‘Lock and load’ rhetoric has real consequences
Hey savvy news reader! Thanks for choosing local.
You are now reading
2 of 3 free articles.
Editor,
Date line, January 9, 2011, BBC news headlines: "Niger Captors Kill Hostages," "Headless Bodies Found in Acupulco,” "Shot US Congresswoman Critical."
Regarding the first two headlines, can't you just hear a comment like this from a bunch of us guys sitting around the cafe table having morning coffee and conversation, "Well, you know, what can you expect from these backward countries? These people will never change. They are barbaric. They've been at this for years and years."
And now comes headline number three. We have just another tragic killing right here in the good old US of A, a very advanced and learned culture, a nation of freedom and ultimate security with pat-downs and body scans, a nation of the people, by the people and for the people. Causes one to stop and think a bit, doesn't it?
Marty Kaplan of the Huffington Post, on Jan. 8, had an article published in “Common Dreams” with this headline: "The Lock and Load Rhetoric of American Politics isn't Just a Metaphor."
This, of course, refers to Sarah Palin's unfortunate "lock and load" comment that is just the sort of rhetoric like the many, many equally vitriolic comments made during the recent elections which do affect and guide the thinking of many people, especially those who have a tendency to extreme anger, are a bit unbalanced, and possibly prone to violence.
And young people hear this stuff over and over again, coming from us learned, sensible, responsible and revered grownups. What is bound to happen? How about Waco? How about Oklahoma City? Just to name a couple of instances of people being brainwashed through rhetoric, one a whole bunch of people and the other a single individual.
I quote the last paragraph of Marty Kaplan's article, "If you're worried that violent video games may make kids prone to bad behavior; if you think that homophobic rap lyrics are dangerous for society; if you believe that a nipple in a Superbowl halftime show is a threat to our moral fabric - then surely you should also fear that the way public and media figures have framed political participation as a shooting gallery imagery is just as potentially lethal."
Bob McClellan
Polson
