Evil exists in the world. It can be seen in the eyes of Jared Loughner shown above. Loughner is the mentally unstable shooter captured at the scene of his attack on Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and her constituents in Tucson two weeks ago. Unfortunately, too many liberals (including the Democratic Sheriff of Pima County, Arizona who is responsible for the shooting's investigation) quickly blamed the shooting of 19 people (six of whom died) on a climate of hate allegedly created by harsh uncivil political rhetoric by Tea Party advocates, conservative talk show hosts and Sarah Palin.... before much information about the actual gunman was even known.
It has since been learned that Loughner had a history of strange behavior that led the Pima County Community College (where he had been taking classes) to suspend him. The College's campus police served notice of Loughner's suspension at his parents' home (where the young man lived) with a warning that, in order to return to classes, Loughner would have to present a doctor's certification that he was not a threat to himself or others.
Loughner's friends have stated that Loughner never watched TV news, listened to talk radio nor was politically active. Rather he seemed obsessed with dreams, language and his own peculiar view of his Constitutional rights. It has also been established that he first met Congresswoman Giffords at a constituent gathering in 2007 at which time he became upset at her inability to answer to his satisfaction a nonsensical question he posed to her. In 2007, very few people outside of Alaska knew about Sarah Palin and the Tea Party movement had not yet begun.
I have wondered whether Loughner spent much time playing violent video games in which the players shoot as many villains as possible with realistic graphic results colorfully displayed. You can watch an example of such first person shooter games here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyCyzB0CedM
One Irish media website raised the same question and expanded it to include violent images in movies as well: "There are many Hollywood liberals who make movies that are exceedingly violent yet point the finger at Republicans for hate speech. Their own creations are helping with the hate too." http://www.irishcentral.com/story/news/periscope/violent-films-video-games-played-role--in-gabbie-giffords-shooting-killings-113422074.html
Unfortunately, the media coverage of the tragic event in Tucson has been more focused on political speech, which had nothing whatsoever to do with Loughner's actions, than on what the shooter himself did in recent years outside of his College career and short term jobs. Could watching violent movies or spending hours shooting video guns at realistic looking human victims have resulted in the demented dreams that captured Loughner's obsessed thoughts? We will likely never know unless a trial reveals such information.
Since this tragedy was so quickly misjudged as a politically motivated attempt to assassinate a Democratic Congresswoman, it seems appropriate to distinguish between real political assassinations and acts of madmen throughout our history.
POLITICAL ASSASSINATIONS
John Wilkes Booth, who assassinated President Abraham Lincoln in 1865, was politically motivated in order to avenge the Southern cause after the surrender about a week earlier of the Confederate Army to the Union; effectively ending the Confederacy and the Civil War. After being cornered in a farmer's barn by soldiers who had tracked him and an accomplice from Ford's Theatre for almost two weeks, Booth was shot and killed by Sergeant Boston Corbett.
Charles Guiteau, who assassinated President James Garfield in 1881, shouted his political motivation immediately after he shot the President saying "I am a Stalwart... [Vice President] Arthur is now President." The Stalwart movement opposed Garfield's policies, and Vice President Chester Arthur was considered a Stalwart, who was put in the ticket with Garfield to appeal to the Stalwart faction. Guiteau was convicted, sentenced to death and executed by hanging in 1882.
Leon Czolgosz, who assassinated President William McKinley in 1901, was politically motivated by the anarchist movement of the day. Although Czolgosz never joined any anarchist group, he had been greatly impressed by a speech he had heard by political radical Emma Goldman, who was a leader in the anti-government anarchist movement. Czolgosz was convicted, sentenced to death and executed by electrocution in 1901.
Lee Harvey Oswald, who assassinated President John F. Kennedy in 1963, was a Communist sympathizer who had lived in the Soviet Union for several years and after his return to the US joined a group supporting Communist Cuba. It has been speculated that he was trying to gain Cuban support for his anti-American activities when he acted on his political agenda in deadly fashion. Two days after the assassination, Oswald was shot and killed by Jack Ruby in the Dallas police station.
James Earl Ray, who assassinated Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1968, was a racist opposed to King's leadership role in the Civil Rights movement. Ray confessed to the murder to avoid a death sentence, but questions remained about where he got enough money to flee to Europe before his arrest by Scotland Yard in London. It is possible that bounties offered by other racists for King's murder influenced Ray's action. Ray died in prison in 1998.
Sirhan Sirhan, who assassinated Senator Robert Kennedy during the 1968 Presidential Primaries, is a Palestinian born American who opposed Kennedy's pro-Israel policies. Sirhan was captured at the scene, convicted and continues to serve a life sentence.
DERANGED SHOOTERS
James Earl Ray, who assassinated Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1968, was a racist opposed to King's leadership role in the Civil Rights movement. Ray confessed to the murder to avoid a death sentence, but questions remained about where he got enough money to flee to Europe before his arrest by Scotland Yard in London. It is possible that bounties offered by other racists for King's murder influenced Ray's action. Ray died in prison in 1998.
Sirhan Sirhan, who assassinated Senator Robert Kennedy during the 1968 Presidential Primaries, is a Palestinian born American who opposed Kennedy's pro-Israel policies. Sirhan was captured at the scene, convicted and continues to serve a life sentence.
DERANGED SHOOTERS
Richard Lawrence, who was the first person to try to assassinate an American President, attempted to shoot President Andrew Jackson in 1835, but his two pistols misfired. He was captured at the scene by those with the President, including Congressman Davy Crockett. Lawrence believed that he was King Richard III of England and that Jackson owed him money. Lawrence was found not guilty by reason of insanity and was committed to several hospitals for the insane until his death.
John Hinckley, Jr. shot and wounded President Ronald Reagan in 1981 because he wanted to impress actress Jodie Foster. He was found not guilty by reason of insanity and remains in St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Washington, DC, the same mental institution in which Richard Lawrence died.
Seung-Hui Cho, a student at Virginia Tech, shot and killed 32 people and wounded many others in a one-man massacre on the Virginia Tech campus in 2007. Cho, who had previously been in therapy, was found by a Virginia judge to be mentally ill and ordered Cho into treatment, but there had been no action to assure his follow-up treatment. Some of his professors had previously notified administrators of their concerns about Cho's strange behavior and writings, but again no adequate follow-up took place. Cho killed himself at the final scene of his shooting spree.
There are many other incidents of deadly attacks on politicians or public figures, as well as mass shootings of average citizens, in our history, but it is often difficult to determine what motivated some of those pulling the triggers and coldly killing other human beings when the shooters die at the scene of their crimes, as did the Columbine High School shooters in 1999. Nevertheless, whether politically motivated or caused by deranged insane minds, these acts of violence result in tragic consequences for the victims, their family and friends, society and our sense of humanity.
