Political Rage

This weekend, some clown put a U.S. Congresswoman in his Glock sight and opened fire during a meeting outside a Safeway in Tucson, Arizona.

Despite being shot through the head, the Congresswoman should survive the attack.  However, six others, including a federal judge and a nine-year-old girl weren’t so lucky.

Apparently the 22-year-old man was disgruntled over the actions of our federal government, and he decided to take out his frustration and rage by shooting a member of Congress and others in her crowd.

The sane among us recognize the illogic of his reasoning.  Still, something obviously pushed this guy over the edge and he lashed out.

I’m sure this will reinforce the opinions of those who want to make it unlawful for anybody to own a handgun.  As the saying goes, “When you do that, only the criminals will have guns.”

Besides guns don’t kill people; people kill people.  Or the corollary: Guns don’t kill people; bullets do.  Guns just make the bullets go really, really fast.  (Maybe we ought to ban bullets.)

If there were no guns, the criminals would still find ways of hurting people.  Just look at all the ingenious weapons fashioned in prisons. 

It’s alright to disagree with our government.  It’s okay to align yourself with a particular party and argue with others.  That’s what our country is all about.  Debate and protest are healthy actually.

What isn’t healthy are the crazy folks who walk among us; full of anger and rage and on the brink of doing something really foolish.

And I see no preventative course of action for them.  Whether it’s a couple of guys who open fire in a Colorado high school, an ex-soldier who blows up a building in Oklahoma City or a small group of muslims who hijack and drive passenger jets into buildings; the best we can hope for is that we may somehow learn of their plans ahead of time.

But if the crazed person goes over the edge in an instant of rage – with no premeditation, then it’s impossible to foresee.  (e.g. O.J. Simpson)

We grieve for the families of the victims in Tucson.  They were innocent people who never dreamed that a simple Saturday visit to the Safeway (ironic, that name, isn’t it?) would change their lives so dramatically.