News and views from the award-winning author of the novels The Skinny Years, America Libre, House Divided and Pancho Land

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

The right is in denial


The right is in denial about their culpability in the Tucson shootings. They are squirming under the light of truth and grasping at any opportunity to deflect the blame. If they were truly guiltless for the climate of hate they’ve fostered, then why was there a scramble to scrub right wing websites of their inflammatory content after the killings?

A number of right wing pundits are decrying the reaction from the left, calling for a stop to the “politicizing” of this tragedy. Ironic, that. After years of wallowing in the slime of violence-laced rhetoric, they suddenly want to take the high road. How convenient.

Despite the vehement protest from progressives, I have yet to hear a single call for violence in retribution. But even now, the violent fringe seems unrepentant. “One down, 534 more to go,” posted one far-right anarchist blogger. Even if we take this as a jest, it speaks volumes.


There is no moral equivalency in this matter. For far too long, the right has knowingly exploited a lunatic fringe with a penchant for firearms to further their political agenda. If we do not speak out now against this practice, I fear the killings in Tucson may be only the beginnings of a continuing national tragedy.

Raul Ramos y Sanchez