Medicine
.
My heart -- and those of my family, many of whom live in her district -- go out to the family and friends of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, and Judge John Roll and all the other victims of the shooting. As politicians of all stripes have said, it is a tragedy, and the perpetrator is obviously deranged. That said, the irresponsible rhetoric of those who would never do such a thing themselves is inflamm
atory, and sets off the "weapon", the sacrificial lamb, who carries out the attack. The parallels of this to the assassination of George Tiller are obvious -- politicians, radioheads, and bloviators engage in increasing violent rhetoric and then protest innocence when an unstable disciple carries out a violent attack. Can Sarah Palin deny her "crosshairs" post (now taken down) on her website? Can Jesse Kelly, who ran against Rep. Giffords in 2010 (not to be confused with her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly) deny his posters where he posed in Marine uniform with his M-16 and invited supporters to a shooting event to remove[1] Rep. Giffords? Can Beck, Limbaugh, et.al., deny that their rantings DO affect their dittoheads -- after all, that impact is what boosts their ratings, and their incomes.
And all the protestations that the aggressive elimination of gun control laws in Arizona and other states have nothing to do with guns being used for murder; the swaggering of gun-on-hip posses showing up in coffee shops to intimidate "liberals" not creating an environment where a murderer or assassin can legally be carrying a gun, are vapid. The NRA says "Guns don't kill people -- people kill people." That is true, but people with guns are able to kill more people, more rapidly, from a greater distance. You can bludgeon someone to death, but would John Roll be dead and Gabrielle Giffords in critical condition if Jared Loughner had attacked with a baseball bat? You can kill someone with a knife, but even if Loughner were an action-movie hero and could have thrown his knife with deadly accuracy at Rep. Giffords, would 9-year-old Christina Green be dead? Come on! Be grownups! You can't say one thing -- all guns of all types should be freely available -- and then deny the inevitable result! Well, of course you can, and it is done all the time.
If there is anyone who is eligible to be considered a hero in this tragedy, it is Pima County (Tucson area) Sheriff Clarence Dupnik, who movingly spoke of
his friends, and, in what might be a "politically risky" statement condemned the "vitriol" in the public debate that leads to such horror. (Video: http://www.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/01/09/arizona.shooting/index.html). The contrast of his obviously pained and saddened but measured, rational speech to the stormtrooper raids of his more infamous counterpart, Maricopa County (Phoenix area) Sheriff Joe Arpaio could not be greater.
We grieve for the dead and the wounded, and we grieve for our country. And we will take it back, our candlelight vigils against their M-16s.
- More Guns And Less Education Is A Prescription For Poor Health
Within the span of one week, my state of Kansas was headlined in two pieces in the New York Times, unusual for a small state. Unfortunately, neither was meant to be complimentary. “What’s the matter with Kansas Schools?” by David Sciarra and Wade...
- Mental Illness And Guns: A Public Health Perspective
I have been somewhat reluctant to write about the issues surrounding the mass shootings that have become epidemic in our country. Since the Newtown elementary school massacre it appears as if everyone else has done so, and I didn’t know what, if anything,...
- The Devil Inside: Access To Mental Health Care In The United States
. This is third and final posting in a series on the shooting of 13 people in Tucson and its implications for health and social policy in the US. This post is by Robyn R. Liu, MD, who is a family physician in the frontier town of Tribune, KS, in the far...
- Health Care Shoutdowns: Liars And Demagogues
. One of the striking new developments in the health reform debate is the occurrence of “shoutdowns”, where opponents of health reform, in events that obviously orchestrated, show up at appearances by Democratic Congressmen to scream against health...
- Mexican Murders And Us Guns
The “drug war” violence in Mexico has been getting an increasing amount of press in the last few days. Over 1600 murders in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, across the river from El Paso, Texas, last year alone; more than in Baghdad. Now the “spillover”...
Medicine
The Arizona shootings: When will we ever learn?
.
My heart -- and those of my family, many of whom live in her district -- go out to the family and friends of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, and Judge John Roll and all the other victims of the shooting. As politicians of all stripes have said, it is a tragedy, and the perpetrator is obviously deranged. That said, the irresponsible rhetoric of those who would never do such a thing themselves is inflamm
atory, and sets off the "weapon", the sacrificial lamb, who carries out the attack. The parallels of this to the assassination of George Tiller are obvious -- politicians, radioheads, and bloviators engage in increasing violent rhetoric and then protest innocence when an unstable disciple carries out a violent attack. Can Sarah Palin deny her "crosshairs" post (now taken down) on her website? Can Jesse Kelly, who ran against Rep. Giffords in 2010 (not to be confused with her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly) deny his posters where he posed in Marine uniform with his M-16 and invited supporters to a shooting event to remove[1] Rep. Giffords? Can Beck, Limbaugh, et.al., deny that their rantings DO affect their dittoheads -- after all, that impact is what boosts their ratings, and their incomes.And all the protestations that the aggressive elimination of gun control laws in Arizona and other states have nothing to do with guns being used for murder; the swaggering of gun-on-hip posses showing up in coffee shops to intimidate "liberals" not creating an environment where a murderer or assassin can legally be carrying a gun, are vapid. The NRA says "Guns don't kill people -- people kill people." That is true, but people with guns are able to kill more people, more rapidly, from a greater distance. You can bludgeon someone to death, but would John Roll be dead and Gabrielle Giffords in critical condition if Jared Loughner had attacked with a baseball bat? You can kill someone with a knife, but even if Loughner were an action-movie hero and could have thrown his knife with deadly accuracy at Rep. Giffords, would 9-year-old Christina Green be dead? Come on! Be grownups! You can't say one thing -- all guns of all types should be freely available -- and then deny the inevitable result! Well, of course you can, and it is done all the time.
If there is anyone who is eligible to be considered a hero in this tragedy, it is Pima County (Tucson area) Sheriff Clarence Dupnik, who movingly spoke of
his friends, and, in what might be a "politically risky" statement condemned the "vitriol" in the public debate that leads to such horror. (Video: http://www.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/01/09/arizona.shooting/index.html). The contrast of his obviously pained and saddened but measured, rational speech to the stormtrooper raids of his more infamous counterpart, Maricopa County (Phoenix area) Sheriff Joe Arpaio could not be greater.We grieve for the dead and the wounded, and we grieve for our country. And we will take it back, our candlelight vigils against their M-16s.
[1] “’I don't see the connection," between the fundraisers featuring weapons and Saturday's shooting’, said John Ellinwood, Kelly's spokesman. ‘I don't know this person, we cannot find any records that he was associated with the campaign in any way. I just don't see the connection.’” (AOL news)
- More Guns And Less Education Is A Prescription For Poor Health
Within the span of one week, my state of Kansas was headlined in two pieces in the New York Times, unusual for a small state. Unfortunately, neither was meant to be complimentary. “What’s the matter with Kansas Schools?” by David Sciarra and Wade...
- Mental Illness And Guns: A Public Health Perspective
I have been somewhat reluctant to write about the issues surrounding the mass shootings that have become epidemic in our country. Since the Newtown elementary school massacre it appears as if everyone else has done so, and I didn’t know what, if anything,...
- The Devil Inside: Access To Mental Health Care In The United States
. This is third and final posting in a series on the shooting of 13 people in Tucson and its implications for health and social policy in the US. This post is by Robyn R. Liu, MD, who is a family physician in the frontier town of Tribune, KS, in the far...
- Health Care Shoutdowns: Liars And Demagogues
. One of the striking new developments in the health reform debate is the occurrence of “shoutdowns”, where opponents of health reform, in events that obviously orchestrated, show up at appearances by Democratic Congressmen to scream against health...
- Mexican Murders And Us Guns
The “drug war” violence in Mexico has been getting an increasing amount of press in the last few days. Over 1600 murders in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, across the river from El Paso, Texas, last year alone; more than in Baghdad. Now the “spillover”...