WHY?

Monday – January 10, 2011

WHY?

The shooting in Arizona of Congresswoman Gabrielle Gifford is a despicable act of a desperate and deranged individual.

I had a conversation over the weekend about the shooting and the first words that were said were that the shooter was a Tea Partier. This is not factual and it is a dangerous road to go down when an event of this type occurs.

What we do know is that the suspected shooter Jared Loughner was unstable and a danger, not only to himself, but to others as well.

This is not a gun control issue, nor is it an issue that should turn political. This, unfortunately, is an issue of someone who should not have been allowed to enter the confines of that setting. There was a past history between the shooter and the Congresswoman. The suspected shooter displayed a pattern of behavior for two and a half years that was known, but went unattended.

When we look at political violence in America, we need to look in the mirror and ask ourselves: are we capable of this behavior or are we immune or are we lucky that it has not reached our own neighborhood? When I hear of stories like this I ask myself what makes me different. I am vocal and I have my opinions. However, it stops there.

We can have a discourse and we can question ethics and the agendas of our elected officials. Our forefathers questioned loyalty and patriotism. We can use the word socialist, because there are self ascribed socialists in our two party system. We should question citizenship, when our own president has blocked every effort to discover his true national origin. We should question our government and be heard in the process. There is the left and there is the right. There is also everything in between and outside of these labels, as well. When we have legitimate discourse in this country we are staying within our constitutional rights. When we display violence, we not only diminish but threaten every right that ensures our freedom. I deplore this behavior and I worry about the future of this country if it continues.

Political violence has unfortunately been a part of our history: Assassination Clubs - a true story: This is an excerpt from the State Library of Louisiana archives:

“I was very lucky in knowing and being a close friend with an old eccentric gentleman in Winnfield who as a young man, was invited to a secret meeting. He said at the time he had no idea what the meeting was about. He only knew the close friend who invited him was a well known doctor who was born and raised in Winn Parish and a person he trusted. After having met the man in Shreveport, he was blindfolded and taken to an unknown location where he had to take an oath on a Bible that he would not reveal what was going on.

The meeting was actually a [Huey Long] 'assassination club' meeting. The members were doctors, attorneys, businessmen … upper class folks. He said he had never told that story until he told me about it, as he did not want any part of it, even though his family was strong anti-Longs. But he did like Earl.” Greggory Davies, retired Winn Parish Deputy Sheriff. (http://www.hueylong.com/life-times/assassination.php)

By 1935, tensions ran high in Louisiana, as rumors of multiple plots to assassinate Huey Long swirled around the capital. Huey’s consolidation of personal power led to talk of armed insurrection by his enemies. On September 8, Huey was shot by the relative of a political enemy in the State Capitol, and he died two days later at age 42. News of Huey’s death made headlines around the world, and an estimated 200,000 mourners flocked to Baton Rouge to pay their respects. One of Huey’s campaign slogans was “Everyman a King- Share our wealth.”

In 1954, three members of the Puerto Rico Nationalist Party—Lolita Lebron, Irving
Flores Rodriguez and Andres Figueroa Cordero—purchased a one-way train ticket from New York to Washington, D.C., on March 1, 1954, where they met colleague Rafael Cancel Miranda. The four entered the gallery of the U.S. House of Representatives to view the 243 congressmen in session. After watching the proceedings for about a minute, they took out their German automatic pistols and began firing into the chamber, as Lebron shouted, “Puerto Rico is not free!” The bullets injured five Congressmen, but all would survive. Alvin Bentley, the 35-year-old Michigan Republican, was hit in the chest and suffered the worst wounds.

In 1978, the assassination of U.S. House Representative Leo Ryan in Guyana became a larger story, because of the Jonestown massacre perpetrated by Jim Jones.

We cannot nor should we make comparisons to the other political attacks that have occurred in our history. Each event as I have listed today had different circumstances due to the time in history. These events unfortunately occur and this is why we have always come together as a country when they do.

We cannot forget Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley, both John and Bobby Kennedy and Dr. King. I pray that we won’t have Congresswoman Gifford’s to add to this list. My prayers also go out to the families who lost their loved ones because of the innocence of their attendance at this public event.

This type of violence cannot stand any longer in our country. We cannot turn this into a political witch hunt, nor should we allow our leaders to do so. We cannot have our leaders insulate themselves from the public they serve. It is up to us, the citizens, to make officials aware of anger on the part of some that would make death their calling card.

Gregory C. Dildilian
Founder and Executive Director
Pinecone Conservatives

A footnote: When we experience a national tragedy as we experienced this weekend we need to ask why - and then look to the future and be thankful we have been lucky enough to do so.