Jared Loughner and the "Political Culture of Violence"

The spate of political and cultural sermonizing has, of course, begun. They began unctuously rolling down from the pulpits of todays divines (the media pundits, mostly) almost immediately. WAY too early to determine whether the deranged kid had actually been MOTIVATED by anything political, or simply prodded by alien voices he heard in the Venus static music jangling around between his ears. You see, it is important to get the message out there that "our side" has the moral edge surrounding this poor kids descent into lunacy and the bloodbath that followed. It is important that we show we are "sensitive to the violence" and aware of the dangers of the poisonous rabble out there preaching treason and violence. I call Penn and Teller.

Fact is, "scopes" and cross hairs, talk of bull's eyes and "nailing" your opponents has been a part of political talk since the first presidential election I can remember. "Radical" and "violent" language of targeting, smashing, wiping out, attacking and [gasp!] "killing' have been a part of dialogue AT LEAST since Barry Goldwater vs LBJ, and George Wallace vs Ryan DeGrafenried. Now the weird thing is that not ONCE was I ever motivated to jump up and grab my dad's lever action 30-30, charge into the street, and assassinate some politico. WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME? My God, all that inflammatory language swirling around me and I never once went on a murderous rampage? Was it something in the water?

Not only was I immune, but all of my friends, and even my political friends were immersed in this bloodthirsty language. We had rambunctious, heated, angry debates that were loud, forceful, vitriolic, sarcastic and vicious..... and NOT ONCE did we settle them by pulling out a Glock 9 (the handgun of choice for both the shooter and the Congresswoman victim today, both owned one) to blow each other away. I am almost ashamed to admit it but THE THOUGHT NEVER OCCURRED TO ME. I have gotten furious at the callous wickedness of men and women in power....., furious enough to believe with all my heart that they deserved to die for treason (still do believe so!) without stirring up a howling mob to shoot up Capitol Hill, or even cap a local judge.

Nevertheless, there are a group of men who have become such timid sheep, such trembling quivering estrogen buckets, that they get their kotexes all twisted up and bleat and wring their hands and beg us not to speak plainly. Any assertion of rights, any Jeffersonian allusions to resistance to tyranny, any talk of defiantly saying "NO" to a metastasizing DC, whether by State or local governments, is met by hand wringing and nervous "hush hush"-- ing lest we awake the sleeping murderous demons inside a Jared Loughner. Now that one of these loons has roused himself off his antipsychotic meds and killed someone, these clucking old women raise the chorus "SEE!!??? SEE!!?? VIOLENCE.... AND YOU STARTED IT!"

To which I respond again, "PENN AND TELLER, baby."

You people can drop your bloody testicles in the bucket by the door after you have finished the job on yourselves. I am sure you will sing a beautiful soprano of peace and democratic process. As for me, I refuse to be infantilized lest you be fearful that some crazy person do what they would have done anyway.

If anyone out there wonders if this is for you..... it is.