IN ONE EAR AND OUT THE OTHER Updated
Well, that was the oddest memorial service I think I've ever seen. The speakers were good, including President Obama, but the audience seemed to think it was at a pep rally, not a memorial service for the victims of a massacre. It was a bit surreal, watching the speakers with their somber messages of healing and hope, having to shout over the whooping and cheering.
Obama's speech was good. He hit the right tone; no preaching, just reaching out. There was also a finger wag at the left's rush to judgement and the accusatory nature of their ridiculous hypotheses. Better late than never, I suppose. Ultimately, the only person responsible for this tragedy is Jared Loughner, and Obama made that clear. Although a politician was targeted, it was because of mental illness, not politics.
What I find most ironic is that all of those people raging against the incivlity and violent rhetoric are actually whipping up their base to...incivility and threats of violence. Makes ya dizzy sometimes, doesn't it?
Loughner was non-political. He wasn't left, he wasn't right, he was just plain unstable. Anyone who doubts that should take a nice looooong look at that mugshot. If you don't see crazy when you look in those eyes, you are willfully blinding yourself.
It's too bad that at least one of President Obama's most ardent, tingly admirers didn't pick up on what he was throwing down in his speech. You know the message hasn't been received when the words "can't exonerate" are used in relation to people who have neither committed a crime nor even, according to all the evidence we have so far, incited a crime. Get a grip, Tingles. Jared Loughner is the defendant, not Palin or Beck. Not even if you wish really, really hard.
The other oddity was the branding of the memorial. Right down to "Together We Thrive" t-shirts. It seems a bit..tacky, no? Or was this the rollout for the 2012 campaign, and we just didn't get the memo? At least no one is fundraising on the tragedy...oh, wait. Never mind. Well, at least the speech was good.
UPDATE: Ugh. The California chapter of the Tea Party Express actually sent out a fund raiser of their own to counter leftists attempts of "trying to exploit" the tragedy. Um, I hate to tell you this, guys, but fundraising off a national tragedy is also "trying to exploit" it. Disgusting. Shame on you.
2 comments:
There is no doubt that the feel was more of pep rally than memorial, but that can't be blamed on Obama.
It was odd to say the least.
Oh, by the way - Tea Party Express is fundraising on this too, which I find horrible. We need to tell them to stop. It is morally wrong for anyone to try and raise money, especially before these poor people are even buried.
I'm sorry you feel I was blaming the president for the pep rally feel. That's wasn't my intention. I questioned the audience for their behavior, not the president. He cannot control what a staduim full of people will do.
As for the Tea Party fund raising on the tragedy, I had not seen reports on that, but yes, it is incredibly inappropriate and they should cease immediately. Raising money on the backs of victims of a massacre is inexcusable, no matter which side of the aisle it comes from. I will be posting an update about the Tea Party's shenanigans - thanks for the heads up.
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