Via People For the American Way:

 


Dear Daniel,

All of us at People For the American Way are saddened by this past weekend's tragedy in Arizona. Our thoughts are with Representative Giffords and all of the victims of Saturday's shooting as well as their families.

Members of Congress have been united in denouncing the attack and calling for support of the victims. And voices from all sides, in government and the media alike, have been calling for a toning down of overheated rhetoric... it's good to see even those responsible for some of the most egregious examples of this overheated rhetoric are now calling for a return to civility. But amidst calls for responsibility, we are also seeing efforts to demonize truth tellers and censor the important debate we need to have about how to curb the dangerous and inflammatory rhetoric.

Pima County Sheriff Clarence W. Dupnik, the most visible law enforcement official handling the incident thus far, has come under attack from the Right for speaking the truth. He has acknowledged that the Tucson gunman, Jared Loughner, appears to be a deeply disturbed individual. But the sheriff has rightly noted that the increased inflammatory and violent rhetoric over the last several years in our national political debate has created a dangerous climate that could contribute to senseless acts of violence like this one, which claimed the lives of six innocent people: nine-year-old Christina Green; Dorothy Morris, 76; U.S. District Judge John McCarthy Roll, 63; Phyllis Schneck, 79; Dorwan Stoddard, 76; and Giffords’ director of community outreach, Gabe Zimmerman, 30.

In discussing the current environment, Sheriff Dupnik said, "I think that people who are unbalanced are especially susceptible to vitriol." And:
"We have become a very angry country, part of it very ugly. And that even though we have free speech in this country, constantly 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, making the people angry at government ... may benefit some party, but I think those people have to consider that they may have some responsibility when incidents like this occur and may occur in the future."
The sheriff's remarks are honest and accurate, and reflect a fundamental understanding of law enforcement. They are not attempts to politicize this tragedy in any way. Nonetheless, in a classic diversionary tactic, he has been attacked by right-wing politicians like Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) and Fox News, who accuse him of "speculation" and departing from the supposedly-required "just the facts" approach to criminal investigations, even though his observations clearly are important to understanding any act of violence, even by a mentally ill individual, committed against a background of hateful and violent rhetoric.

How long until Sheriff Dupnik is featured on Glenn Beck's chalkboard?

It's important that when someone gets smeared and attacked for telling the truth, we stand up to defend them. If you would like to show your support for Sheriff Dupnik, please take a moment to sign a letter solidarity with him against the increasing smears he is facing from the Right.

Sheriff Dupnik is doing this country a huge favor by acknowledging the potentially dangerous consequences of the hateful and violent rhetoric we are experiencing. Discussion of the shooting in Tucson dominated the weekend news shows, and some politicians have been quick to dismiss any mention of specific incidences of right-wing rhetoric. But the way to correct a problem has never been to ignore the fact that it exists in the first place.

This weekend's tragedy is a stark reminder that things have gotten way out of hand. It's time to walk it back.


Sincerely,
Michael B. Keegan signature
Michael Keegan, President

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