Within the past 24 hours horrific violence has been committed in both Kansas and in Arkansas. Yesterday, Dr. George Tiller, an abortion provider, was gunned down in his church while his wife sang in the choir. This was not his first brush with violence. In 1993 Dr. Tiller was shot in both arms.

This morning one army recruiter was killed and another seriously wounded. The reason is not yet known. Information is sketchy.

Regardless of how one feels about the military, war, abortion or any other issue that somehow lands in the political arena, there is NO excuse or reason for violence. None whatsoever. Reading some of the blogs and newspaper reader comments sickens me. Some people are justifying the violence. They fail to see how their rhetoric can lead to unspeakable, horrifying actions.

Going into an army recruiting office or a church to harrass, wound or kill makes those who do so no better than the killers of Daniel Pearl. There can be no equivocation.

Moon-Howler

60 Thoughts to “Violence in the Heartland”

  1. hello

    Again, please tell me what ‘groups’ were specified other than general broad brushing of anyone opposed to Obama admin policy? Also, the nutjob that killed the Arm recruiter, did you see any DHS warning of him? To me he seems a little more of a threat than some lone crazy guy, he had maps and several other targets on his computer. They now think that he had plans with multiple other people to hit other targets. But, you don’t see this somewhat new threat in the DHS report, just the same old nutcases we have had over the past 20 or so years.

  2. hello

    you keep saying groups but have yet to name a single one, just like the report.

  3. Emma

    How about guys like the one last year, right after the election, who leaned out of the passenger seat of his car, nearly stuck his two middle fingers in my face and screamed, “OBAMA, you @#$%ing b!tch!!” through my open window, presumably because my husband hadn’t yet removed his McCain bumper sticker from that car. I was on my way to a 5-hour professional certification exam and was a little rattled, to say the least. Wonder if guys like that could be considered “extremists.”

  4. Elena

    Emma,
    There will always be people with very poor and rude behavior, I would not necessarily call that extremist.

  5. Moon-howler

    I would consider the behavior extreme, impolite, unacceptable and drastic. Was the person an extremist? I have no way of knowing that. An AH, definitely. Extremist? Jury is out.

    He apparently liked Obama though. I would not have liked that at all.

  6. Emma

    It was very loud, very startling, very aggressive, and felt very threatening for a woman driving alone and making the mistake of having the window rolled down on a nice day. I didn’t have my wits about me enough to note the tag # and I was focusing on driving.

  7. Not Me, Bubba

    Well Emma –

    From what I have read that you have posted, you seem quite well-versed in anti-choice verbage. I especially liked the “medical journals” tidbit. But nonetheless, since you say it’s your opinion, fine. It’s also my opinion that if you’re against abortion, you shouldn’t have one, but in no way should your beliefs infinge upon others to make a choice right for themselves. For when abortion was illegal, where were the “pro-life” people when women were dying for obtaining black-market medical care? Just a thought…

    Keep/toss.

  8. Emma

    Why wouldn’t I read medical journals? I’m a registered nurse. I’m sure you would be dismayed to know how many of my colleagues (doctors and nurses) feel as I do.

    I get the sense you didn’t spend five seconds actually reading what I posted here. You just looked for the opposing view and then shut down with your assumptions.

    As far as your question as to where the “pro-life” people were when women were dying for obtaining black-market medical care, I believe I wasn’t even a teenager when Roe v. Wade was decided, so I would have been decidedly out of the loop at that point in life.

    Abortion is legal. Relax. I’m not “infringing” on anyone’s rights by exercising my rights to free speech.

  9. Moon-howler

    I am going to be bold and suggest that people’s feelings are all over thie place on this issue. Unfortunately, polls are geared towards people at either extreme. How many of have ever taken a poll that exactly expressed how we feel about abortion? I sure haven’t, and I have had a pretty solid opinion since childhood, before I really understood the biology of abortion.

    I agree with Not Me, Bubba as far as policy goes. If you are opposed to abortion, don’t have one.

    But I think we need the Emmas of the world also, to remind us of the flip side. This issue is not without a flip side. I have been confronted with several ‘what if’ situations in my life. There are several people in my life I cannot imagine not being there.

    When both ‘sides’ admit that there are 2 sides, then perhaps we will have come a lot further than we are now. Thank you both for your points of view. Both are vital to this issue.

  10. Emma

    Thank you, Moon.

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