Jared Loughner and the Politics of Rhetoric

Whatever the situation with this disturbed young man and his actions in Tucson, Arizona on Saturday one thing is clear. The political rhetoric, on both sides but in particular from the dominant right wing news channel (FOX) and the dominant right wing radio hosts, as well as certain gun loving half-term governors, has to stop.

The violent rhetoric of guns may not be directly connected to the violence seen on Saturday in the USA, but what it has done is fostered the climate that allows a disturbed young man to thrive like this.

The sooner America realises that using terminology like “Don’t Retreat, Reload” and using imagery like gun sights when targeting political opponents is unacceptable, the sooner proper political discussion can happen.