|
Out of curiosity, if Sarah Palin had quoted The Untouchables similarly, would you give her the same pass?
To me, the responsibility rhetoric has here is much like the responsibility the manufacturers of a mild carcinogen have. In the general population, 15 people out of a thousand will get earlobe cancer. Among users of Product X, 17 people will get earlobe cancer.
I use Product X and get earlobe cancer. How responsible is Product X for this? Full responsibility? 12% responsibility? No responsibility? The cancer either was or wasn't caused by Product X but it is impossible to know which.
The problem with blaming rhetoric for the actions of crazy people is that there's no predicting crazy. Simple oppositional language could trigger a crazy person to violence. So yes, it is possible that the general tone provided this crazy person with a target but I don't really care since anything could have provided this crazy person with a target.
I care when generally rational people are moved to violence by rhetoric.
|