Tuscon Arizona Shooting UPDATE: Christina Taylor Green

As many of you are probably already aware, Jared Lee Loughner; the gunman in the Tuscon, Arizona shooting on January 8th testified in court today. Although the details from what I'm trying to read about it are sketchy, it appears he didn't speak much; the media is still trying to scapegoat like crazy and the affected are still reeling in from the shock, and I don't blame them. I did want to bring attention to one of the victims, who's plight deeply affected me, as I'm sure it has to many others: Christina Taylor Green

This nine year-old girl was the youngest victim of Jared Lee Loughner's heinous spree. Born on September 11th, 2001; a day forever etched in my memory when terrorists conducted the deadliest attack on American soil. She was among those featured in a photograpy book called Faces of Hope: Babies Born on 9/11. Her father spoke on CNN so arrestingly: "She came in on a tragedy, and she left on a tragedy. But the nine years between were special". Only because her interest in politics moved her to meet her state representative where the violence broke out, Christina's death was a horrible consequence of simply being at the wrong place at the wrong time.

While at work, I mulled over copies of The New York Post and New York Daily News articles over who the victims were last Saturday. Although they're not my favorite newspapers in the world, the articles about Christina from the perspective of her grandfather (Dallas Green, former manager for the Yankees and the Mets) were very moving. I'll post them here and here.

People die and are born every day of human existence, but the circumstances and personal history of Christina's death are disturbingly, and saddeningly symbolistic. I like to think that as Americans, we are able to learn something from 9/11, and come together in greater strength as a nation. Nearly ten years since that tragedy, we still face the grim reality that not everyone shares the same optimism as many of us would hope to. I'm pretty sure Jared Loughner had no idea the girl he killed was born on 9/11, but what she meant to her family because of that day, and for many of us who would later learn, it's as if Loughner killed a piece of hope that she represented to so many people. In the days of a bad economy brought on by irresponsible spending, and acerbic political smear campaigns, it makes me wonder if we are still learning about what it takes to be civilized in the moral sense of the word. With every tragedy that occurs in our lives, we stop and pause for reflection, but there's a reason why we took history classes in school - to learn about preventing them happening again.

My thoughts and prayers to the families of the victims,
- Jon

Tuscon Arizona Shooting

Earlier this morning, it was reported that a 22 year-old gunman by the name of Jared Loughner opened fire on a shopping center in Tuscon, Arizona. Among his eighteen victims; six of which were killed, included Federal Judge John McCarthy Roll and Democratic State Representative Gabrielle Giffords. Roll was killed, while Giffords survived an "in-out" gunshot wound to the head. At the time of this writing, she's been sent to the ICU.

One of the more interesting things I've been hearing across the web is Sarah Palin's "involvement" in this unspeakable tragedy. Apparently, her PAC had made the following campaign ad, prior to the 2010 midterm elections. The ad placed a target over Tuscon, representing Palin's wishes for Republicans to defeat the incumbent Giffords because of her support and ultimately pledged protection for President Obama's healthcare reform. More can be read about "Sarah PAC"'s campaign goals here.

Now, don't get me wrong, I dislike Sarah Palin as much as the next person with an ample amount of brain cells. Her credibility as a politician and a helmswoman for the Republican party are, in my opinion, embarrassing for conservative Americans (and Americans in general). She's a hyper-charismatic cheerleader for the GOP with too much money and too little social cognizance or cultural sensitivity. This kind of political campaigning; putting targets on a map, is an example of her lack of insight towards considering the type of implications that ads like these can make.

However, in her defense, I think a lot of what these bloggers are insinuating by saying malarky such as "Palin ordered a hit on Giffords!" or "Palin provoked the gunman with her campaign!" is a tad far-fetched. I think the global lesson here is where one person makes a mistake, the other side makes themselves no better by turning a horrible tragedy into an excuse to sling mud at the other side of Giffords' political party. How come none of these crazy bloggers are calling this a hate crime, either? Didn't anyone fail to point out that Giffords is Jewish? No one is going to win by pointing fingers at each other, but hopefully this event will serve as a call to review the kind of language and themes politicians use when they make these campaigns.

I don't think we're going to know for a while what Jared Loughner's exact motives were to attack that Tuscon shopping center, whether they were politically motivated, or if he's just crazy. What I did find was this interesting video from his (now deactivated) MySpace page:

Misunderstood visionary? Or misguided, unrestrained radical? I know typically not to judge a book by it's cover, but senslessly killing six people inclines me to lean towards the latter.

My thoughts and prayers to the families of the victims,
- Jon