How many times can a man turn his head...? Tucson, Arizona and the murderous events of January 8, 2011

Republished with author's permission by Michael Hayes
http://PrestigiousProfits.com.


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by Dr. Jeffrey Lant

It was just an ordinary day at the La Toscana Village Safeway store on West Ina Road except that U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords (D-Arizona) with  her mega-watt smile had dropped by to do a "Congress on Your Corner" meet and greet, answer some questions, pose for a few pictures. Maybe she was running for the U.S. Senate, or not. She was keeping her options open, and this was a good place to meet the folks and make a good impression.

While Giffords was doing her job, Jared Loughner was preparing to do his. He was in the parking lot, in a taxi, loaded down with a Glock 19 semiautomatic pistol. The magazine was full. He had another full magazine, too, that had about 30 bullets and two more that each held about 15 bullets. Just in case, Jared was also carrying a knife. But Jared had a problem. On his way to destiny he found he didn't have enough change to pay his taxi fare. He and the driver stepped inside the store, sorting it out... Jared then walked back inside.

In just an instant, in a moment of unspeakable horror death descended, at the hand of the man now known as alleged gunman Jared Loughner, aged 22.

Murdered! 9 year old Christina Green, student council representative and A student.

Murdered! Judge John Roll, 63, his life dedicated to the law and due process.

Murdered! Dorwin Stoddard, 76, who gave his life shielding his wife.

Murdered! Gabriel Zimmerman, 30,  an expert on constituent affairs in Gabby Gifford's office.

Murdered! Phyllis Schneck, 79, affable church volunteer.

Murdered! Dorothy Morris, 76 good neighbor, enjoying a well-earned retirement.

Dead, all dead, with 12 more wounded, bleeding, writhing. But Jared, who delivered death, lived on, condemned to life, protected by the Constitution and the hBill of Rights he sneered at.

Why had this happened when so many knew so much for so long about the troubled mind and insistent presence of Jared Loughner?

The U.S. Army had clues. Jared had applied and been rejected for reasons officials would not disclose. What did they know, when did they know it, what did they do?

Officials at Tucson's Pima Community College, where Jared was a disruptive, unsettling presence, had clues.

Campus police  were called at least 5 times to deal with Jared and his out-of-control classroom antics.  September 29, 2010 they had enough when Jared posted the latest of a string of vituperative, rambling, sense challenged videos, this one claiming the college was illegal, according to the U.S. Constitution, which doubtless he had never read and could not understand.

So frequently forced to deal with Jared, what did these officials know, when did they know it, what did they do, beyond having two uniformed police officers hand-deliver his suspension to his home? They knew enough for that.

Readers of Jared's Facebook and YouTube rants had clues. Incoherent, violent, accusatory, Jared's poorly written posts reeked of the pains he felt and the greater pains he aimed to inflict on someone, anyone.

There was one video titled "America: Your last memory in a terrorist country!". There a figure in the dark clothing Jared habitually wore burned the American flag while wearing a smiley-face mask. Desecration of the flag is de rigueur for the unbalanced and country hating and Jared juiced up this evil sacrament with the soundtrack of a 2001 song by the band "Drowning Pool."

"Let the bodies hit the floor!"

What did his readers know, when did they know it, what did they do? Or did they even notice Jared, who so desperately wanted to be noticed and understood.

Then Jared got serious.

He wrote the obligatory self-justifications. There were 3 of them, all found in a safe in Loughner's home: "I planned ahead", "my assassination," and, tellingly, "Giffords." There was even a flyer from one of Giffords' 2007 "Congress on Your Corner" events. He had, we now know, attended this event, perhaps brainstorming the options that would deliver universal notice, even unto the President of these United States, the land he so reviled.

He purchased his weapon of choice at Sportsman's Warehouse on November 30, 2010. Then he bought his portable arsenal of bullets, lots of bullets.

No one at the store noticed anything particular about this boy, already bursting with purpose and arrogant determination. Boys with odd ticks and rumpled clothes are a daily occurrence in the temple of weapons and the priesthood of the Second Amendment. No one cared. The sale, after all, went through. And that's the important thing, isn't it? What did that obligatory pre-purchase background check show about Loughner, who by now had left so very many clues? Or was it given the most cursory of notice? No one has yet said, but one may suppose.

Which brings us to the spruced up Jared, dressed for mayhem and eternity. He called the taxi and rode off, his driver apparently seeing nothing of the bulky paraphernalia of death toted by the alleged culprit and gunman. We all wonder how that could be.

Just as we wonder how so many could have seen so much and done so little, leaving Jared the initiative, always free to act while others watched and waited.... until the bodies hit the floor.

Fortunately, there are heroes here, two people who tackled Jared gun of death in hand, bringing him down. These (so far unnamed) people of courage did not hold back. They saw, they acted, saving many lives, even at the risk of their own.

As for the rest and all the soul baffling questions, the answer is blowing in the wind.

Republished with author's permission by Michael Hayes
http://PrestigiousProfits.com.

Check out Article Marketing Robot -> http://www.PrestigiousProfits.com/amr