Arizona...

Terrible tragedy. But it is by no means that idiot Sarah Palin's fault. The following is a facebook conversation your old Uncle Smitty has been having. Names are deleted for the idiots sake. I think their nicknames say it all.

DOUCHE...is getting a little tired of the wining [sic] coming from the tea party and their rightist supporters. It is pretty simple political algebra, if you use violent gun filled rhetoric and a democratic politician you 'targeted' gets shot you are going to get blamed. Suck it up, say your sorry and change your ways

• • REASONABLE, RATIONAL, MINORITY- I am no fan of any political party and frankly every party, foreign and domestic runs on rhetoric, it is their life-blood but to throw blame for this tragedy in Arizona on political rhetoric from one party by the other when it is quite obvious that this is the due to mental illness, a problem not adequately dealt with by either party, is both ironic and hypocritical.

    
    
  • DUMMY- how come all the mentally ill people are on the right wing? Eric Rudolph was the Abortion clinic bomber, Timothy McVey was the Oklahoma City Bomber; I don't know any left wing killers
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    DOESN"T GET IT AT ALL (AND DOESN'T EVEN KNOW THE FACTS)- It's not the political party. It's the crazy making rhetoric. People who are unstable are easily inflamed and suggestible. Things like cross hairs on someone's back gives some people ideas. It just so happens we hear the most crazy rhetoric from one faction of one political party.

    
    
  • FUEL TO THE FIRE- And don't forget, the doctors: Tiller, Slepian, Britton, and Gunn killed for providing abortions. This doesn't even include the bombings that have killed and wounded people. Also the Unitarian Church shooting in Knoxville in 2008. The list is very long and very one-sided.

    
    

    DOUCHE- Awesome guy, we could have a debate about what sets off mentally instable people to commit murder but that is actually not my point. My point is that the puntentry on the right is being politically stupid to think they are not going to take a hit... on this and I am tired of them whining about it. You are right, rhetoric is the life blood of politics and sometimes that rhetoric comes and bites you in the ass.
    And, mentally unsettled people are definately more likely to act on what mentally healthy folks would recognize just symbolism. The left has their own example of this in the person of the Unibomber. But the right clearly uses the rhetoric of violence way more than the left so it is not surprising that there is a much longer list of rightwing nuts shooting things up, including a Unitarian Universalist church where I had friends who where injured.

    
    
  • REASONABLE, RATIONAL, MINORITY- None of this is my point. My point is both sides should deal with the real issue here which is the lack of care provided to this country's mentally ill and unstable rather than "whine" about who is at fault for rhetoric that either has been... taken the wrong way or just been plain poor in taste. I would never defend that wing-nut in Alaska, but it has not even been shown that this guy knew about that. In fact there are reports that he had contact with her years ago and has had a long time, unhealthy obsession with the congresswoman (along with ideas of mind-control and the 2012 Mayan end-of-the-world idea).
    
    Talking about the rhetoric just fuels more rhetoric and gets societal needs no where. Let us deal with the issue of mental illness. As a lawyer who deals with mentally ill clients on a near daily basis I will tell you all any comment from any party can and will be taken out of context by people who have paranoid fears. Why do we feel that we have to attribute the actions of some people, whether they are easily influenced or not, to others? Instead shouldn't we be blaming the system that is failing these sick individuals? Aren't all these nuts part of the system? Was JD Salinger the biggest asshole in the world because every person diagnosed with schizophrenic paranoia disorder that has read 'Catcher in the Rye' may be a harm to themselves or others without proper care and/or medication? That is my point.
    

Well that was fun.