# Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords shot in the head? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 8, 2011, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-the-head/566904 "2011-01-08T18:36:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2011, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-the-head/566904/161 "2011-01-08T22:09:25Z")
> [@Jenaroph](#): > > What, from a cannon? Apparently. The same station (the same old KGUN) later added a semi-colon. > [@rocking\_chair](#): > > i can’t imagine… you go to stock up on food or what ever and your 9 year old daughter is shot. really horrible. i’m wondering about the parents/parent, if they are amoung the wounded or dead as well. I was wondering that as well. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn this guy has killed before, if not earlier today then in the recent past. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2011, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-the-head/566904/162 "2011-01-08T22:10:09Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Fair enough. Your post just rubbed me the wrong way. From what I’m now reading, it does sound like he’s a nutjob. (Well, by definition he’d have to be.) **But I’ll still have to be convinced that he was not motivated by the right**. In the end, does it really matter though? Nutjobs are motivated by all kinds of crazy bullshit. Just because someone on one side of the political spectrum says something outlandish doesn’t mean someone else needs to act on it. Words are not deeds. ---
**Author:** ![Nunzio\_Tavulari](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Nunzio\_Tavulari](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nunzio_Tavulari)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2011, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-the-head/566904/163 "2011-01-08T22:11:07Z")
> **[Classitup10](https://www.youtube.com/user/Classitup10#p/a/u/2/PnNx0WThoF0)** > > Share your videos with friends, family, and the world ---
**Author:** ![Tristan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tristan/32/18058_2.png) [@Tristan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tristan)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2011, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-the-head/566904/164 "2011-01-08T22:12:39Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Not angels, we just don’t shoot polticians. History shows that you are wrong, and if you continue to insist that Liberals don’t shoot people, you are going to make an ass out of yourself. Both sides, historically, have blood on their hands. Don’t be blind, or willfully ignorant just because it doesn’t jibe with what you would like to believe. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2011, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-the-head/566904/165 "2011-01-08T22:12:43Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > I think I might detect some mental illness there. Are liberals immune to mental illness? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2011, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-the-head/566904/166 "2011-01-08T22:14:14Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > Just because someone on one side of the political spectrum says something outlandish doesn’t mean someone else needs to act on it. Words are not deeds. But the politicians who make the outlandish suggestions know, or should know, that there are people who will act on them. They can’t claim, ‘Oh, that was just rhetoric. I didn’t think anyone would actually do it.’ If they do and they believe it, they’re too naïve to be in politics. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2011, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-the-head/566904/167 "2011-01-08T22:14:18Z")
I was glad to hear Obama say, “We are going to get to the bottom of this.” If the shooter was affiliated with any groups that encouraged his violence, they need to have their asses seriously investigated and if appropriate, thoroughly worked over in a governmental sort of way, whatever their politics might be. I worry about the Obama administration though … there was MUCH that should have been gotten to the bottom of when he took office, like those billions of US dollars that disappeared during the aftermath of the Iraq war, that Obama never so much as gave a cursory glance to. Hopefully Obama will understand that any failure to do some very thorough investigating, call it as he sees it and haul out the whupass where appropriate, will be seen as failure on his part by the American people. ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2011, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-the-head/566904/168 "2011-01-08T22:14:20Z")
Yeah, well, given the stridency of the right, “they’re stealing your freedom!” and the repeated meme of arming themselves, shooting the opposition, there’s a little bit more culpability than the right would ever want to admit. ---
**Author:** ![Palo\_Verde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Palo\_Verde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palo_Verde)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2011, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-the-head/566904/169 "2011-01-08T22:14:48Z")
Sarah Palin has offered her condolences. [Facebook](http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=485459383434) Wasn’t she the one who had Rep. Giffords listed with picture of a target over her congressional area? ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2011, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-the-head/566904/170 "2011-01-08T22:15:02Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > In the end, does it really matter though? Nutjobs are motivated by all kinds of crazy bullshit. Just because someone on one side of the political spectrum says something outlandish doesn’t mean someone else needs to act on it. Words are not deeds. Exactly. When I worked in mental hospitals in Alabama (the buckle on the Bible Belt) the Bible was probably the most commonly hooked into source for schizophrenic delusions but I don’t think anybody would argue the Bible causes people to rant and rave and scream verses at passersby. Columbine and other school shootings were blamed on video games, the killing at Virginia Tech which was completely unpolitical was blamed on all kinds of external factors, and the truth is I think more nihilistic: fucked up people do fucked up shit. > [@Palo\_Verde](#): > > Sarah Palin has offered her condolences. [http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note\_id=485459383434](http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=485459383434) > > Wasn’t she the one who had Rep. Giffords listed with picture of a target over her congressional area? Yep- link earlier upthread. And while I don’t blame her she can suck it anyway; you put a crosshair target on a picture of the woman’s district when any number of other icons would have served, so don’t fucking act sad. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2011, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-the-head/566904/171 "2011-01-08T22:16:10Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > In the end, does it really matter though? Yes, it does. You go around preaching violence to thugs and sooner or later someone will go for it. This has become a standard right wing strategy; whip up the fanatics until one actually goes and kill someone, then pretend their actions have nothing to do with the rhetoric that was calling for them to do exactly what they did. ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2011, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-the-head/566904/172 "2011-01-08T22:18:27Z")
> [@Palo\_Verde](#): > > Sarah Palin has offered her condolences. [http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note\_id=485459383434](http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=485459383434) > > Wasn’t she the one who had Rep. Giffords listed with picture of a target over her congressional area? Crocodile tears. She’ll be telling armed, deranged people next week that liberals are stealing their freedom and hate God. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2011, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-the-head/566904/173 "2011-01-08T22:18:36Z")
> [@Tristan](#): > > History shows that you are wrong, and if you continue to insist that Liberals don’t shoot people, you are going to make an ass out of yourself. > > Both sides, historically, have blood on their hands. Don’t be blind, or willfully ignorant just because it doesn’t jibe with what you would like to believe. Again, that’s irrelevant; what matters is that right now and for the last few decades the political violence has almost all been from the right wing. > [@Palo\_Verde](#): > > Sarah Palin has offered her condolences. [http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note\_id=485459383434](http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=485459383434) > > Wasn’t she the one who had Rep. Giffords listed with picture of a target over her congressional area? Yes. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2011, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-the-head/566904/174 "2011-01-08T22:19:12Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Yes, it does. You go around preaching violence to thugs and sooner or later someone will go for it. This has become a standard right wing strategy; whip up the fanatics until one actually goes and kill someone, then pretend their actions have nothing to do with the rhetoric that was calling for them to do exactly what they did. There’s a difference between a fanatic and a madman. The KKK members who hanged a random black guy after a rally were fanatics; this guy is crazy. ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2011, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-the-head/566904/175 "2011-01-08T22:21:49Z")
I know! Is this guy the definition of paranoia? It’s all text with music. Favorite line: “Are you literate, listener?” Well, Jared, if I wasn’t, I wouldn’t have gotten this far in your video! I’ll bet a buck that he’s got three Sarah Palin autographed books in his abode. 😃 Did anyone see Palin’s target map from a few months ago? It was taken of her website today, but here it is: [Sarah Palin's Political Career May Be in Peril Over Gunsight Target Map - Cleveland Leader](http://www.clevelandleader.com/node/15645) She used the tagline in the election: “Get on Target for Victory in November. Help remove Gabrielle Giffords from office. Shoot a fully automatic M16 with Jesse Kelly.” Guess Jared prefers handguns over semi-automatics. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2011, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-the-head/566904/176 "2011-01-08T22:22:37Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > There’s a difference between a fanatic and a madman. The KKK members who hanged a random black guy after a rally were fanatics; this guy is crazy. There’s a whole lot of overlap between the two. And he doesn’t strike me as being noticeably crazier than the rest of the Republican base. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2011, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-the-head/566904/177 "2011-01-08T22:22:59Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > Just because someone on one side of the political spectrum says something outlandish doesn’t mean someone else needs to act on it. Words are not deeds. Words have consequences. Just another example of the lack of accountability on the right. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2011, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-the-head/566904/178 "2011-01-08T22:24:22Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > And he doesn’t strike me as being noticeably crazier than the rest of the Republican base. He does me. I think what strikes me as being crazier is the fact that he killed a bunch of people at a grocery store. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2011, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-the-head/566904/179 "2011-01-08T22:26:46Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > He does me. I think what strikes me as being crazier is the fact that he killed a bunch of people at a grocery store. That just makes him more willing to get his hands dirty, not crazier. He’s just doing exactly what many on the Right have been calling for for years; just like Timothy McVeigh. ---
**Author:** ![Walmarticus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Walmarticus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walmarticus)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2011, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-the-head/566904/180 "2011-01-08T22:34:09Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > That just makes him more willing to get his hands dirty, not crazier. He’s just doing exactly what many on the Right have been calling for for years; just like Timothy McVeigh. It’s quite possible that he’s not Glenn Beck crazy but medically/dramatically. I strongly doubt he takes cues. > [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > And he doesn’t strike me as being noticeably crazier than the rest of the Republican base. Watch the video and say that with a straight face. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-the-head/566904.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-the-head/566904.md?page=10)