It amazes me how many people posted about the shooting but what surprised me more is the number of people who consider themselves journalistic sources and began to post details that were not confirmed. Congresswoman Giffords was pronounced dead and resurrected so many times I joked that Jesus got jealous. It really struck me that these people especially the ones who were getting information from the same news sources that I was felt that it was their duty to report this news. I began to think of her husband who was in Houston and had to make his way to Arizona having to hear about his wife being dead. One local politician that was a close friend of Congresswoman Gifford expressed it was like an emotional rollercoaster because she had to hear several times her friend had died and then was not dead.
Maybe I made too much of it but I just felt like there could've have been a better way to let people know. I know social networking has drastically changed the way we get information but it should never take the place of having credible information from reliable sources. I know some of the media outlets also reported that she was dead and then retracted the statement several times but to continually use social networking forums as if you are reporting from the scene just seems a bit irresponsible to me.
People also saw the irony of the Congresswoman being shot and Sarah Palin on her political action committee website using a target/crosshairs symbol over her district. While I do think it was irresponsible for her to do that I don't think it's the sole reason this tragedy happen. Some people tried to make the shooter the bastard child of Palin and Glenn Beck. Again we have to share our opinions responsibly. The internet in a lot of places becomes a platform for people to say anything they want because they can hide behind their computer screens but it also has become a place where anyone thinks their opinion is the only one that matters. That they are the only source of information and that's simply not true. Even this blog is just my take on the situation. Anyone who reads it is free to agree or disagree.
One thing did strike me about the incident. There was a young girl who went there to meet the Congresswoman because she had recently been elected to her student council and had a burgeoning interest in politics. She was taken there by a neighbor. My heart goes out especially to her parents but all to experienced the violence. I did hear the gun sales have gone up since Saturday in Arizona which doesn't surprise me unfortunately. The Arizona State Legislature passed an emergency law banning people from protesting at a funeral or burial because members of Westboro Baptist Church were planning to use this another platform to spew their version of Christianity.
Today also happens to be the one year anniversary of the earthquake in Haiti. Words alone can not express how much help Haiti still needs. I read someone say that Haiti needs to become self-sufficient which I agree with but when the starting point is so far back it's hard for me not to want to do whatever I can to help.
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