What is it about America and guns? It’s a question people in other countries ask every time there is an outbreak of violence at a school, at a bowling alley or in this case, at a supermarket. This editorial from Brazil’s Estadao tries to put two and two together for Brazilian readers, and ponders America’s violent political history.
The Estadao editorial says in part:
There will always be fanatics or psychopaths everywhere willing to eliminate public figures they abhor. Even more so when the politics of hate poison the national debate and lenient laws for acquiring firearms invite brutality – both notorious facts in the United States.
The emergence of Barack Obama on the nation’s scene, although it filled the majority of the population with hope and pride, provoked a rejection of his authority from a segment of society encouraged by the stridently conservative media, and feelings of disgust emerged that barely disguised their racist roots. The new president’s policies, such as state intervention to save an economy in tatters, and the fulfillment of his promise to send to Congress a comprehensive plan to reform the health care system, have been stigmatized as steps toward the implementation of creeping socialism in the U.S. All with the support of “liberals.”
The Tucson killings pulled the rug from under the feet of Republicans, who last week took over control of the House of Representatives and intended to put to a vote, with little practical effect, the repeal of health care reform. The initiative, the first chance for the movement to put the Obama government in the corner, was suspended. Disconcerted, the Republican leadership ran to deplore the slaughter. Sarah Palin, for her part, hastened to deny that her preaching may have encouraged the armed the criminal. For the umpteenth time, Americans are forced to cope with an outbreak of violence in their political struggles.
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