Do we know for certain if Loughner was motivated by Palin and her ilk?

[ZombieHorde]

Poll question: Do we know for certain if Loughner was motivated by Palin and her ilk?

Loughner's rhetoric seems to mostly concern currency, grammar, and conscious dreaming. Loughner may not have been interested in partisan politics the way we and our counterparts think of it.

Many here, and elsewhere, predicted Palin's gun metaphors would lead to actual violence, which seems reasonable, but do we really know what was going on in Loughner's head? If Palin and the Tea Party never existed, would Loughner have shot other people, or perhaps he would not have shot anybody?

[Jackpine Radical]

1. This doesn't call for a poll. It calls for information.

[valerief]

2. +1000

[ZombieHorde]

5. I don't think you really understand what I am asking.

I am asking people to tell me something about themselves. I am asking for anonymous, personal information. On DU, polls usually work well for this.

[woo me with science]

10. I suspect that the reason for the poll

is not to determine the shooter's motive, but to illustrate how DU-ers form opinions.

[ZombieHorde]

13. True. nt

[bigwillq]

3. Not officially

And, yes, we should wait for the investigation to be complete before blame is put on another individual besides the shooter.

However, Palin, and some other right wingers, have advocated violence against Democrats and other democratic-leaning folks, and I do hold them accountable when insistences like this occur.

Palin and her crew are part of the problem.

[ZombieHorde]

12. I agree, thier language is reckless. nt

[Ohio Joe]

4. It is not his rhetoric but theirs.

So, yes, I think we do know.

[ZombieHorde]

11. I have not seen that, but it sounds like good evidence, which rhetoric are you talking about? nt

[Ohio Joe]

15. Well...

From kpete

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x142917

From Kurovski

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x143008

and from paparush

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x137918

The teabagger rhetoric has been filled with veiled threats almost from the start.

[ZombieHorde]

16. Oh, I have seen similar threads to those, but do we really know that is what motivated Loughner?

Would other motivations be too big of a coincidence?

[Ohio Joe]

17. I think so

I have... on occasion :D been wrong but I am going to have a real hard time buying coincidence here.

[walldude]

18. I doubt that it "motivated" him. Just gave him someone

to take his motivation out on.

They are already saying he's a flag burning commie hippie. And half of DU is jumping right on the bandwagon.


This is the kind of politics people want I guess.

[johnnie]

6. Also

Do we know for sure that all the posts that have been contributed to him and pointing to him being psychotic are actually him?

[ZombieHorde]

8. I don't know. nt

[spanone]

7. do we know for certain he's the shooter???

probably, but certain?

[ZombieHorde]

9. I don't know, but we will probably know within a day or ten. nt

[bbinacan]

14. I voted no

It's too early to know.

[TorchTheWitch]

19. on DU EVERYTHING is partisan politics

Nothing new about that.

[killbotfactory]

20. Yes we do.

The last campaign was especially nasty, with her office being vandalized, and teabaggers bringing guns to her campaign events (and she was pro-gun). Not a single one of them condemned the violent atmosphere or the nasty campaign rhetoric that were thinly veiled threats against her person. It was deemed completely acceptable by rightwingers and the media. If you don't think this guy was influenced in some way by any of that you are out of your mind.

[Maru Kitteh]

21. Looking for "motivation" in a completely disordered mind is a useless pursuit.