The Link Between Media, Political Environment and Violent Acts Often Proves Murky

Scinetific American ^ | John Madson

[lbryce]

Many have implicated heated political rhetoric in the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, but the connection between viewing and acting is complex

Glock 19 pistol Access to firearms is a risk factor for violent crime. Jared Lee Loughner allegedly used a Glock 19 pistol such as this one in a Tucson, Ariz., shooting rampage.

It wasn't long after the shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and 19 others in Tucson, Ariz., that speculation emerged about a possible connection between the shooting and the contemporary U.S. political environment.

In a news conference after the January 8 attack, which left six dead, Pima County sheriff Clarence Dupnik spoke out against inflammatory rhetoric and "the vitriol that comes out of certain mouths." Across social-media sites and in the mainstream press, numerous commentators noted that Giffords, an Arizona Democrat, had appeared on a list of legislators, each marked with crosshairs on a map, that former Alaska governor Sarah Palin's political action committee released in 2010. The target list identified 20 legislators from swing districts who had voted for health-care reform and who were up for election.

Giffords, 40, remains in critical condition, and her accused shooter, Jared Lee Loughner, 22, is in custody. Loughner's motives remain unclear, and no coherent political link has emerged. But even in instances where consumption of violent media has been cited as a factor in crime, researchers say it is usually only one factor among many.

[lbryce]

"In this particular case, we can't really know whether such shootings would have taken place had there not been this recent history of fairly nasty political exchanges in the press."

The Link Between Media, Political Environment and Violent Acts Often Proves Murky

The thing is these mendacious perpetrators of hate, these sinister conspirators spawn, thrive in the murk, that to normal people is quite the slippery slope of murkiness, but which to them is the very life-blood they must desperately suckle off of, or die, as they seem to lately be doing like flies.

[GoCards]

Murky and complex my ass! There is NONE dipshits

[blade_tenner]

This is being fueled by the (admittedly spooky) statement of Rep. Giffords last March concerning Palin's "crosshairs" and "gunsights" over her district on Palin's website. She was telling everyone to tone it down, but randomly picked Palin's website as an example.

I'm glad that Rep. Giffords will survive to clarify her statement of last year...

[backwoods-engineer]

Access to firearms is a risk factor for violent crime

I'd dispute that, but NO ACCESS to firearms makes violent crime a sure thing. See (formerly great) Britian and Australia.

[Lurker]

The Link Between Media, Political Environment and Violent Acts Often Proves Murky

But they're going to blame Palin anyway.