I blame the shooter and Reagan! [View all]

[gopiscrap]

Obviously the shooter is the one who pulled the trigger, but besides personal responsibility, what got him there?

In many ways, I blame Reagan! In 1980 Ronald Reagan campaigned for the Presidency of the US mainly (IMHO) on two major themes: belligerence and selfishness.

Belligerence in the form of, we're bigger and stronger than anybody else, lets go looking for a fight. Beef up the defense industry and make my rich friends richer and keep this nation on a war footing. When a nation is constantly looking for a fight, that seeps down to the personal culture of it's citizens. Let's blame somebody and punish them so that we can feel better about ourselves.

The bigger and much more serious issue was his campaigning on the theme of selfishness. Reagan demonized those who are the least among us, the poor, the dispossessed and those who have mental illness. During his time in office he worked dilligently to cut aid to welfare recipients (the welfare queen, when only 1/10 of one % ever comitted fraud) and was successful in cutting funding for mental health by about 70%. Those folks who would have been institutionalized or housed in group home settings were left to wander the streets. By perpetuating our greed for a health care system, these folks also were not able to afford the meds they so desperately needed. When they acted out, they were jailed and many times once again, either demonized or abused.

Much of this has been magnified by hateful talk radio and the tea party assholes who are trying to high jack the common decency which once was the norm in this country! Just IMHO