I posted it last night, and made several updates based on the comments that I recieved. Attacking Palin for "Blood Libel" Almost all the comments disagreed with my premise, some angry, a few insulting, with the most painful accusing me of being insensitive to the suffering of Jews caused by hatred fueled by the stories such as The Blood Libel.
I understood the sentiment of the readership here on Sarah Palin's video on the Tuscon atrocities, and I thought long and deep before I posted this. I felt that I could handle the anger that it would elicit, but I had to be clear about my position, which was specifically related to one part of her speech, not the tone, not who she is, not her suitability to be President, not her effect on public discourse, not whether I like or admire her....just the use of two words.
There were other reasons why I posted the diary last night. Dailykos has been a player in this event, quoted by many sources as taking the lead in first blaming the killing on right wing political attack ads, and more specifically those of Palin.
Actually, there are complex dynamics involved in assassins such as Loughner that are closer, in my view, to Lee Harvey Oswald. In these cases it was not the rage of a political group that facilitated their murders, but rather their not being in any such group. Loughner was not of the Tea Party, and Oswald was not a Neo Nazi or a John Birch member.
It turns out that it is isolation, perhaps a result of underlying psychopathology, that fosters thoughts of murder, and then without the group as a modifying influence, allows these demons to take over to the point of actually buying the gun and pulling the trigger. For most of us, elections are a proxy for revolution, we do try to increase our troops with argument, with moral suasion, and then we put our heart, soul and maybe a bit of skin into the campaign. The isolates don't have this, they have no team, and they don't even have a web site to share their goals, and to moderate them when they get out of control.
I've written over three hundred diaries during the four years I've been on this site, and Dailykos is part of who I am. As such, I feel a responsibility to do my part to make it something that I'm proud of, which means even to go against the strongest consensus when I feel it is no longer amenable to the leavening of diverse opinions. I frequently send my diaries to my right wing friends, partly to share my opinions but really to show just what kind of people are on this site, to show the thoughtful challenging comments that I see as part of the diaries that I write.
This tragic event has caused us all pain, but I guess in different ways. I keep dwelling on Cristina, full of life and enthusiasm, whose very life was a denial of the pessimism that is so rampant. For her life was an adventure, one that she was eager to embark on. And I have to share something that this resonates to, the loss of a child's life, the pain of anti-Semitism, and the horror of random violence.
Just this week, by a long chain of circumstances that I won't go into right now, I connected with the wife of second cousin, whose husband became world famous and wrote a poem at an international award ceremony. About five years ago I wrote an essayabout it, and only last week I connected with her, and sent her the link, not knowing whether she would appreciate this homage.
It turns out she did appreciate it, very much. What made the poem, and my essay on it so meaningful was that if referenced her childhood friendship with Anne Frank, and alluded to her risking her life to help those hiding from the homicidal regime that had conquered her country so many years ago. And I thought of Cristina, and Anne, and my many unknown cousins in Poland who never had the chance to live, to have some joy, maybe a lot of suffering, but at least to have lived.
And I feel a deep pain, something I believe that many here are feeling, each for different reasons. So, if interested read the link to what I wrote yesterday, and some extra arguments to make my point. But, it's really not that important. We are here to share, to offer support...usually. At the least let me acknowledge the genuineness of those who did feel a visceral hurt by Palin's use of the words in question. This is something that is beyond semantic analysis, and certainly I should have been more sensitive to, even in my defense of her usage.
With that, I'll say good night. It's been a difficult time for many of us.