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No Ordinary Cross Hairs
Jan 09, 2011
Christina Taylor Green might well have made the world a better place someday. According to reports, Christina had just been elected to her elementary school's Student Council. Her neighbor brought her along to Rep. Gifford's community event in the corner Safeway parking lot. He thought it would be of interest to this young, budding public servant.
Nine years old, a ballerina, a ball-player, a student councilmember and a beloved daughter, Christina Taylor Green was felled by a would-be assasin's bullet.
Tragedies do happen. Innocent people, even children, are caught in cross hairs every day in this country. But these were no ordinary cross hairs. These cross hairs appeared on the website of an immensely high-profile political leader, indeed that of a former U.S. Vice-presidential Candidate. Tea Party Spokesperson Sarah Palin. This map targeted, with the cross hairs of a gun barrel, Rep Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ). And to reinforce this map of "targets," Palin tweeted to conservatives last year "Don't Retreat...Reload."
These cross hairs hung in the air when 2010 Congressional-candidate Sharon Angle, another Tea Party favorite, said in an interview that people should exercise their Second Amendment Remedies.
These crosshairs were present at a campaign stunt which Gabby Giffords' Tea Party-backed Congressional opponent Jesse Kelly. Kelly's campaign event website posted a photo of him in his Marine uniform holding his gun, advertising a target shooting event: "Get on Target for Victory in November. Help remove Gabrielle Giffords from office. Shoot a fully automatic M16 with Jesse Kelly."
Palin, Angle, Kelly and the Tea Party neither pulled the trigger nor can be said to be responsible for the shootings. They have rightly decried the violence. The suspected shooter, Jared Lee Laughner's internet rants seem to indicate mental instability and radical right-wing delusions. But so far there is no indication that he believes he was following instructions from any particular public figures.
No, they are not "behind the shootings." But neither have they acknowledged the dangerous potential of their violent rhetoric. They have not repudiated their remarks or election tactics. They are not personally to blame for the tragedy. But can anyone say that they bear no responsibility for creating the cross hairs in which 18 innocent people were caught?
Pima County Arizona's Sheriff Clarence Dupnik said in the Press Conference following the shooting, "People tend to pooh-pooh this business about the vitriol that inflames American public opinion by the people who make a living off of that. That may be free speech but it's not without consequences."
So, no. These were no ordinary cross hairs. And in them a well-loved public servant, Democratic Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was shot through the brain. Six people were killed. Thirteen more were injured. And Christina, a child embarking on her own mission of public citizenship in her school, was caught in them and brutally murdered.
Incendiary rhetoric has ballooned in the past two years and has crafted the cruelest of cross hairs. This climate of hate threatens us all.
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Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
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Karen Dolan
Karen Dolan is a fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies and directs the Criminalization of Poverty project there. She is author of "The Poor Get Prison: The Alarming Spread of the Criminalization of Poverty."
Christina Taylor Green might well have made the world a better place someday. According to reports, Christina had just been elected to her elementary school's Student Council. Her neighbor brought her along to Rep. Gifford's community event in the corner Safeway parking lot. He thought it would be of interest to this young, budding public servant.
Nine years old, a ballerina, a ball-player, a student councilmember and a beloved daughter, Christina Taylor Green was felled by a would-be assasin's bullet.
Tragedies do happen. Innocent people, even children, are caught in cross hairs every day in this country. But these were no ordinary cross hairs. These cross hairs appeared on the website of an immensely high-profile political leader, indeed that of a former U.S. Vice-presidential Candidate. Tea Party Spokesperson Sarah Palin. This map targeted, with the cross hairs of a gun barrel, Rep Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ). And to reinforce this map of "targets," Palin tweeted to conservatives last year "Don't Retreat...Reload."
These cross hairs hung in the air when 2010 Congressional-candidate Sharon Angle, another Tea Party favorite, said in an interview that people should exercise their Second Amendment Remedies.
These crosshairs were present at a campaign stunt which Gabby Giffords' Tea Party-backed Congressional opponent Jesse Kelly. Kelly's campaign event website posted a photo of him in his Marine uniform holding his gun, advertising a target shooting event: "Get on Target for Victory in November. Help remove Gabrielle Giffords from office. Shoot a fully automatic M16 with Jesse Kelly."
Palin, Angle, Kelly and the Tea Party neither pulled the trigger nor can be said to be responsible for the shootings. They have rightly decried the violence. The suspected shooter, Jared Lee Laughner's internet rants seem to indicate mental instability and radical right-wing delusions. But so far there is no indication that he believes he was following instructions from any particular public figures.
No, they are not "behind the shootings." But neither have they acknowledged the dangerous potential of their violent rhetoric. They have not repudiated their remarks or election tactics. They are not personally to blame for the tragedy. But can anyone say that they bear no responsibility for creating the cross hairs in which 18 innocent people were caught?
Pima County Arizona's Sheriff Clarence Dupnik said in the Press Conference following the shooting, "People tend to pooh-pooh this business about the vitriol that inflames American public opinion by the people who make a living off of that. That may be free speech but it's not without consequences."
So, no. These were no ordinary cross hairs. And in them a well-loved public servant, Democratic Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was shot through the brain. Six people were killed. Thirteen more were injured. And Christina, a child embarking on her own mission of public citizenship in her school, was caught in them and brutally murdered.
Incendiary rhetoric has ballooned in the past two years and has crafted the cruelest of cross hairs. This climate of hate threatens us all.
Karen Dolan
Karen Dolan is a fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies and directs the Criminalization of Poverty project there. She is author of "The Poor Get Prison: The Alarming Spread of the Criminalization of Poverty."
Christina Taylor Green might well have made the world a better place someday. According to reports, Christina had just been elected to her elementary school's Student Council. Her neighbor brought her along to Rep. Gifford's community event in the corner Safeway parking lot. He thought it would be of interest to this young, budding public servant.
Nine years old, a ballerina, a ball-player, a student councilmember and a beloved daughter, Christina Taylor Green was felled by a would-be assasin's bullet.
Tragedies do happen. Innocent people, even children, are caught in cross hairs every day in this country. But these were no ordinary cross hairs. These cross hairs appeared on the website of an immensely high-profile political leader, indeed that of a former U.S. Vice-presidential Candidate. Tea Party Spokesperson Sarah Palin. This map targeted, with the cross hairs of a gun barrel, Rep Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ). And to reinforce this map of "targets," Palin tweeted to conservatives last year "Don't Retreat...Reload."
These cross hairs hung in the air when 2010 Congressional-candidate Sharon Angle, another Tea Party favorite, said in an interview that people should exercise their Second Amendment Remedies.
These crosshairs were present at a campaign stunt which Gabby Giffords' Tea Party-backed Congressional opponent Jesse Kelly. Kelly's campaign event website posted a photo of him in his Marine uniform holding his gun, advertising a target shooting event: "Get on Target for Victory in November. Help remove Gabrielle Giffords from office. Shoot a fully automatic M16 with Jesse Kelly."
Palin, Angle, Kelly and the Tea Party neither pulled the trigger nor can be said to be responsible for the shootings. They have rightly decried the violence. The suspected shooter, Jared Lee Laughner's internet rants seem to indicate mental instability and radical right-wing delusions. But so far there is no indication that he believes he was following instructions from any particular public figures.
No, they are not "behind the shootings." But neither have they acknowledged the dangerous potential of their violent rhetoric. They have not repudiated their remarks or election tactics. They are not personally to blame for the tragedy. But can anyone say that they bear no responsibility for creating the cross hairs in which 18 innocent people were caught?
Pima County Arizona's Sheriff Clarence Dupnik said in the Press Conference following the shooting, "People tend to pooh-pooh this business about the vitriol that inflames American public opinion by the people who make a living off of that. That may be free speech but it's not without consequences."
So, no. These were no ordinary cross hairs. And in them a well-loved public servant, Democratic Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was shot through the brain. Six people were killed. Thirteen more were injured. And Christina, a child embarking on her own mission of public citizenship in her school, was caught in them and brutally murdered.
Incendiary rhetoric has ballooned in the past two years and has crafted the cruelest of cross hairs. This climate of hate threatens us all.
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