We Just Don't Know, So Don't Assume

I'm terribly conflicted. I want to be a reactionary, confused and bias-influenced blogger and point to people like Sarah Palin as "the cause" of the shooting in Arizona this weekend, but I honestly can't bring myself to agree with that assessment. One person (as far as we know at this point) committed this vile act, and unless someone can produce communications between him and these talking heads that have insinuated violent actions need to be taken, then it is just irresponsible to link them.

We can be clear on one thing right now: this was a senseless slaying. When a politician is specifically targeted we naturally assume it is because of that politician's ideology or stance on legislation, but when the killing of children and seniors alike is added to the mix that assumption becomes a little less solid.

Personally, this whole ordeal has disturbed me. We don't yet know the full motivation of this guy, but I can't help but think it was his way of retaliating against a political agenda he opposed. If that is the case, then this is no less than an act of terrorism, regardless of how sane or not sane the shooter is.

But we don't know his real motivation yet, and taking time to blame anyone other than this guy for this crime is rather pointless. I think David Gergen with CNN said it best:

The country would be well served now if we cooled the accusations until we learn more about the man police are holding in Tucson, Jared Loughner. He appears to be mentally unhinged, someone who has threatened others. Why he targeted one of the most admired and popular political leaders in Arizona is unclear.

I also have to wonder about the motivation of those using this situation as a political platform. I agree that at some point we have to realize that hyperbolic rhetoric is unproductive. I did. But should it really take a shooting (of as-yet-unknown reason) to get people to realize this?

This is not a situation that should be used to rally political bases. No political party should be using this as a "see, the problem is them, not us." And we certainly should not be looking at knee-jerk legislation calling for the (further) special protection of politicians without consideration of the consequences of said legislation.

Believe me, I want to point at the hard-line right and say "this is your fault," but I can't. Even if I could, what would that really accomplish? Those people would still be dead and the terror inflicted on the American people would still be real.

Let's take a moment to really understand what happened. Until then, we should be rallying behind the victims and doing what we can to help rather than obscure the situation.