May 22, 2012
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Seven Absurdities of The Arizona Shooting Accusers
by GABRIEL GARNICA, ESQ. January 14, 2011
The White Queen from “Through the Looking Glass,” who believed absurdities.
Even as I write this piece, I still cannot believe the horrible events that transpired in Arizona. An unspeakable tragedy has taken so many innocent lives, including that of a sweet young girl who represented everything that is good about our country. This should truly be a time of national mourning and reflection. I say “should” because there are those who have decided to exploit this heinous act to further their political agenda. As evil as the initial crime was, there are no words to describe how despicable, detestable, and disrespectful this exploitation has become. Those who peddle this exploitation pretend to promote unity, civility, decency, responsibility, and calm when all they do is ignite precisely the opposite. In fact, this sad situation is framed by seven absurdities all too obvious to be ignored.
The first absurdity in this blame game is that all evidence, including that found by the FBI, indicates that the shooter is mentally unstable and was fixated on Giffords since 2007, long before the rise of Palin or the Tea Party. Anyone with an ounce of brains and a gram of sense would thus conclude that neither Palin nor the Tea Party moved this man to focus on Giffords. It is patently absurd to blame people for actions obviously rooted long before the influence of those people ever existed. This would be like a woman claiming that her husband became an alcoholic due to the internet when his alcoholism began years before the internet existed.
Not content to ignore the calendar, these exploiters have likewise decided to ignore the backgrounds of both shooter and intended victim. They accuse the Right’s rhetoric of inciting this man when all evidence, including his past friends and other findings, indicate that his leanings are more consistent with those of the Left. Likewise, the insinuation is that Giffords was targeted because of her liberal views when many describe her as a Democrat with conservative leanings.
Obviously, admitting that the shooter is a Leftist radical or that Giffords has conservative leanings does not further the agenda of those seeking to paint this crime as Right on Left. Likewise, the Left has even resorted to falsely claiming that the shooter is a pro-life religious fanatic when he is exactly the opposite. It is absurd to twist the political views of people involved in a crime to depict a desired agenda. Suppose someone asked you to believe that Rush Limbaugh was moved by Bill Clinton’s views to murder John McCain.
The third absurdity of this opportunistic fairy tale is the fact that the very side which is associating Sarah Palin’s use of crosshairs and other imagery with this crime have themselves used such images and expressions in the past. One need only look here to see Democratic use of such images. Similarly, the Left’s vicious bashing of Palin and her family as well as other conservative figures is a matter of public record. Likewise, In a June 14, 2008 speech, Obama said, "If they bring knives, we will bring guns." referring to confrontations with Republicans, and his use of the term “enemies” to describe the Right was widely reported. It is absurd to accuse others of inciting violence for using words and images one has also used in the past. This is like singing the rumble song from West Side Story on Monday and protesting against the use of weapons on Broadway on Tuesday.
The fourth absurdity is that liberals have done this kind of thing before. They blamed the Oklahoma City bombing on the new Republican Congress. They did everything in their power to avoid branding the Fort Hood terrorist an Islamic terrorist and portrayed him more as a crazed loner, victimized by anti-Muslim rhetoric. They are now doing everything in their power to blame this crime on the Right and avoid the fact that the shooter here is a Leftist while seemingly on their way to portraying him as a robotic victim of Right rhetoric. One is left to wonder if there was a Republican Congress during the Chicago fire and the Titanic sinking and whether the Right was blamed then as well. They say that history repeats itself, and liberal history seems to dictate that “win, lose, and blame” is a popular liberal hobby.
The fifth absurdity arising from this vile crime is that these pathetic exploiters point to the fact that Sarah Palin eliminated the images and references her opponents criticized from her site as proof that they were offensive and harmful despite the fact that the Daily Kos deleted all foul attacks by its members on Gabrielle Gifford after the shooting. One post had even stated “My congresswoman voted against Nancy Pelosi----------And is now Dead to me.” A recent review of that website revealed numerous articles claiming that nothing that has been said or written about Sarah Palin is false. Not only are those numerous arrogant claims false themselves, but they ignore the small detail that the Left has used the same target images and, as noted above, similar or more graphic metaphors. This is like Lady Macbeth scrubbing her hands while pointing out how others wash theirs.
Sixth, the Left has now decided to blast Sarah Palin for using the phrase “Blood Libel” and question whether she is calling herself a martyr, comparing herself to the Jews, or even mocking Giffords’ religion. They have even gone as far as quoting one Jewish leader declaring that Palin has dug herself in an even deeper hole regarding the Arizona shooting. This last statement implies that Palin had already dug herself in a hole by her target images when the above facts and evidence already indicate that she did nothing wrong by using them. While Palin’s use of that phrase was unwise given its history, what has already transpired, and her enemies’ known proclivity to jump on anything they can to criticize her, there is no evidence that Palin is anti-Semitic. Palin probably meant that innocent blood was being used to slander her, which is true given the above facts and evidence. However, she should have known better than to give her enemies anything to work with by referencing such an incendiary term.
The absurdity here, of course, is that these liberals are the same people who went after Republican Representative Steve Cohen in Tennessee because he is Jewish, regularly oppose Israel, support the Palestinian and Hezbollah terrorists who routinely attack Israeli civilians, invite a Jew-hating dictator to speak at their school, and honor Hitler’s filmmaker, Leni Riefenstahl, whose propaganda films glorified Hitler and the Nazi regime. Does anyone see a problem here? The obvious absurdity here is that many liberals use anti-Semitism like they use racism, every –sim, poverty, and everything from natural disasters to immigration issues. Namely, as a convenient tag and accusation to level at their “enemies” while carefully ignoring their own questionable conduct regarding that very situation. In the immortal words of Elton John regarding the honor given to Riefenstahl’s memory, “Yes, Hitler was evil, but….She was a great filmmaker.” Funny how these people seem to only reserve “but” to conveniently rationalize their questionable moves. Many of these folks rush to protest anything their opponents do which can be branded as anti-Semitic while sitting by quietly as those sporting clear, tangible evidence of hating Jews are honored and given forums to spew their hatred.
The last absurdity rising from this monstrous crime is perhaps the worst, and most pervasive. Here we have a pack of opportunistic hypocrites using their forums and positions to fashion lies, insinuations, and slanders. Here we face despicable, self-serving exploiters who cannot see an inch beyond their own agendas. Here we are presented with fawning frauds whose tears and protests only seem to flow as is convenient to them. They ask us to come together, to remember the memory of the innocent lost in this crime, and especially to honor the memory and message of Christina Green, the youngest victim of this senseless act.
We are asked to rise to Christina’s expectations even as some of us resort to sinking to depths her bright innocence could not conjure. One cannot honor this young girl’s memory by exploiting her death to concoct blame against one’s opponents. One cannot rise to her expectations of what democracy can be by using her blood as the latest prop to push one’s political and social agenda. Such behavior reeks of hypocrisy, cowardice, and shameless disrespect.
What is most absurd about this pathetic political blame game is that polls show most Americans are not stupid enough to believe it. They know a potentially violent, mentally unstable radical when they see one. They can also identify a bunch of opportunistic, whining, and lying exploiters when they see them as well. Whoever thought that using this crime to bash Palin and the Tea Party was a smart move must be the same genius behind the Left’s current plummeting popularity.
As I watched a tape of Gabrielle Giffords reading the First Amendment in Congress recently, I could not help but see the irony that people are now using her misfortune to limit the very free speech she cited in that hall. Imagine a man seizing upon another man’s car accident to flirt with the accident victim’s wife. Suppose that someone gave a eulogy at a funeral while using the deceased’s demise to seek a promotion. Most Americans are good, solid, moral people with a firm set of values and a sense of what is right, in good taste, and fair. That is why those who pretend that Sarah Palin and the Tea Party dug their own hole in Tucson have only managed to dig their own hole that much deeper with this latest stunt. At the end of the day, Americans prefer those who point their fingers up and say “We are number one” while winning over those who point their fingers at others and say “Your fault” while whining.
FamilySecurityMatters.org Contributing Editor Gabriel Garnica, Esq., is a college professor and licensed attorney whose regular commentary also appears on NewMediaJournal.us, Michnews and various Internet journals.
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