Some words about Arizona

Posted: January 10th, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | No Comments »

This blog hasn’t been a place for lots of political discussion, and I don’t see that changing any time soon. But like many people, I’ve been thinking a lot about the tragic shooting in Tucson, Ariz.

As most of you probably already know, Jared L. Loughner is being charged with murder and attempted murder in the deaths of six people (including a nine-year-old girl) and the injury of 14, one of whom is Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Giffords was the first one shot, and is believed to have been Loughner’s primary target.

To say this incident is horrific is to understate it. To characterize Loughner as a monster is beyond dispute. To lay the blame at the feet of politicians who practice what amounts to thinly veiled hate-speech, as well as the irresponsible media that blithely repeats it without question, is more than justified. Seeing a member of the comic retail community taking apparent joy in murder is repugnant.

The whole thing is maddening, and disgusting, and more complex than I’m willing to get into here. It probably seems ridiculous to say a superhero comic book could have something to say about an incident like this, but I was reminded of a particular comic I first read years ago that has stuck with me for its basic truth. It encapsulates a small part of how I feel about guns, and the people who would use them to carelessly, callously,  strike out at others.

I thought I’d share it with you – three short captions that, years later, continue to have an impact and relevance.

Captions from Batman #369
Writer: Doug Moench

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