POLL: How Will This Weekend's Violence Impact You -- And Our Democracy?

Thanks Renee!

Kelly Burton
mylifeastheglue.com

Thanks Renee!

...In ourselves and others. We'd been thinking about our own words and behaviors. We've been reflecting ever since.

We wanted to know what you think about that...about yourself. And what you want other people to do.

So, much of this poll had nothing to do with blame...but about: What now? Are we really going to say that none of us should think, debate, change or alter anything?

It was not the media that created a conversation about how we interact with one another...it was regular people. I heard them.

Using this event to catalyze reflection and review isn't a bad or inherently partisan thing.

Asking one question about Sarah Palin was also reasonable, given the level of chatter about her immediately following the events. Was that chatter justified? Was the chatter about rhetoric justified? The point of the poll is to let you tell us whether it is or was.

But I think it's pretty hard to argue that there's no *place* for a discussion of politics. There's a place if people make it so.

Elisa Camahort Page
BlogHer
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I think this poll is way off base. What exactly are you trying to learn? What does Sarah Palin have to do with an insane shooter in Arizona? I think it is laughable that any post-shooting poll (not just this one) is trying to find out what Americans think was the cause of this shooting. How can any of us presume to know? We are not the insane man who shot all those people, so how could we know what he was thinking?

I am terribly sorry for the victims and their families of this senseless tragedy and I don't think blaming anyone other than the shooter has much merit. And analyzing the situation without understanding his specific reasons for committing the crime seems pointless.

Being An American Mom: http://beinganamericanmom.blogspot.com/

I missed out on the beginning of this discussion, but I agree with you. I was also disappointed in the survey.

Renee Ann Smith
http://reneeannsmith.com/

Well said, Kelly. I couldn't agree more.

Renee Ann Smith
http://reneeannsmith.com/

I think the whole rhetoric discussion is a manufactured issue. It has nothing to do with this poor man who fell through the cracks.

Communication is key here. Politicians on both sides of the fence have taken negative remarks, hateful rhetoric, and unfounded accusations too far to feed the fire of hatred in this country. We have turned into a country of dividers. Instead of coming together to solve and communicate our differences, we promote violence and hatred in hopes of inflaming others. It spreads violence, hate, and discourse like a brush fire.

The events in Tucson are a prime example of how this brush fire spreads so quickly. No representative, regardless of their party, should receive death threats or threats of violence. No American should fear for their life in a public forum - with or without the presence of a public official.

This country is bleeding to death and there is only so much more that we can tolerate before the bottom completely falls out.

We need to unite, as American's, and Trust in God once again. We need to rebuild the foundation of our country on a foundation of faith, hope, and guidance from above. We need to once again bring prayer back to our schools where our children spend much of their days learning. We need to teach TOLERANCE to our children and teach them how to resolve conflict without violence, bullying, or hateful rhetoric.

These events have opened the floodgates of my mind to reflect on how we treat each other and how we teach our children. I think it is extremely important that we discuss this incident with our children and explain to them the seriousness of it all. In many ways I believe that our children are desensitized to the graphic and violent nature of those events that are real simply because of the violent and graphic nature and visuals in movies, games, and more. We need to change and we need to change now and stop living in the dark.

Susan Vaughn
http://www.raisin-toast.com

The only thing more frustrating about the fact that this survey was created and sent is that it CLEARLY slants against Sarah Palin and the Tea Party.

Guess what? None of them pulled the trigger.

I believe in times of crisis the LAST thing any of us needs to do is spew party politics. Aren't we America? Wasn't Saturday a horrible day for all of us?

A lot of the reasons America has become a society where violence is viewed as an answer, where it's unfashionable to hold fast to strong morals, is because we don't hold people responsible for their actions or inactions.

My life will not necessarily change because of the shootings, but my heart is softened in empathy toward all those involved, including Loghner's family. Nobody WON here. And no gun laws or gentler rhetoric will keep a mad man from performing acts of madness.

"We must reject the idea that every time a law's broken, society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions."
-Ronald Reagan

Well, I just have to comment on this because I was disappointed to see this survey and the questions it asked. I think everyone is missing the point here. Politics and political rhetoric have nothing to do with the Arizona shootings. This young man developed schizophrenia and this is a mental health issue. Period.

I think the question in the survey about whether Republicans or Democrats or Tea Party people are more likely to be violent is just so off the mark. The fact of the matter is that MEN are violent and the best question to ask is "what makes men violent?" All of these violent acts, from Columbine to Virginia Tech to 9/11 to the Arizona shootings involved men. Maybe a national health initiative pushing research into why men are violent would do more good than pondering if some remark by a politician inspired someone to buy a semiautomatic weapon and go kill a bunch of people. We need to look at the real issue here and it's ridiculous to point to political speech.

It may make everyone feel better to have a discussion about us all speaking nicely to each other but it does absolutely NOTHING to address the real issue of violence and mental illness in general. Not to mention the easy access to guns like the one that was used in this shooting.

http://theitaliandishblog.com

I was very happy to participate in this survey.
There are no words to express the horror we felt when we saw what happened in Arizona but helping to open up dialogue might help to make some necessary changes.

I have no idea what jihad has to do with this discussion. We need to back away from immediately going on attack -- that's the whole point. It's scary how quickly we jump down one another's throats.

There -- I'm positive -- are liberals who used bullseyes on maps. Like I said -- I used to work with a very liberal exec who used them at work -- and it's unnecessary. I acknowledge there are some people in the world who have ill intentions toward other people in the world -- but that is not the whole world. What I wrote was "the world is not out to get us." Meaning the whole kit and kaboodle.

Everyone needs to back away from the violent rhetoric.

Rita Arens authors Surrender Dorothy ( http://bit.ly/Qp0sS ) and is the editor of Sleep is for the Weak ( http://tinyurl.com/9pg62e ). She is BlogHer's assignment and syndication editor.

Again - attempted assassination of a politician at a political event. And he was indeed political. For example, he had anti-government rantings. He was definitely mentally ill and his rants weren't necessarily coherent, but why is there is such a vested interest in denying there is a political element?

Cristina
Working Mom, Democrat, Patriot ( http://workingmomdemocrat.blogspot.com/ )

Had a long post written in rebuttal and lost it. But, it'd probably be a lost cause anyway.

I'll just say that your statement that "civility in politics is laughable" makes my heart hurt and makes me worry for the U.S. of A.

www.alovelything.com ( http://www.alovelything.com )

Many, many, MANY people's first thought when hearing about the shooting was about the violent words and images thrown around the last few years.

This guy targeted a politician. That makes it a political shooting. And, really, do sane political shooters exist?

Words and images have effects on people. Do you allow your kids to watch and listen to whatever they want? Probably not, because you KNOW it will effect their minds.

www.alovelything.com ( http://www.alovelything.com )

If your message is too violent for sixth graders, then it's too violent for the public.

Think about what you want kids to hear, because they're taking it in and emulating this stuff, too.

"Do Unto Others" is another way to judge your message. Do you want someone to target you in the same way? Would you like a gunsight graphic plastered over your face and address on a website? No? Then, don't do it to others.

www.alovelything.com ( http://www.alovelything.com )

How is a shooting by a mentally ill person who was not political and had serious issues coping with reality "inherently political?"

Every side has it's crazies, and liberals need to acknowledge them.

Consider Weather Underground, Earth Liberation Front, the Unabomber and most recently, the Discovery Channel shooter. All of those were inspired by environmental extremists.

Adrienne works in the conservative movement and blogs at Cosmopolitan Conservative. ( http://www.cosmopolitanconservative.com )

This entire debate is so infuriating. It shows the level of ridiculous navel gazing that bloggers and pundits are capable of.

The concept of civility in politics is laughable. Read any history book. There has never been civility in politics. EVER!

Human nature has good and bad sides. There's love and compassion and there's also violence and anger. We've taken religion out of society, so we have no universal moral compass anymore. Yet, we expect everyone to respond in happiness and rainbows. It's an oxymoron.

As a conservative, I've actually feared for my life attending political events in town that were anti-war or liberal based. I've encountered overwhelming hate from other women (even here at Blogher) and countless death threats from liberals. There's not one party that has all the hate.

If Rush makes your blood go cold, imagine a rape threat on Twitter.

Rita, your comments that no one in the world is out to get us are rather naive. What about Iran? What about jihad? There are elements of radical Islam that WANT AMERICANS TO DIE. To not believe this is burying your head in the sand out of dedication to the cult of political correctness.

This situation exploded because the political left saw an opportunity to hurt Sarah Palin and all conservatives by guilt through association. All those who participated, will likely regret it because it hurts credibility in the long-run and diminishes respect for the media.

As others have noted, this should have focused on mental health, which our society needs to focus on. It's long past the time that we de-stigmatized mental health issues, and found (privately funded) ways to help these people.

This debate has shown that we DO live in an "Us vs. Them" society. It's us conservatives vs. those liberals who will lie, cheat, steal, slander, exploit and manipulate ANY situation to gain the political upperhand.

Adrienne works in the conservative movement and blogs at Cosmopolitan Conservative. ( http://www.cosmopolitanconservative.com )

With all due respect, one sided analysis that only highlights the alleged errors of one completely ignoring the alleged errors of the other does not further educative and reasoned debate. The violent rhetoric which has been called 'blood libel' propagated and promoted by powerful voices against others is not only inappropriate it sucks all the oxygen out of the room. Colonel Bill Badger is an absolute hero as are the many others involved in this case. They rejuvenate us toward integrous discussions and actions. My hope is that those who know individuals like Jared will seek effective intervention. It is too late for education and proactive intervention in this case, but not for tomorrow.

As I said, it definitely wasn't just pundits or politicans talking about the political angle...I was at the very packed CES that weekend...packed with geeks, not politcos...and concern over the incident and our political environment was on everyone's mind. This was an assassination of a politician at a political event: It's inherently political.

We shouldn't ignore the political ramifications any more than we should ignore the ramifications about the state of health care.

I don't believe it's one or the other. Which is why next week we'll approach the issue from another angle...as per Katherine's very valid suggestion.

However, to say one should *only* talk about the non-political aspect of this seems unrealistic and undesirable.

Not to mention, there's no escaping it anyway. Hasn't health care and access to it become a hugely political issue too?

Elisa Camahort Page
BlogHer
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My BlogHer profile truly shows you everything I do online...Check it out!!

I, too, feel this poll ignores the main tragedy - untreated severe mental health issues - that fueled this horrific rampage and instead goes off on a tangent that is all too familiar these days...the political blame game that permeates anything that goes wrong in this country.

It's a real stretch to attempt association of this young man's severe problems - noted and documented for years prior to the toxic intensity of political discourse - with a political party of either leaning. To further associate it with one person is even more destructive and furthers the kind of hysterical dialogue you claim you seek to eradicate.

Susan Dowd Stone, MSW, LCSW

www.perinatalpro.com ( http://www.perinatalpro.com )

I'm not even convinced that people like Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh (and yes...Keith Olbermann to give one to the opposite side)are entirely supportive of their own inflammatory messaging. At the end of the day, I think all of them are self serving celebrities, who will say the most outrageous things in order to maximize ratings and garner publicity. Moderation is not exciting, and it doesn't bring new viewers or whip the crowd into a frenzy. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if some of the more over-the-top rhetoric was scripted by a staff in order to boost ratings and get more press coverage. Sad. So sad.

Jane K. Collins

I truly believe a preventative measure is to tone down the rhetoric in this country. And I don't think pointing this out is politicizing this tragedy. An attempted assassination of a politician at a political event is inherently political. To accuse those of us who are pointing out the power of language and calling for a conversation about the the inflammatory rhetoric as politicizing or capitalizing is just not fair.

And let's not forget, there have already been incidents that can be tied directly to rhetoric - Dr. George Tiller ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Tiller#The_O.2... ) and the shooting at the Knoxville Unitarian Church ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knoxville_Unitarian_U... ) to name a couple.

This converstaion is long overdue.

Cristina
Working Mom, Democrat, Patriot ( http://workingmomdemocrat.blogspot.com/ )

I can't imagine how they feel...and what kind of "dark night of the soul" they are experiencing.

Elisa Camahort Page
BlogHer
elisa@blogher.com
My BlogHer profile truly shows you everything I do online...Check it out!!

I seriously just keep thinking about the family of the gunman and what they are going through as well.

Calliope blogs about Alzheimer's, Infertility, and Single Motherhood at http://creatingmotherhood.com@calliopeblogger

I came off in my last comment totally blaming conservative talk radio, but I realize that all human beings are at risk of popping off with violent rhetoric at any moment. The more we all do it, the more desensitized we get to it and we internalize that without knowing it.

This whole situation is just another wake-up call for myriad issues -- as Kat points out, we need to focus more on mental health (which this liberal thinks might call for budget allocations to change and fund public mental health services) and civility in the public and private spheres.

Rita Arens authors Surrender Dorothy ( http://bit.ly/Qp0sS ) and is the editor of Sleep is for the Weak ( http://tinyurl.com/9pg62e ). She is BlogHer's assignment and syndication editor.

I hear you on being respectful of those who have lost their lives.

And I agree that this guy may not have heard anything about anything and was just mentally ill.

But I do think this situation is an important prompt to get us as a nation to look hard at our rhetoric. Sometimes things happen that make you look at yourself and your leaders -- and this is one of them.

Rita Arens authors Surrender Dorothy ( http://bit.ly/Qp0sS ) and is the editor of Sleep is for the Weak ( http://tinyurl.com/9pg62e ). She is BlogHer's assignment and syndication editor.

I believe in the power of language. I'm reading a book on the Stanford Prison Experiment right now, and the psychologist in charge speaks of the power of language to convince us that someone is not really human and therefore not worthy of civility or even life.

I grew up in a community that believes in their guns, and I don't know that gun control is the answer. In the way that locks are psychological -- if someone wants to get a gun and shoot someone, it's not that hard, even with tighter gun control. The emphasis needs to be instead on civility -- getting a gun to settle your disagreement is not an acceptable response in a civilized country. It shouldn't be encouraged by anyone, let alone a public figure.

I don't blame Palin for the shooting in AZ, but that doesn't mean I don't blame her for her continued aggressive language. I have heard the rhetoric pouring from Rush Limbaugh and literally felt my blood go cold knowing some people are eating that up.

The problem I have with people like Palin and Beck and Limbaugh is that they aren't actually in a position to do anything about what they complain about. They don't have the responsibility or authority to fight through the tangled web of the solution they are espousing. They can talk and talk and blame and point fingers without ever having to deal with the intricacies, red tape and compromise necessary to actually implement a solution. And everything -- even industrial siding commercials -- that I hear on conservative talk radio is overshadowed by someone trying to trick you. "Those guys will tell you that our siding isn't right, but they're just trying to blah blah blah." I was really surprised at the entire culture of "they're out to get you" I heard when I listened out of curiosity.

The rhetoric does scare me. The world is not out to get us. This country is attempting to figure out how to get out of a serious financial mess, and no one solution is going to be flawless. I'm actually fiscally conservative -- and there are some very rational voices on the right -- but they're not the ones getting the headlines.

Palin says people need to take individual responsibility. I agree. Take it for what comes out of your mouth, woman. I was in a meeting once with an exec who insisted on putting bullseyes on the competition, and we all told her to cut it out -- that level of vitriol over something not life and death was unnecessary, and it made everyone uncomfortable. We need to say that stuff to each other publicly -- there's no need for this ridiculous "us vs. them" mentality. And the only thing "us vs. them" is used for is violence.

Violence is not the way to fix things. And America has a hell of a lot to fix.

Rita Arens authors Surrender Dorothy ( http://bit.ly/Qp0sS ) and is the editor of Sleep is for the Weak ( http://tinyurl.com/9pg62e ). She is BlogHer's assignment and syndication editor.

"While I do agree that we need more civility in politics on both sides of the aisle, is that topic directly connected to Jared Loughner and his heinous acts last weekend?" Well said, I agree. I feel sad that such a tragedy ignites political conversation and party debate more than it does compassion for preventative measures.

Yes, this poll is focused on one aspect...and an aspect that wasn't the just the immediate focus of pundits, but every regular person I talked to at CES that weekend.

We were turning around short and quick in order to get the most immediate responses, and yes, we focused.

I love your questions too, though, and I think Poll #2 is now impending.

I hope you are heartened to see that the comments here and on our Facebook page indicate that most of the others in our community commenting are also very concerned and vocal about the implications this has about our mental health services in the U.S.

Elisa Camahort Page
BlogHer
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My BlogHer profile truly shows you everything I do online...Check it out!!

I have to say this poll frustrates me. In fact, it makes me mad.

It completely plays into to the media frenzy over whether politicians' language caused the shooting in Arizona. There is ZERO evidence to that effect thus far. In fact, the only information we have is that Jared Loughner wasn't particularly aligned with any political party.

Why are there no questions in the poll about mental health, and whether Jared's lack of mental health care (and the country's lack of good mental health care as a whole) was a major factor in the shooting? Why are there no questions about whether BlogHer members will pay more attention in the future to people who show evidence of instability and push for them to receive the help they need? Why are there no questions about whether we need better legislation to ensure people can access mental health services, and whether people would vote for someone who supports that type of legislation?

Instead, the poll seems designed to produce results that one political group can use against another in future elections. While I do agree that we need more civility in politics on both sides of the aisle, is that topic directly connected to Jared Loughner and his heinous acts last weekend?

You know I love you guys. Truly. But I feel one of the root causes of this shooting was completely overlooked here.

Katherine Stone at Postpartum Progress ( http://www.postpartumprogress.com ) @postpartumprogr

The best we can hope for from this unspeakable tragedy is for an increased awareness of mental health issues, and the interventions available.

With all due respect those who stand over the body of a 9 year old child and the other victims to strike with their anti Sarah and anti talk radio agenda are engaging in political opportunism at its worst.

May those who had their lives torn from them rest in peace, may the wounded recover, and may the good work begun by Gabbie Giffords continue as we focus on the shining examples of heroism, the dedication of our physicians and nurses, the courage of the first responders and the unification of the country at this time of loss.

Right to the heart of the matter.

I hope this tragedy will lead to increased awareness of the need for mental health services.
A culture which glorifies violence, allows virtually unlimited access to firearms and fails to provide treatment for the seriously mentally will reenact this tragedy again and again and again.

Karen Bojar blogs about retirement life, feminist activism,  grassroots politics and gardening at http://www.the-next-stage.com/

I'm really curious to see how the responses fall out on some of the questions. Will our horror be momentary, then forgotten? Or do we want change? And if so, will we all collectively make that change?

Elisa Camahort Page
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My BlogHer profile truly shows you everything I do online...Check it out!!

There are a few utterly non-partisan, absolutely indisputable truths to come out of the horrific event in Tucson last Saturday, and a big one is: we need to communicate with each other better. The fact that the fur and accusations started to fly right away was sign both how polarized much of the country is, and of how unproductive, how downright damaging that polarization is.

It's not like I don't understand the root feelings underneath those initial strong reactions. I had mine, too, as knee-jerky as they come. Looking for a method to his madness is compelling -- to many, feels like an imperative step in preventing the next such calamity -- but I think it's secondary. As Brian Levin, the head of the Center for Hate and Extremism at Cal State San Bernadino said, Loughner's ideology, if a coherant one can be divined, is merely "gift wrapping" on his pathology.

If there is anything possible that can come of this, I would hope it would be that we make a leap, together, to a higher plateau. That will take courage from all of us, since honest self-reflection is about the hardest thing a lot of us can think to do. Some 24-48 hours after my own knee-jerk reaction on Saturday, I'm working very hard to find a higher perch from which to view all this. It aren't easy. But it feels like the only way.

All of which to say (in the wordiest possible ways! argh! sorry!) that I'm so grateful you've provided this amazing community an opportunity to reflect together on the impact of this event. BlogHer is about empowering women's communication with each other and the world online, and we have a whole heap of a lot to add to this conversation. That we're a very heterogeneous community makes that conversation all the more valuable to us all.