'Lunatic' labels minimize Arizona killings, mask deeper problems

It is so predictable.

Not long after yesterday's tragic killing of six people in Tucson and the identification of the suspect, media types, law enforcement officials, politicians and talking heads all quickly labeled Jared Lee Loughner as some sort of lunatic fringe person. This was based on his rambling web posting, videos and run-ins with college administrators.

The left has quickly labeled him a tea party lunatic while those on the right have claimed  Loughner to be a flag burner. The left uses the fact of who Loughner's intended victim was and the right uses the assertion that he has read Marx.

While the actions of the suspect are reprehensible, in our opinion the act labeling of Loughner out-of-hand as some sort of lunatic does a great dis-service. The fact that this type of behavior is so quickly written off as some sort of lunatic fringe element masks a deeper problem we as a society are unwilling to examine. 

Instead of looking at the real cause[s] that pushed the suspect to do pull the trigger, we are willing to quickly label him as crazy. Doing so diminishes the loss of life and keeps us from really looking into what pushed the suspect to do the killings - and that does not serve the needs of a civilized society.

Rabbi Michael Lerner sums it up this way:

So don't think of this action as a mere "irrational event," because it fits very well with the agenda of those who want to give the country back 100% to the corporate powers...