Although I love a good political debate, I have purposefully stayed away from commenting about the shooting in Tucson, AZ this weekend that killed 6 and wounded 13, including Rep. Gabrielle Gifford who was the target.  This is a tragedy beyond anything imaginable and so many families have been devasted by this.  I won’t focus too much on what happened, because I’m sure we are all aware of the facts.  I’m just going to share my thoughts on what happened BEFORE the shooting and how I believe people in certain places should watch their actions.

First, I just saw the picture that has everyone in an uproar. (If you haven’t seen it, go here.)  Although this picture was published about 10 months ago, it’s been under much scrutiny recently.  Who in their right mind would have a “target” list complete with pictures of actual gunshot targets placed around a map of the country, name the representatives of those locations, put “don’t retreat, reload”, and disperse said picture on the world wide web?  I clearly don’t believe Sarah Palin and her PAC should be held responsible, per se, but the whole thing was done in poor taste.  Not only that, you are an elected official, whether you’re currently serving in a position or not, but people look up to you as a leader.  This move was not indicative of effective leadership (or any type of leadership) at all.  Second, while Democrats are blaming Palin and extreme right-wingists have her back, we’re not focusing on the REAL issue-lives have been lost and other people are fighting for theirs.  If there was ever a time when we need to come together as a country, now is that time.  We need to stop the hate talk, stop the blame game, and come and join together to unite as one country.  Third, once you ring a bell, it can’t be un-rung.  Yes, Sarah Palin took down the photo and deleted her tweet, but the damage has already been done.  Everything is fine and people stand behind their words until something tragic happens. 

I could go on about how I think certain people are keeping the pot boiling, but what good will that do?  I will say Americans-black, white, purple, green, and yellow-need to finally come together and figure out how we can live together.  If you don’t want to live in a multi-racial or multi-cultural society, I suggest you move to an island where you can live by yourself and not have to interact with anyone.  If you want to be a racist, a bigot, and continue to keep creating a divide for this country, I feel sorry for you.  Until next time, I’m just a Southern girl…in the city.

P.S. I wish the first family safe travels as they journey to Arizona tomorrow. 

Related Articles

• Playing politics with tragedy (theglobeandmail.com)
• A Tragedy in Tucson, and More Arguing on Talk TV – ABC News (news.google.com)