Wednesday, January 12, 2011

If You Don't Have Anything NiceTo Say....

Original post was pointing to this article: Tea Party To Blame for Shootings

And a bunch of my responses to this article and others in a lump:


So let me get this straight - this guy is now blaming all tea party people for all violent acts ever in the history of the world, and that all of those acts are committed by people with mental illness AND that their mental illness was caused by the Tea Party being in existence? Basically that's his intent by this statement: "It shows a point of view which relates the hyperbole of the tea party people to the actions of a disturbed mentality."

The general consensus I read is that most people on all sides of the issue think the over-the-top rhetoric needs to be toned down, ie don't go posting online, or in video statements that your congress-person is dead to you, that you wish x politician were dead, etc' - yet somehow there still remains a fringe section of people who for whatever reason feel the need to not only continue the same thing they're calling for an end of, yet they keep taking the wording to the next level - when most of us are probably thinking the worst they could say had already been said, and yet it hasn't. I've read postings from 'friends' on this site (who are no longer on my list of friends for obvious reasons) that and i quote "All tea partiers should either shut up or shoot themselves in the head, and do us all the favor of not having to waste the effort to take them out ourselves." Yep somehow its ok for one side to recommend suicide so they don't have to kill people - but its not ok for the other side to use common language that's been in use for decades if not centuries politically.

Again all I see is a severe case of a couple of tired old cliches but unfortunately for the democrats that's what fits the best in this situation. "Pot calling kettle black"...again the Dems scream and rant & rave about the Tea Party's behavior rhetoric wise and then do the exact same action themselves, and somehow that's ok. And the other is "Can't have it both ways." The dems don't want to admit they were just as bad with the anti-government rhetoric when Bush was in office, the hate mail, the despicable postings about people wanting him dead, etc, yet when conservatives started stating, politely in the media, that 'look at what the dems are doing'...no notice was taken, and the rhetoric continued. Yet now that its their side that was being talked about in a negative light (targeted, aimed at, what have you), its not ok for tea partiers, conservaties, libertarians etc to say jack squat about their precious government, etc. They want to be able to scream bloody murder - as some former 'friends' have done and not be held accountable for their own actions, but don't want to give the other side the same rights.

They want that free speech right that the Constitution gives everyone - but only so far as it pleases them. Which is rather hilarious given they usually don't support the document at all. Free speech - but only for us, not for everyone - and therefore they really are like some had posted yesterday that 'for the sake of all involved, the teaparty should shut up and take it, meaning shut up & take the libel, slander & negligent use of language being thrown around by the liberals. Because to me that's their usual answer to everything. Start a fight, but dont' finish it because singing songs, holding hands and smoking dope are the answers to all the world's problems. The libs want us to take the beating, lie down, hold hands with them and sing songs - rather than face up to the fact they're the ones perpetuating the anti-gov't sentiment with their attitudes, ignorance, hatred, and threats of violence.

I'm not a tea-partier by moniker because I don't agree with everything the tea party stands for, but I can say I won't lay down, hold hands & sing songs to make things better. I wasn't at fault, I didn't pull the trigger, I'm not the cause of Jared Loughner's mental illness, and neither is anyone else in this country (except maybe his parents for not getting him treated at a young age?) so none of us should lay down, suck it up and ignore the libel being thrown around, we're not responsible. Only 1 person is and that's the mentally ill man who pulled the trigger.



I've seen the following threat's come across my news feed - by liberals - over this entire stupid situation. Yes its stupid now. Loughner was targeting Giffords in 2007 - before the teaparty existed before Beck was a main figure he is today...this has been brewing, this was brewing when Bush was still in office when Dems were big on anti-govt rhetoric in their own way. How many times I read/saw videos etc of people suggesting that someone should 'off' President Bush and make the world happier.

I agree the rhetoric needs to be toned down - but NOT just by one side. If it is not alright for republicans (tea partiers) to use anti-gov't rhetoric, then its not ok for the democrats (liberals) to use it either. I see a lot of FREE SPEECH IS OK - but not for everyone. Sorry but the Constitution gives ALL citizens the right to free speech. Not just those who say its ok for themselves to have that right. EVERYONE. Which isn't to say that the rhetoric is allowed under free speech - which actually it is and always has been. Why is it suddenly problematic? I don't know. All I know is that you read it in most every blog, article, etc, everyone seems to state they want this strife over-with, yet no one is really willing to back down, neither side has the ability to be the better person in this case because so many words have been flung in anger withouth thought for the consequences - and yes I do mean on both sides of the issue.
The articles I posted yesterday where people want the tea-partiers to back down and SHUT UP already - are a point to this. I'm sick of it too. Yet when people post hateful mail to my inbox, or post statements in general posts on their statuses and to think I'm "friends" with these people who want me to kill myself because I'm a conservative leaning independent (which they read teapartier - which I'm not but that's another story)...and that somehow they think I should die because I'm ultimately as responsible for pulling the trigger as Loughner is - is absolutely deplorable and really makes me question my friendship with that person.

I think a lot of this not wanting to back down, suck it up and say you're sorry - comes from the lower level of contrition being taught to youth over the last few generations (however many you view is up to you here). I see a lot of people typing out responses right away and hitting send then regretting it later (twitter, facebook, blogs etc) its all opinion...One person's opinion doesn't equal the masses. One person's actions don't equal everyone's actions.

Old adages come into play here 
"Think before you speak." 
"Don't write a letter or make a phone call when you're angry with someone, you may regret what you say later." 
"Do unto others, as you would have them do unto you." 
"The toes you step on today, may belong to the ass you have to kiss tomorow." 
"If you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all." 
So many of these and others fit this situation. (general statement - not attributed to anyone, basically this is the thought process i see happening) 'It was ok for some people to belittle the Bush administration, call Bush names, fling words of hatred at the Bush administration, but now that its my side & my philosophy that are under attack its wrong and I'm not going to tolerate it'
The thought process in turn leads to thousands of people with their own blog - giving their opinions on the situation - and none of them are thinking first. (again this is both sides of the issue).

HAD Jared Lee Loughner taken aim at a group of average people - the 9yr old girl and the 3 senior citizens who were also killed (exclude the high value figures of judge & congressperson) - this discussion wouldn't even be happening. It would've barely made a blurb on the blotter for the paper in the area. "Another sad multiple shooting in Tuscon, where a young girl and 3 seniors were shot dead outside a grocery store, the suspect is under arrest. Back to you Tom." And that's how the news cast would've gone. Instead within minutes of the shooting everyone with a blog (which is pretty much anyone these days because of our connectivity) had an opinion on what really caused the kid to shoot those people.

It used to be the media had one job. Report the news, that is the facts - and that was it. Now the media = everyone online, news outlets, bloggers, and anyone with internet access and opinion. Yet the news outlets don't just report news - facts - what they know - they speculate, they assume things that later we discover aren't true and here we all are screaming obscenities, finding out we really don't know some friends as well as we thought we did etc...Maybe the NEWS should cover the NEWS - facts only - and let the bloggers and the rest of us have our own little opinions to ourselves, how many of us in this day & age of connectivity, twitter, facebook, blogs etc. Really & truly follow the old saying "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." Not many of us - most of the population with an internet connection in some form don't follow it at all. We voice very opinion we have of everything around us whether we know we'll regret saying it later or not. Politeness has gone out the window, which is sad.


I'm as guilty as the next person - I admit it, and I'm going to try to get better at it. I know I write several versions of what I'm going to say in response to a blog or article post before actually responding - simply because I know my anger at the moment of reading something is going to be worse than if I actually think over my response. That's part of being an adult. Think things through before you act, know that you alone are responsible for your words and your actions (even if this entire situation really says otherwise because most of it is heat of the moment argumentative angst).





Just because you have something to say - doesn't mean you should say it, or post it online, sometimes yes being the bigger person, being the better adult means keeping your mouth shut no matter how much you want to say what's on your mind. And for pete's sake - if you're having thoughts that shouldn't be read by the entire planet, don't post them on a public forum.

That is all.