Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords shot in Arizona

[JoeRedskin]

Originally Posted by ArtMonkDrillz

So by her logic we should release Charles Manson from prison because he just told his followers to go out and kill people. Sure, it may have been his idea but a sane person wouldn't have followed it. Hell, I guess you could use the same logic for Bin Laden.

Seriously though, yes, it is up to the individual to act and its almost impossible to say how a mentally unstable person is going to interpret any given thought but at least SOME blame has to fall on those sending out the message. I'm not saying Palin is directly or even partially responsible for this tragedy in Arizona, but what does she expect to eventually happen when she uses her type of rhetoric?

You mean like Marx, who called for violent revolution? Shall we ban the Communist Manifesto? Regardless of the speech, it is the individual who must be held accountable. Manson and Bin Laden did more than simply 'call for violent action' or 'exhort their followers'. At a minimum, they planned and facilitated murder. The mob boss who plans the hit is just as guilty of murder as the hitman himself.

It's one thing to call for civility, it's another to start saying certain types of speech shouldn't be allowed in public discourse. Calls for violence and etc. have always existed. As Smootsmack said, people calling for violent actions have always been a part of political discourse and are all around us. Quite frankly, in the 1800's the individuals (left and right) would have already fought a duel which was an accepted manner of resolving political disputes through the middle of the 19th century.

As I have always said, the way to respond to "bad" speech is with "good" speech not to attempt to ban the "bad" speech.

Jonah Goldberg: Liberals' rhetoric exploits Tucson tragedy - baltimoresun.com