaugh made a huge big deal about it, the MRA analogy would be complete. Their claims women are just as dangerous are flat out lies. I have someone after me that wrote a rap song about killing feminists, ok? The guy harasses me and my family and does that thing this blog covered about publishing people's names. Nobody will listen to me.
>Was she a feminist or did she actually like men?I glanced at her record, she was pro illegal and anti gun rights it seems. Which is kind of ironic as a gun might have saved her. I haven't been able to find out anything about her men's rights stance or lack thereof. Anyone got any info on that?Rnadom Brother
>richard, she was a moderate. I have no idea if she thought of herself as a feminist (though I will note that feminists generally do like men). She was shot down by someone who was apparently a conspiracy nut. There is no direct connection to men's rights that I know of, and I didn't suggest that there was. My point is that violent rhetoric has consequences. When I see violent rhetoric, on MRM sites or elsewhere, it troubles me.
>"Did she actually like men?"o.0Yeah, this ain't a feminist thing, unless you count Sara Palin as a feminist, like she does. I suppose there's a connection there and of course I'm kidding.
>I know Gabby so shut the hell up Richard. She is a bright, kind and good person who did not deserve what happened to her. Same for the other people this day. I thought I lost a friend for a long time today and people like you need to shut up.
>"Which is kind of ironic as a gun might have saved her."Yes, I'm sure a gun would have been real useful for defending against some dude sneaking up and shooting her point blank in the head. If only she'd been armed, amirite?Having a gun isn't an automatic protection from being victimized.
>booboonation said… ….. into MRAs and their bullshit that women are just as violent as men. What a nonsense talk by a frustrated feminist.This killing has nothing to do with MRAs worldwide. For sure, almost ALL MRAs between Germany and India never heard the name 'Gifford' in their entire life. Most of them do not even know, where Arizona is located.It seems there are also male victims in this recent American amok shooting by this crazy guy. Why not mention them too? But for feminists only female victims count…This WildWest shooting in Arizona has everything to do however with the daily life-style of some violent American people, who frequently solve their problems with a gun. About peaceful women in Arizona, better read first:http://hiphopwired.com/2010/01/18/mom-tries-to-trade-child-for-gun/Arizona Mom Tries To Trade Child For Gun
>John Taylor: Having a gun isn't an automatic protection from being victimized. It is not, of course, but to own your gun and be ready to use it is reducing your risk to be shot in many places in this world.Certain areas in some cities in USA and in several Latin American countries are known for their gun-culture.To be there – especially as a politician -without a gun ready to fire is not recommended.Arizona, bordering Mexico, is not known to be the most peaceful place in USA.
>Yohan, Men are dangerous and men that hate women are a danger to women. Like the right wing fringe that gets incited by their talking head rhetoric. Not only to men commit horrendous violence against women, but then the rest of you come along and lie about it, spin, minimize, gaslight, cover it up, and lie again about the nature and the imbalance all the while listening to more inciting rhetoric. If the right tries to claim that liberals are just as violent, or "half the problem" the way MRAs do, they are lying just the way you do. This is an excellent analogies for MRAs and other over-lapping groups. I don't care what you call me. I have appropriate anger and awareness about an issue that has not hit mainstream radar, yet. How many more Sodinis do we have to have?
>*Men are dangerousYes, I said that. And before someone demands I say some men. OK, but overall and comparatively speaking this is true and these issues are not theoretical to me. Some of you can arm chair this and be all nicey nicey but I know DV first hand, and I know being stalked as a feminist first hand, so I take it seriously and my speech will reflect that. These are serious issues, women's lives are worth just as much as anyone's.
>Expect more violence, not less. As our economy continues to bifurcate between the educated, people of means, and those large swaths of the American demographic fucked over by their government (bought and paid for by corporations), lied to by the corporate media, the victims of the mancession, ex military, and all of those men who are so easily left out of the hostile educatoinal system, they don't just stand around doing nothing. The "man leaning against the wall" with no stake in society, has in the past brought down societies.
>@Booboonation"Men are dangerous"Yes, and women make sandwiches while the adults are talking.WTF kind of ass-backward feminist rhetoric shit is that? Men are the only thing standing between you and 6 billion people who want to take your shit, tear you to pieces and throw you in the trash.That's a broad brush you're wielding there sister! You might want to cozy up to a real good man with a gun before the world economy gets worse. You might regret not having a disposable protector on your side when the SHTF!
>I'd say that statistically speaking women are MUCH more dangerous than men. They also kill more babies and children! God Damned psychopaths!
>booboonation said… booboonation said… Yohan, Men are dangerous and men that hate women are a danger to women. …Not only to men commit horrendous violence against women, And again you ignore the male victims of this crazy shooting…Violence is not only from men to women, and I gave you the link about a mother selling her child for a gun…And this shooting has nothing to do with MRAs worldwide.Most MRAs outside of the USA, me included, do not even know her name.As US-politician, regardless your gender, you need to keep your gun ready. Plenty of crazy people around.To blame the MRAs, because the victim is a FEMALE politician, is plainly stupid.
>witman said… I'd say that statistically speaking women are MUCH more dangerous than men. Well, THIS case has NOTHING to do neither with the gender of the victim, or with women hating men, or women dangerous to men, nor with MRAs, etc. – but with being an politician.Life for a politician is sometimes dangerous, not only in the US, and these people and their families need indeed protection like body-guards, bullet-proof cars, security houses etc… What has this to do with the FEMALE gender, except in the narrow mindset of a feminist?And as I said before, it seems, there are also male victims in this incident, but totally ignored.
>@witman,"I'd say that statistically speaking women are MUCH more dangerous than men. They also kill more babies and children! God Damned psychopaths!"Not so. Here is the truth:Of all children under age 5 murdered from 1976-2005 — 31% were killed by fathers 29% were killed by mothers 23% were killed by male acquaintances 7% were killed by other relatives 3% were killed by strangers Of those children killed by someone other than their parent, 81% were killed by males. Note: Parents includes stepparents. http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/homicide/children.cfm
>@Christine WE:"Note: Parents includes stepparents."If a male step parent kills a child, that is partly the mother's fault. Don't lambaste biological fathers because of the reckless decisions of mothers to invite a male thug into the children's lives and abuse them. Most murders of children are perpetrated by mothers and their abusive boyfriends; only a small minority are perpetrated by the actual biological fathers. Put the blame for the violence where it belongs, which is with the perpetrators.
>Let's narrow it down a little. Since women are more liberated we see a different trend to the more violent of the sexes. Let's narrow it down a little:http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/pubs/cm08/table3_15.htmable 3-15 Victims by Perpetrator Relationship, 2008Child Maltreatment 2008Perpetrator Victims Number PercentPARENT Mother 271,595 38.3Mother and Other 42,437 6.0Father 128,262 18.1Father and Other 6,280 0.9Mother and Father 126,982 17.9NONPARENT Daycare Staff 3,392 0.5Foster Parent (Female Relative) 308 0.0Foster Parent (Male Relative) 65 0.0Foster Parent (Nonrelative) 1,075 0.2Foster Parent (Unknown Relationship) 406 0.1Friend or Neighbor 2,501 0.4Legal Guardian (Female) 835 0.1Legal Guardian (Male) 225 0.0More than One Nonparental Perpetrator 7,816 1.1Other Professional 825 0.1Partner of Parent (Female) 1,943 0.3Partner of Parent (Male) 15,808 2.2Relative (Female) 12,216 1.7Relative (Male) 21,272 3.0Staff Group Home 1,458 0.2Unknown or Missing 63,758 9.0Total 709,459 Percent 100.0
>Looks like mothers are killing their kids at more than a two to one ration of fathers as of 2008! Those dangerous psychopaths and "These are serious issues, children's lives are worth just as much as anyone's."
>Christine WE said… @witman,Not so. Here is the truth:…..Of all children under age 5 murdered from 1976-2005 — 31% were killed by fathers 29% were killed by mothers This shows that mothers are almost as dangerous as fathers to their children…And I was always thinking women are not violent towards children.Unfortunately there is no victim-breakup into boys and girls. I guess for good reason.witman: PARENT Mother 271,595 38.3Mother and Other 42,437 6.0Father 128,262 18.1Father and Other 6,280 0.9 Yes, yes, feminists like to calculate in percentages.It's about time to give more children to their fathers instead to their mothers, but this might cut off a regular financial source of income (alimony, child-support) for women. Too bad… how misogynistic from me even to mention this…
>@witman,"Looks like mothers are killing their kids at more than a two to one ration of fathers as of 2008!" The numbers you're presenting are not murder numbers, they are maltreatment numbers. The murder numbers I presented earlier are the average for nearly 30 years and 2008 isn't likely to look much different than that – 62% men vs. 29% women (where the perpetrator is known).@John Dias,The information I presented was perfectly appropriate given that it was in response to a post in which male vs. female murderers was the topic.
>So it looks like humans are pretty much the same. You take somebody smaller and weaker, and sure enough, somebody they love is most likely to kill them.Booboonation would have us believe that her rapper, thug stalker just picked her out of a crowd, started rapping about violence against her and then started stalking her. Sorry, I have to call bullshit on that one. http://shrink4men.wordpress.com/2010/02/24/how-abusive-women-brainwash-you/
>@yohan,The numbers witman presented are not murder statistics.
>Booboonation comes off as a classic B cluster personality.
>You are correct Christine, BRB.