In one of the early episodes of “All in the Family,” a television series that ran from 1971 to 1992, Gloria complains to her father, Archie, that guns should be banned because one was used to kill a man. Archie replies, “Would you feel better if he was thrown out of a building?” These words are particularly important as people attempt to comprehend the mass slaying by Jared Loughner in Arizona.
Despite what the pundits say and the politicians suddenly preach, Loughner is insane and would have killed people regardless. The gun laws could be changed, but look at Timothy McVeigh. He killed 168 people and injured another 680 by using ammonium nitrate, nitromethane and Tovex ? all easily obtainable by anyone.
Rhetoric also didn”t kill anyone. As my old professor, Dr. Hayakawa used to say in general semantics, “The word is not the thing.”
Words did not kill those unfortunates in Arizona. A deranged individual did.
To say that Sarah Palin contributed to the tragedy, or anyone else, for that matter, is simply wrong. Loughner is insane. He would have acted sooner or later, regardless.
Charles Moton
Lucerne
