Comments on: DC Week in Review: In the Wake of the Tucson Massacre

By: Michael Corey

Michael Corey — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 20:30:55 +0000

This type of senseless violence always sickens me. Except in high profile cases like this, many of us just tend to ignore them. Total security is an illusion. It never has existed and never will. As for newspeak, I suspect that it is a tool of our times practiced by all parties and ideologies. It loses its power if we recognize how widely it is practiced, and by all of us choosing not to use it. All too often we ignore the hyperbole when “our” side uses it. I’m as much concerned about how disturbed individuals like this killer are ignored until they commit some kind of an atrocity. I suspect it a failing of our society to recognize disturbed people and intercede before they commit horrible acts. Many people are time bombs waiting to explode. I would hope that an act like this doesn’t threaten our democratic practices, but I fear that it will

By: Irit Dekel

Irit Dekel — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 19:59:35 +0000

I agree that the ‘total security’ fears together with concealing newspeak are at the heart of the problem with Giffords assasination attempt. I do wish, though, for a symbolic text from the suspected Mr. Loughner and/or online communities he was part of on the web to show the relations between hateful ideology, craziness and killing more explicitly. If not for people like us, for those who don’t see and fear the danger in such times, which is sometimes picked up by lunatics, but is almost always deadly. I say this with the Rabin assassination in mind.

By: Iris

Iris — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 18:00:40 +0000

While I agree that there’s some danger in becoming too complacent in accepting more and more surveillance in the name of security, and other measures that forgo due process of the law for the sake of reducing the risk of terrorism, we need to look no further than our ridiculous gun laws to where we can make headway towards a safer society. Gail Collins says it best in her column today called “A Right to Bear Glocks?” http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/10/opinion/10collins.html?_r=1&hp Usually funny and to the point, today she appropriately does not use humor. My hope is for Congresswoman Giffords to recover and amend her pro-gun stance to eliminate the easy sale of the kind of gun used against her, which made it more likely that those around her were killed.