The Arizona Shooting

Unlike most of the media I decided to wait for as much information regarding the Arizona shooting before I headed to the blog to speculate and place blame on a group or ideology. There is something I want to show you though. Some of what I will say here has been said by others, like Glenn Beck and President Obama. Take a look at this:

"Before the liberals try to blame the AZ shooting on some gun toting right winger they should take a look at some of his favorite books including the Communist Manifesto and Mein Kampf. This is a tragedy caused by a crazy person and we'll find out more about the motive of Jared Loughner soon. I liked some of Gabrielle Giffords' positions and disagreed with others. I hope she makes a full recovery and my prayers are with all who were injured or killed today and their families. This isn't the Liberals fault or the Conservatives fault. This is the fault of a crazy person doing a tragically crazy thing.

I have to admit that I feel worse about the 9 year old who was killed than the others, especially since most of the focus will be on the congresswoman. I think most will understand and forgive me for feeling that way though. When tragedies such as this happen to children it can't help hitting us in the heart just a little bit harder. God Bless all who are suffering on this tragic day."

Take a second and re-read the bold text there. You know who said that? I did on facebook. Do you know when I said that? Saturday, January 8, 2011 at 6:35pm

I had that position the day of the shooting and I maintain that position now. It's unfortunate that so many others have an inability to do the same. Of course the left and the right want to go immediately into the partisan political debate whenever someone crazy does something crazy. The left immediately tried to liken this guy to a gun toting tea party member. The right considered him a crazy leftist.

While I pointed out that two very leftist books are included in his favorite books, I also pointed out that I did not and do not blame Liberals or Conservatives for this guys actions. You'd think that the left would do the same considering the following.

When you talk about the violence on the border and the problem with illegal immigration as legitimate reasons to increase border security, (as Gabby Giffords supported), opponents of that view instantly accuse you of wanting to punish hard workers who just want to support their families.

If a Muslim extremist blows themselves up and kills a bunch of innocent people, (including children), there's instant outcry as to how this isn't the Muslim religion as a whole. We all agree on that but it's rather hypocritical for the left and right to begin attacking each other on ideology regarding the AZ shooting.

There are countless similar stories where tragedy is used to make a political point. Remember how after 9/11 some people were attacked because they were perceived as being Muslim? George Bush even made a statement to try and calm people down and even those on the left who hated damn near everything about George Bush agreed with this speech.

I'm also not going to criticize the Obama speech at the memorial on Wednesday because I liked the speech. The cheers and applause at times from his college kid base seemed a bit inappropriate as it was a memorial service for those who died and not a campaign stop. I can forgive that to a point though because if you're a fan of President Obama then I understand that it's exciting to see him.

I really don't have much else to say as I think I've covered all I was hoping to cover. Hopefully, this makes you reflect for a moment on how you saw this tragedy. From what I can see, Glenn Beck, President Obama, and I seemed to get it right. While so many pundits from the typical partisan podiums got it wrong. I've said it before and I'll say it again.

It's not about right and left, it's about right and wrong.