His name is Jared Lee Loughner….the man that killed many and critically wounded a US Congresswoman, Giffords in Arizona……….But why?
A note written by Jared Lee Loughner ahead of his shooting rampage in Tucson appears to show that he made careful preparations to assassinate Gabrielle Giffords, the congresswoman gravely wounded in the attack that also killed six other people.
The existence of the note is revealed in court papers filed after Loughner, 22, was charged on Sunday with murder and attempted assassination. The FBI document says that Loughner wrote on an envelope the words “I planned ahead”, “My assassination” and “Giffords”. He then signed the note.
Someone needs to pay attention! Flying the flag at half-mast or postponing government or writing about one’s outrage at the act…is NOT enough!
Some so-called experts have shown that this man’s words are very telling of what he was thinking and that it could be politically motivated…….
The Southern Poverty Law Centre, one of America’s leading trackers of hate crimes, said there are signs in some of Loughner’s writings of far-right influence. Mark Potok, the director of research on hate groups at the centre, drew attention to Loughner’s online ramblings that reject the US currency.
“At one point, Loughner refers disparagingly to ‘currency that’s not backed by gold or silver’. The idea that silver and gold are the only ‘constitutional’ money is widespread in the anti-government ‘Patriot’ movement that produced so much violence in the 1990s,” he said.
Potok said the Patriot movement believes that paper money issued by the government is not legal tender. He said there were also clues to Loughner’s thinking in his internet postings in which he accused the government of “mind control on the people by controlling grammar”.
Potok said that fits with the theory of a Patriot conspiracy theorist who claims that the government uses grammar to “enslave” Americans.
But make NO mistake! This guy is a deranged crazy……no matter of accusation will change that…..
But the national conversation will be more about the rhetoric and NOT about ease of which this person or anyone like him can obtain a firearm and achieve the same results…..while I agree that the rhetoric could well be at the heart of this man’s actions and it should be addressed….but the way firearms are obtained needs to be the focus of this debate and possibly find a way to slow the whack jobs from getting their demented little hands on implements of destruction……If only!
Sadly to say that in a month all this concern will be just a memory on facebook and nothing will be done about the ease at which lunatics can obtain a firearm……ain’t democracy great?
I agree it should be harder for a lunatic to obtain a gun, but there isnt a way to make it harder to obtain an illegal weapon. A jackass like this will go for whatever means to complete his “mission”. The war on drugs hasnt made it harder to get weed. It should however be illegal to bring a gun to a grocery store!! No matter how sane you are. Especially when a member of congress is there.!!!
@Phillip: The UK has banned most guns and failed abjectly to protect anyone by doing so, so logic says you are entirely right. Then again, some “sane” (yet another subjective term, but let’s not get picky here) people might feel that it was right to bring a gun to PROTECT the member of Congress, or indeed the store staff and customers, from any armed lunatics who might attend.
The real answer is I think for society to bite the bullet of the cost and securely lock up the loonies together with anyone who tries to play to their instability for their own ends… but then, who decides what is crazy and what is not? Who decides if an individual is a nutter or perhaps a “political prisoner”? Who decides if people like SP are at the very least indirectly responsible?
Sorry to intrude here…but I would like to inject something…..to me it is not the intent of the words that the hate mongers throw around, but rather the perception of the morons that listen…..yes vile language has been thrown around but it is only as effective as the listeners want it to be…….
Back to you, Phillip……lol
And there is the point….it is easier to get a gun than prescription drugs……and bad guys will find their weapon…laws or for us that are law abiding….
The slippery slope is when people bring guns to grocery stores to “protect”. Is the gun owner a sniper or crack shot? Will he or she fire into a crowd at the suspect putting everyone in danger? Who is safe when lunatics and well intentioned citizens go at it in public? Scary sh*t if it comes to that.
Oh, exactly, Phillip – I agree. I’m simply saying that it’s an almost impossible situation to deal with. I have few if any answers, except say that banning does nothing to help (as I think you said too). We just need there to be less lunatics, I guess.
Lobotero: There’s little you can do about the morons and the lunatics… The politicians and would-be leaders, however, are the ones who SHOULD and MUST be more responsible and think about the effect on the nutters out there. In my opinion they often DO consider that aspect, but FAR from being more careful, they attempt to play to those weaknesses in order to gain support – disgusting!!!
Quin, did you do this on purpose?
…”morons and the lunatics… The politicians and would-be leaders, ” LOL.
I also agree it is an impossible situation to deal with. As much as I hate to admit it I also agree that pundits do prey on the weak. They are looking for a reaction but are not prepared for the reactions they get.
Its sad that pundits on the left and the right have turned this tragedy into a tasteless circus.
No, I the rpoximity of the two phrases wasn’t deliberate (that’s my story and I’m sticking to it) 😆
Yes, I agree, it’s sad and tasteless – nothing new there then…
Quin I am working on a bureaucrat post…yet again….those are always so much fun…right?
Yes. Right… I will look forward to that.
With VERY few exceptions, the people who run our societies, be they elected or not, are only interested in their own welfare – politics for politics’ sake, bureaucracy for bureaucracy’s sake…
NONE of these people seem to have a clue that their self image is NOT what matters, any more than what they DO is important in itself – all that has any value is what is achieved that is worthwhile for society at large by their existence and functions – not often very much in my experience!
Once again, well said!
de Toqueville had a great line…America, many people of principle but NO party of principles……..true in the 1830’s and true today…..