Bob Schieffer: Giffords Shooter Motivated By 'Dangerous, Inflammatory Words'
24 hours after the senseless killings in Tucson, Arizona, liberal media members are still convinced Jared Lee Loughner was somehow motivated by inflammatory comments he recently heard or read.
Despite there still being absolutely no evidence that this is the case, CBS's Bob Schieffer concluded Sunday's "Face the Nation" making the same silly point (video follows with transcript and commentary):
BOB SCHIEFFER, HOST: Finally today, we live, as we were reminded yesterday, in a dangerous, hair-trigger time when tempers always seem near the boiling point and patience seems a lost trait. Democracy’s arguments have never been pretty, but technology has changed the American dialogue. Because we can now know of problems instantly, we expect answers immediately. And when we don’t get them, we let everyone know in no uncertain terms. We scream and shout, hurl charges without proof.
Those on the other side of the argument become not opponents but enemies. Dangerous, inflammatory words are used with no thought of consequence. All is fair if it makes a point. Worse, some make great profit just fanning the flames.
Which wouldn’t amount to much if the words reached only the sane and the rational, but the new technology ensures a larger audience. Those with sick and twisted minds hear us too, and are sometimes inflamed by what the rest of us often discard as hollow and silly rhetoric. And so violence becomes part of the argument.
In an eloquent statement, the new Republican House Speaker John Boehner said yesterday’s attack on one who serves is an attack on all who serve. But it is much more. It is an attack on each and every one of us and our way of life. If elected officials cannot meet with those who have elected them without fear of being shot, if the rest of us allow such a situation to exist, then we are no longer the America that those who came before us fought and died to protect and defend. We must change the atmosphere in which this happened, and we can begin by remembering that words have consequence. Like all powerful things, they must be used carefully. More and more, we seem to have forgotten that.
In a segment about the meaning of words, Schieffer sure seemed not to understand many.
Exactly what definitive connection has been made to what happened Saturday and dangerous, inflammatory words? As there has yet to be one categorically factual and legally relevant revelation concerning Loughner's real motive, how does Schieffer or anyone else know he was incited by anything anyone said?
As Howard Kurtz observed on Sunday's "Reliable Sources," the man that shot President Reagan in 1981 was trying to impress actress Jodie Foster.
For all we know at this point, Loughner might have been trying to get Lady Gaga's attention. Or maybe he's despondent that Simon Cowell isn't returning to "American Idol."
Either of these possibilities at this point are just as likely as the reasons being offered by America's press the past 24 hours.
But somehow, despite there currently being absolutely nothing that has surfaced regarding what really drove Loughner to this heinous act, media members like Schieffer are convinced it had to be something to do with either a midterm elections strategy by Sarah Palin, or a comment made by a conservative talk show host.
Is this the state of journalism today? And how do these folks complaining about people being "inflamed by what the rest of us often discard as hollow and silly rhetoric" not understand that their wild, unfounded speculations concerning what set Loughner off fall into the very same category?
"We scream and shout, hurl charges without proof."
You indeed do, Bob.
And with what Americans have witnessed on their television screens since the first shot was fired Saturday morning, folks have to be thinking all of these networks have been suddenly taken over by either the National Enquirer or TMZ.
On second thought, those tabloids would likely have done a far better job of presenting the facts concerning this horrible tragedy than what the so-called serious media have.
With this in mind, to all those using inflammatory rhetoric to discourage inflammatory rhetoric I say, "Physician, heal thyself."
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Comments
WOW! Bob was
Submitted by dr-go on Sun, 01/09/2011 - 7:55pm.
able to climb into this nutcase's mind and identify his motivation! Bob help us all out by quitting your day job and put this newly found talent of yours to work in more valuable forums.
nutcases and nutmeats
Submitted by neutron on Sun, 01/09/2011 - 8:58pm.
In a nutshell, here is the problem (pardon me if the details are not 100% accurate):
When I was a kid growing up in southern California, we were pretty safe from "nuts." If somebody in a family, or law enforcement, thought a person was crazy, they could -- after a court hearing -- be committed to a mental health facility. Ours was Camirillo State Hospital.
Then, in the early 1970s, the ACLU got the wild idea that these people had extra-rights, and successfully sued for them to not be locked up. Suddenly, these nutjobs were on the street without supervision. Many of them stopped taking their lithium -- which kept their bi-polar disorder in check -- and they became delusional again.
I still vividly recall, in the Santa Monica Main Street Mall, watching nutcases arguing with their imaginary friends, and in one spectacular episode, losing a fist fight to somebody who wasn't even there.
We regular citizens, who don't see the imaginary friends, are forced to let these nutmeats roam free among us, doing as they will, because the ACLU won their court case and current PC liberals will crucify (is that okay to say?) anyone who says we should lock somebody up for their own and societal good.
So now, one of the free-range nuts bought guns and a few months later was able to use a moment of opportunity to go crazy (he was already there) and kill and wound several people, including a Judge, a US Congresswoman, and a child.
The blame for all such crimes should be laid at the door of liberals and the ACLU that will not allow normal society to lock up the insane, and protect the general populace from these nut meats who have lost their nutcases and are consumate nutjobs waiting to snap and kill innocent people.
next thing you know
Submitted by virgo47 on Mon, 01/10/2011 - 12:55am.
he'll be diagnosing brain damaged people on videotapes
This media onslaught against
Submitted by Chris Norman on Sun, 01/09/2011 - 8:00pm.
This media onslaught against the Right must have been cued up and just waiting for something like the AZ massacre to happen. If the words weren't pre-written then the outline of those words were certainly just waiting, because it all happened too fast and too smoothly. Like i said in another thread, the liberal media sounds almost gleeful at the chance to link Palin, Beck, Limbaugh et al for the atrocity no matter how they have to stretch that link - even to the point of inventing it. This is just sick and hopefully most sane people will realize that these vultures are jumping at the chance to turn a horrible event into partisan political gain.
Where is the evidence?
Submitted by octavioj on Sun, 01/09/2011 - 8:07pm.
Journalism is dead. Where is the evidence the guy was motivated by rhetoric? For now the evidence is that he is a perturbed person. What else?
chris, that is why i have my own opinion about this
Submitted by porpoiseboy on Sun, 01/09/2011 - 8:07pm.
crazy dude. some kind of "bourne conspiracy" mind control foisted on us by the left. and i will continue to run with that as long as i continue to hear this "tea party" and other drivel being thrown out there by the left. i say this dude was a registered democrat. he was known to have been at rallies held by the congresswoman at least 3yrs ago. that would predate any of the "rhetoric" ANY of these left wing idiots are spouting.
Ecclesiastes 10:2 The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left
The best social program is a JOB...ronald reagan
porpoise, It strikes me as
Submitted by Chris Norman on Sun, 01/09/2011 - 8:20pm.
porpoise,
It strikes me as an even sicker variation of the Rahm Emmanuel political rule of never letting a good crisis go to waste.
In this case it's
"Never let a 'good' atrocity go unexploited in trying to marginalize and neutralize the conservative opposition".
white men can jump
Submitted by mom_rox on Sun, 01/09/2011 - 8:09pm.
to conclusions.
Just in case y'all haven't figured this out yet...
Submitted by Dave. on Sun, 01/09/2011 - 8:11pm.
...what you are seeing is a full blown assault on the free speech rights of conservatives - not just against Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, or whovever.
This is an assault on all of us.
-Dave
Vote for the American in November
And a sophomoric attempt at that
Submitted by Galvanic on Mon, 01/10/2011 - 11:20am.
The Dems and their friends on the Left, who for years have levied all kinds of vitriolic charges against Republicans, conservatives, and most recently, the Tea Partiers -- have been particularly sensitive about the voices shouting back at them.
This knee-jerk attempt to get out in front of the facts in order to turn this tragedy into a political opportunity (never forget Rahm Emanuel's dictum regarding crises) will very well come back to bite them, from Sheriff Dupnik all the way up to the President.
As the fog of war begins to thin, it appears that this case has more in common with the Virginia Tech shootings than it does to Sarah Palin and Rush Limbaugh. The occultic icons discovered at the shooter's home point to something antithetical to conservative beliefs.
Didn't Obama do that?
Submitted by malefecent928 on Sun, 01/09/2011 - 8:11pm.
I seem to remember that our glorious leader sent his minion out to "Get in their faces." Isn't Obama also the one that characterized Republicans as "enemies"? I've also seen a chart from the Dem's with bullseyes on Republican areas that were supposedly vulnerable. No one mentions these things during the current rhetoric. It seems that a person like this "alleged" perp doesn't watch news or follow political debate to have seen Palin's site, however since it has come out that he might belong to a group that is very anti-semetic and Congresswoman Gifford is Jewish, wasn't it Obama that has been so rude and contentious toward Israel? If the Left wants to blame the Right, it seems to me that some of these facts should also be debated! Also, on the sites Legal Insurrection and Moonbattery, they have linked to a blogger on the Daily Kos who claimed to have worked for the Congresswoman's election and reelection campaign. This blogger claimed to be very angry with her and stated that she was "dead" to him now (since not voting for Pelosi for minority leader). He has since taken down his posting, but it lives on! This person should be of interest as he admits having shot himself in the mouth during a fit of depression! Nice! And yet Palin, Beck, Limbaugh and the Right in general is instantly considered guilty!
Facts... we don't need no stinking facts
Submitted by Jake6 on Sun, 01/09/2011 - 8:11pm.
As usual, the LSM is in full bay, to prove the old saying : "a lie goes around the world twice while truth is still putting on its trousers." Their prolitivity to traverse a chasm in two bounds is truly aweinspiring.
Impotence Revealed
Submitted by xraynova on Sun, 01/09/2011 - 8:26pm.
The massive effort by the LWP and the liberal talking heads to accuse Palin, Limbaugh, and Beck of causing the shooting of Giffords, is an exaggerated attempt at political opportunism.
Palin, Limbaugh, and Beck have been extremely effective in demonstrating the impotence of the democrat philosophy of governing. Conservative talkers have had an easy time revealing ridiculous democrat theories... like increasing spending to reduce the debt... or continuing unemployment checks to improve the economy... etc.
Liberals have deliberately excluded GWB from their rants, because it is still too clear in the minds of the nation how no corresponding vociferous objections were made when they painted a bulls-eye onto the face of GWB.
Conservative talkers should continually shove Hillary's infamous words (about political disagreement) down liberals' throats in the coming days.
What about the liberal Bush assassination fantasies?
Submitted by drsamherman on Sun, 01/09/2011 - 8:40pm.
The main stream media was orgasmic over the malignant metastasis of Bush assassination fantasies, yet suddenly they are concerned over the level of political rhetoric THEY created? I guess the Medusa of low, violent political discourse that the media propagates for sensationalization and ratings has not yet taught them the value of discretion.
FWIW, from the psychiatrist's point of view:
1) The early reports about the purported shooter paint a picture that is quite exemplary of juvenile onset schizophrenia, particularly in young males. The symptomatology emerges about the later second decade of life, e.g. late teens. Detachment, paranoia and delusions that go beyond the emotional angst of adolescence are often not recognized or treated. The patient is often dismissed as confused, angry or the product of hormones. Unfortunately, this can have dreadful consequences as the delusions become hallucinations and the detachment reaches to the point of complete departure from reality.
2) Adolescent males with schizophrenia sub-types must be carefully monitored and treated aggressively to control acute psychotic episodes. Even the most motivated and compliant patients in this sub-category will have breakthrough periods where medications alone are insufficient. Truly, these cases are tragic from the standpoint that the patient can do well and then revert to a point where hospitalization is necessary.
3) Treating young schizophrenia patients is a challenge because of their inherent emotional instability and the accompanying personality deficits that arise. It takes an pediatric psychiatrist with particular focus on this area to keep the patients controlled while simultaneously working with family on a support network to keep the patient adherent. If you get a schizophrenic patient with an overlay of severe mood disorders and/or ADHD, you can bet on at least one yearly hospitalization to control symptoms and keep the patient on course.
Your medical moment over.
Thank you for posting that,
Submitted by TerryWest on Mon, 01/10/2011 - 1:32am.
It's most likely closer to the truth then everything we have heard so far and in the nerotic rush of some media to turn this sad tragedy into an political oppurtunity I can better understand how mental illness goes to this day so misunderstood.
Not to mention
Submitted by Cool Arrow on Sun, 01/09/2011 - 8:43pm.
A movie involving the assassination of President Bush while he was still President.
I believe Dr Sam did mention
Submitted by Jer on Mon, 01/10/2011 - 1:47am.
I believe Dr Sam did mention it, although his analysis of the media reaction thereto was not quite up to the standards of his excellent and highly informative evaluation of the Arizona shooter.
Jer
Stop
Submitted by grammajane on Sun, 01/09/2011 - 8:44pm.
We all just have to stop listening to these hateful people. They attack others who are decent and compassionate, and want to take back our country in the right direction. These fools have not a clue and use their own bias agenda in front of the camera. To them, there is always blame for some-one-elses behavior which is nothing but crap..Write, email, tweet. or call and tell msnbc to rid themselves of olberman and the other prime time "hosts" This tragedy has become out of control by the media and has to stop. Does anyone know if lawsuits could be filed pertaining to all the false claims and remarks made about Conservatives??
Understand your frustration,
Submitted by Chris Norman on Sun, 01/09/2011 - 8:52pm.
Understand your frustration, but your suggested remedies of calling for olbermann's* dismissal would go nowhere and there is no judicial remedy for outrageous political exploitation of a violent crime. The best way to counter the hate is (A) Don't watch it (B) Keep the pressure on through NewsBusters - we're getting noticed and not liked by those spewing the lies and bile.
* I've decided to stop capitalizing the first letter of olbermann's name. I figure only small letters are suited for a small person like him.
You want dangerous? How about Schieffer driving a car?
Submitted by SickofLibs on Sun, 01/09/2011 - 9:10pm.
.
Or Rick Sanchez
Submitted by Cool Arrow on Sun, 01/09/2011 - 9:10pm.
Or Jack Cafferty for that matter.
Is it me or...
Submitted by Indie Dude on Sun, 01/09/2011 - 9:18pm.
The shooter was 5 mins away from his house. The event took place almost right in his "backyard". If Palin or anyone from the Right "inflamed" this killer's politics to act due to being highly influenced by inflammatory words, then this 22 yr old SICK killer was sure one lazy inflamed passionate murderer. His passion was so inflamed by the right, that he decided to travel only a block (out of convinence?).
It sounds more like this guy was just crazy and "at random", decided since it was in his "backyard" he was going to commit an act of murder of convinence. That sounds like an insane madman being influenced by his own inflammatory WORDS in his head!
WHO'S TO BLAME?
Submitted by Herbster on Mon, 01/10/2011 - 1:01am.
Let's see.......the blame for fires, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, blizzards, market crashes, world hunger, unemployment, disease and wars belongs to George W. Bush. All the rest are Sarah Palin's fault. Now I'm qualified to host a Sunday morning TV talk show!
imo the media making these
Submitted by TerryWest on Mon, 01/10/2011 - 1:20am.
imo the media making these self serving statements , judgments are as unbalanced as the shooter was
He was a Truther too.
Submitted by ckc1227 on Mon, 01/10/2011 - 2:40am.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gutbUc8KWEv3iMUewPN445...
"Mistrust of government was Loughner's defining conviction, the friends said. He believed the U.S. government was behind 9/11, and worried that governments were maneuvering to create a unified monetary system ("a New World Order currency" one friend said) so that social elites and bureaucrats could control the rest of the world."
I can't believe these radical
Submitted by mostlymoderate on Mon, 01/10/2011 - 2:55am.
I can't believe these radical liberals are so low that they are using the shooting spree of a lunatic to try and silence political debate in this country. Ridiculous. Nobody talks about the CONSERVATIVE Federal Judge that was killed or the CHILD that was killed or the numerous OTHER victims. Nobody talks about how liberals DESPISED Gifford because she was too "centrist". A liberal committed these crimes, not a conservative.
Everybody knows a conservative wouldn't kill a child in cold blood like this guy did. This guy is scum.
Bob-Ask your physician about Aricept
Submitted by dan983 on Mon, 01/10/2011 - 9:31am.
This is a good time for Bob to consider a nice Florida retirement community! Check out The Villages, or Sun City with around the clock bingo, golf and needle craft. Think of the cool electric golf cart sporting windshield wipers and big CBS logos.
Besides, Paul Krugman needs a promotion.
IMHO Shieffer is guilty of
Submitted by Beukeboom on Mon, 01/10/2011 - 10:53am.
IMHO Shieffer is guilty of journalistic malpractice.
Don't allow the libs to get away with the unhinged spin. Here are a plethora of materials of which they (liberal MSM and politicians) are either forgetting or intentionally ignoring:
http://michellemalkin.com/2011/01/10/the-progressive-climate-of-hate-an-illustrated-primer-2000-2010/