Many Americans–especially Republicans–claim they can’t understand the tragic shootings in Tucson that claimed the lives of six people and left 13 others wounded.
Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona was shot in the head on January 8 while meeting with constituents outside a grocery store. She is fighting for life at University Medical Center in Tucson.
Also killed was Arizona’s chief U.S. District judge, John Roll, who had just stopped by to see his friend Giffords after celebrating Mass.
Far from being a mystery, yesterday’s violence becomes entirely understandable–if we are willing to put aside our cherished notion that “things like this happen only in other countries; they don’t happen here.”
A good starting point is the 1968 movie “Z”, whose summary follows:
Set in Greece in 1963, the film re-creates the events surrounding the assassination of democratic Greek politician Grigoris Lambrakis, who is played by Yves Montand.
Lambrakis (who is referred to only as “the Deputy” throughout the movie) is clearly out of step with the right-wing militarists who run the country.
He is scheduled to give a night-time speech advocating nuclear disarmament. But Lambrakis’ opponents intend to prevent this. Right-wing goon squads gear up for a rally at the site where the Deputy is to appear.
Under pressure by the military and police, the site has been changed to a much smaller hall and right-wing mobsters now threaten those who call for peace. As the Deputy crosses the street from the hall after giving his speech, a delivery truck speeds past him and a man on the open truck bed crushes his head with a club.
The injury eventually proves fatal, and by that time it is already clear that the police have coerced witnesses to claim that the victim was simply run over by a drunk driver.
* * * * *
Now, fast-forward to 2011 and the tragedy in Arizona.
Giffords, 40, is a moderate Democrat who narrowly wins re-election in November against a Republican Tea Party candidate. Her support of President Obama’s health care reform law has made her a target for violent rhetoric–especially from former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.
In March, 2010, Palin releases a map featuring 20 House Democrats that uses crosshairs images to show their districts. In case her supporters don’t get the message, she later writes on Twitter: “‘Don’t Retreat, Instead – RELOAD!'”
As the campaign continues, Giffords finds her Tucson office vandalized after the House passes the overhaul in March.
Giffords senses that she has become a target for removal–in more than political terms. In an interview after the vandalizing of her office, she refers to the animosity against her by conservatives. She specifically cites Palin’s decision to list her seat as one of the top “targets” in the midterm elections.
“For example, we’re on Sarah Palin’s targeted list, but the thing is, that the way that she has it depicted has the crosshairs of a gun sight over our district. When people do that, they have to realize that there are consequences to that action,” Giffords tells MSNBC.
At one of her rallies, her aides call the police after an attendee drops a gun.
Now let’s examine the case of Federal Judge John Roll. Named Arizona’s chief federal judge in 2006, he wins wide acclaim as a respected jurist and leader who pushes to beef up the court’s strained bench to handle a growing number of border crime-related cases.
In 2009, he becomes a target for threats after allowing a $32 million civil-rights lawsuit by illegal aliens to proceed against a local rancher. The case arouses the fury of local talk radio hosts, who encourage their audiences to threaten Roll’s life.
In one afternoon, Roll logs more than 200 threatening phone calls. Callers threaten the judge and his family. They post personal information about Roll online.
Roll and his wife are placed under fulltime protection by deputy U.S. marshals. Roll finds living under security “unnerving and invasive.” Authorities identify four men believed responsible for the threats. But Roll declines to press charges on the advice of the Marshals Service.
So much for exploring the “what happened” part of the shootings in Tucson. In the next post, we will explore the “why.”
Image may be NSFW.
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Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
