I am working on a diary that I will publish either Monday on Tuesday on this issue when I ran across this fascinating profile by the NY Times on Loughner. This information wasn't revealed in this article until the 6th of seven pages but it helps to show why Loughner held such a grudge against Gabby Giffords.
It was not just his appearance — the pale shaved head and eyebrows — that unnerved them. It was also the aggressive, often sexist things that he said, including asserting that women should not be allowed to hold positions of power or authority.
One individual with knowledge of the situation said Mr. Loughner once got into a dispute with a female branch employee after she told him that a request of his would violate bank policy. He brusquely challenged the woman, telling her that she should not have any power. ~link
Two things seem clear from the NY Times article:
- Loughner is mentally ill.
- Loughner's views are extracted from the larger political environment.
With so many clear cut signs that Loughner was mentally ill one will continue to ask why no one alerted authorities (besides school authorities) or tried to have him committed. But there is another clear picture emerging: Loughner clearly had strong political ideas, and the Gestalt of those ideas were firmly rooted in right wing fanaticism. In my upcoming diary I will explain why Loughner can't simply be written off as a psychotic.
I will explain in brief right here: psychotic people like mentally healthy people are influenced by their environment. Those of us who have experienced psychosis know we can only overcome our delusions if we recognize one incontrovertible reality: our thoughts aren't magical thoughts. They weren't whispered into our ears by demons or angels, or leprechauns or elves. Those thoughts are from our own minds which were formed in the milieus we exist in. Loughner's views were formed in an Arizonan political milieu that was increasingly polarized, and increasingly sliding towards the fringe. Loughner's politically driven psychosis is owed to that unnerving reality.