Americans are stunned today, in the face of the Arizona shootings of Representative Gabrielle Giffords, Judge John Roll and nearly 20 other Americans exercising their constitutional rights to actively participate in the U. S. and the State of Arizona's public processes. A young, apparently mentally unbalanced, man premeditatedly wounded and killed people and dramatically curtailed the country's democratic process. America is shocked, saddened, horrified, angry, disgusted, (add your own descriptor) about this terrible day in our collective history.
One American, and I'm sad to say also an Alaskan, has contributed in a very real way to this tragedy. During the 2010 political season in the United States Sarah Palin widely distributed political material targeting several congressional districts by depicting them in the unmistakable cross hairs of a rifle scope. Last year, in an eerily foretelling interview with MSNBC Congresswoman Giffords said, "For example, we're on Sarah Palin's targeted list, but the thing is that the way that she has it depicted has the crosshairs of a gun sight over our district, and when people do that, they've gotta realize there are consequences to that action." Palin's targeting, in her political crosshairs, of Representative Giffords and many other brave Americans who were doing their best to contribute to the Democratic process the crafters of the U. S. constitution envisioned, was and is shameful. No, she didn't tell anyone to go out and shoot these people any more than a person who shouts fire in a crowded theater told people to trample others, but she is one of many hard-right "haters" who did shout "fire".
Sarah Palin's political spinners are now claiming that the crosshairs used in her political mailers and on-line materials this year didn't mean rifle scope crosshairs, they really meant sighting lines used by surveyors. Really. They have now removed the political map from Palin's web site.
I'm a hunter in Alaska, own a number of guns there, and am a lifetime member of the NRA. No, I don't think responsible people who own firearms are planning to go gun down those they disagree with politically. Gun control advocates will quickly shift this debate to curtailing gun ownership in America, but sadly they will be missing the real point. Right now I am living in Canada, a place where hand guns, and semiautomatic fire arms are almost impossible to legally own and yet on New Year's Eve in Calgary one person was murdered and a second wounded by a hand gun in the middle of a downtown entertainment district. Gun control does not prohibit criminals from committing crimes with guns. But hate speech can kill people -- it did on Saturday in Arizona.
The point we should all be getting from this uniquely American tragedy is when haters like Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh or Glenn Beck whip up mentally unbalanced people, there can be very real and tragic consequences.
Unfortunately, the American media waits breathlessly for every Twitter or Facebook utterance from Sarah Palin. When the press gives that kind of national voice to people like Sarah Palin, she is indeed accountable for what she says and how other people act on it. When you scream fire in a crowded theater, or place political opponents in rifle scope crosshairs, you are responsible.
Bob Poe is a 30-year resident of Alaska. Over that time he served four Alaska Governors, both Democratic and Republican. He was a candidate for Alaska Governor in the 2010 election. He currently resides with his wife in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. His opinions are his own.