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International reaction to Arizona shooting

By The World ⋅ January 10, 2011 ⋅ Post a comment
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Shuttle commander Mark Kelly, the astronaut husband of Arizona Representative Gabrielle Giffords has expressed his thanks for the outpouring of support since Saturday’s shooting in Tuscon. President Barack Obama led the nation in a moment of silence for the victims and their families while flags across the United States are flying at half mast. Jared Loughner, the man charged with the shooting is due to appear in court later on Monday. We check in with foreign correspondents to find out how the international press is covering the shooting. Download MP3



Discussion

20 comments for “International reaction to Arizona shooting”

  • Selden

    Thank you for your reporting of international reactions to the Arizona shootings. I am increasingly appalled at the political polarization in this country, and find it difficult to believe that political hate speech (I can think of no more appropriate term) likely influenced the actions of Jared Lee Loughner. Fortunately, he was captured, rather than killed, at the scene of the crime, so we may be able to learn some things about his worldview in the coming months.

  • randall marvin

    the tucson incident is not about political rhetoric or guns its about mental Illness
    there are eerie parallels between ft hood, va tech and tucson. people in authority knew all these individuals were severely mentally disturbed but no framework for cooperation between law enforcement , education and mental health. all 3 shooters were students. warnings that all 3 were dangerous came from professors and fellow students and all 3 were referred to mental health providers. not connecting the dots. strike three.

  • John

    I just finished listening to the report on NPR and as an American I’m upset that not one reporter mentioned how this must be tragic for the families. All they planned to report on was their political view point or take the oppertunity to take a shot or two at us. It’s sad because the billions of dollars given to ungreatful international countries comes from the American people (that is correct, the money you get comes out of our pocket). I hope the international reporters read this and while they are using this tragedy to their advantage, take a moment and remember that these are people. They are families. They have a hand in helping poeple they will never meet and now they are in pain. They are morning their lossed loved ones. I challenge a reporter to capture that story.

  • Matthew Scarborough

    Saturday’s tragic events confirm what I believe is the cultural and communal degeneration of the State of Arizona. As a Tucson native and a graduate of the University of Arizona, the Old Pueblo (as it is called) represented a bastion of cultural and intellectual freedom in a state drowning in the choppy waters of divisiveness and xenophobia. The state’s population, beleaguered with the realities of a poor economy, differing views on immigration and a general feeling of discontent, has become extremely polarized. I believe this polarization is driving moderate, educated Arizonans out of the state. Not only do we have a poor economy to contend with in Arizona, but we live in communities that segregate themselves and condemn ‘others’. I spent approximately 6 months in Tucson following my graduation and left because I feared being swept into this stagnation. And I’m not alone. Denver, Colorado has become a common escape route for those seeking a more fruitful life. Still, Saturday’s events have awakened a zeal in me that I lost long ago. I want to help mend my community. Like an Iraqi exile longing to return to Baghdad, I have an internal conflict. While there is an overwhelming desire for me to move back “home,” I fear losing the quality of life I have cultivated away from Arizona. Moreover, I fear the state will lose generations of leadership and talent to less fractured communities. Obviously, this troubles and saddens me greatly.

  • jordan

    That segment was hard to listen to. Partly because of the very real tragedy that took place in Arizona but also because of the ludicrous position taken. One of the commentators longs for a reinstatement of the fairness doctrine while another rambles on about how great Obama was and how the brith of the tea party is leading to acts like this. Another hopes for a reinstatement of the assualt weapons ban (though the shooter was not using an “assualt weapon”).

    Where was the other side of the story? Where is the reporting about the shooters fondness for Marx and his communist manifesto? If anything, the shooter was left of center in his politics.

    Please PRI, do not jump on the sensationalist, leftist bandwagon on this story. It will not help anyone and only helps to further skew public perception.

    • Elliott Walters

      I thought the point of the segment was to understand how others perceive us as a nation. I was grateful to hear the spectrum of opinions, regardless of whether I agreed with, or not.

    • Clayton Pulley

      I agree with Jordan. We should wait until we know more about the shooter. I think it is very ironic that when the Ft. Hood shooting occured. The press and the left advised us not to ‘jump to conclusions’ or be hasty with our perception of that particular event. Why are we doing this now. PRI should have had a more balanced coverage on this issue.

    • pam

      I agree with Jordan’s comment about jumping on the sensationalist leftist bandwagon and Randall’s comment that the story is about mental illness and NOT politics. I work with severely mentally ill people. This man seems to be one. The comments that I have heard sound like he is not in touch with reality and probably quite psychotic. I have not heard anything that links “political rhetoric” with his motivation for shooting these people. In fact, I haven’t heard any news person give factual information about his motivation — it all seems to be speculation. This speculation is making a huge story out of “political rhetoric” when it may not have even been a factor at all. Where is all the unbiased reporting that the reporters from around the world were saying is so important??? This story is not just biased but fabricated.

      The most important issue to me is that a man who was this mentally ill was allowed to buy a handgun. Same as the shooter that killed all the students in Virginia. Mentally ill people should have rights but not when those rights can so seriously violate the rights of so many others — such as all these people who were killed or injured by his mental illness.

      Quit speculating, PRI and give us the FACTS!!!

  • Alice

    I a appalled that PRI, NPR, and the World have allowed rhetoric to get in the way of the facts concerning Jared Loughner.
    First, Rep. Giffords is Jewish, pro-gun, and anti-immigration.
    Second, Mr. Loughner is a 9/11 Truther, a US Army reject because of his illness, anti-Bible, per his youtube, and anti-Israel. His favorite books include Mein Kampf and The Communist Manifesto.
    Moreover, he targeted Rep. Giffords in 2007, BEFORE the Tea Party and Sarah Palin were on the scene, according to Wall Street Journal.

    All in all, this hardly represents the views of the right, yet you persist in allowing the illusion that the Right is to blame for this evil. By not correcting a known wrong, you are complicit.

    Lest you again point to Sarah Palin’s targets, may I remind you of similar tactics by the Democrats in the 2004 elections. Not to mention the graphic of a decapitated GW Bush. For more examples, see today’s lead story by Michelle Malkin, which showed 37 pages of such leftist rhetoric when I prepared to print it out.

    Perhaps you should take the speck out of your own eye.
    In closing, a few quotes from President Obama:

    * Obama: “They Bring a Knife…We Bring a Gun”
    ** Obama to His Followers: “Get in Their Faces!”
    ** Obama on ACORN Mobs: “I don’t want to quell anger. I think people are right to be angry! I’m angry!”
    ** Obama to His Mercenary Army: “Hit Back Twice As Hard”
    ** Obama on the private sector: “We talk to these folks… so I know whose ass to kick.“
    ** Obama to voters: Republican victory would mean “hand to hand combat”
    ** Obama to lib supporters: “It’s time to Fight for it.”
    ** Obama to Latino supporters: “Punish your enemies.”
    ** Obama to democrats: “I’m itching for a fight.”

  • Chicagoan

    Initially from Europe, I don’t understand why everybody is so surprised about this incident.

    Unparalleled hatred and despise for government, fueled by the likes of Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, Michael Savage and even high ranking (ex) politicians with presidential ambitions, in combination with literally no gun control in Arizona, it was not a question of whether but rather when a tragedy like this would happen…

    • jordan

      But there is massive gun control in Chicago (where I assume you’re from) and yet Chicago has one of the highest gun crime rates in the nation. Please explain this phenomenon.

      And again, it is appearing more and more like this man leaned to the left so the demoninizing of, and hateful rhetoric towards, a host of conservative radio hosts just makes zero sense.

      • Chicagoan

        Point taken (Chicago) but you are probably unaware that this only applies to the City of Chicago and Cook County. It’s a totally different story if you take a look at all the surrounding suburbs and counties that make up more than 2/3 of Chicago’s metropolitan area – leave alone bordering states like Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin.
        Proliferation of guns is a fact, not just across county or state lines but even crossing international borders (e.g. US weapons used in the Mexican drug war – whether it’s 17, 36 or 90%).

        Left leaning?
        At the end it doesn’t really matter what the political views of the shooter are. As long as there are demagogues in this country that generally villainize and defame the institution of government, politicians as its members will continue to become victims of crimes like the one in Tucson last Saturday.
        Just to pick up on your logic: if his motives were of political nature, why did he pick a democrat and not one of the many right wing tea party members, e.g. Trent Humphries, the co-founder of the Tucson tea party movement?
        You might or might not agree with who I consider a demagogue, but I haven’t witnessed the same poisoned rhetoric from let’s say NPR or the NYT. Maybe there is a reason why Jon Stewart called his event “Rally to Restore SANITY”. Yes, upper case SANITY!

  • Charmaine

    After listening to this story, I really do not understand how people can still criticize and denounce the opinions of others. This story was not about the shootings or the politics, it was about the way other countries view us. Instead of repecting what was said and perhaps using it as constructive criticism we are defensively picking a side. After all that has happened the majority of us do not get it. We must respect what others have to say even if it not flattering. .

  • Steffie

    I’m a fairly recent immigrant to the US; I’ve been living here for 16 years now. But I could be living here ten times as long and I’ll never, ever understand the fascination of Americans with guns.

    Five days before Congress woman Giffords was gunned down, a student at Millard South HS in Omaha, NE, fatally shot the deputy principal and wounded the principal (note that the shooter was not mentally disturbed; just that he, according to a report on one website, was an “unhappy student who struggled with a move to a new school.”) That same day there was a shooting in a mall in Chandler, AZ. Fortunately, no one got hurt in that incident. Three shootings, two with fatalities, in a space of five days in the first week of 2011. How many other countries in the world, safe from those where there is military or civil strife, does that happen?

    Here’s my question: how many more lives of innocent 9-year-olds and how many more grieving parents will it take before Americans realize that guns DO kill people? So in the words of the late Molly Ivins, “Get a knife, get a dog, but get rid of guns.”

    • jordan

      guns kill people just like your computer wrote your comment.

      • Steffie

        Point taken! Yes, it’s a person pulling the trigger, but unlike a computer, or many other objects used in daily life, a gun by its nature is used to inflict harm, whether used for hunting purposes, self defense, or criminal activity.

        I just heard on today’s program that the fast majority of guns used by the druglords in Mexico come from the border states, namely Texas and Arizona. In the last four years, over 30,000 Mexicans, mostly law-abiding citizens, have been killed, many, no doubt, the victims of guns (and bullets) purchased in the US. Aren’t you even a little embarrassed by the fact that certain elements in this country are, in essence, in cahoots with the Mexican druglords? And doesn’t the number of 30,000 dead fellow-human beings bother you at all? That’s an average of 7,500 year!! If only a fraction of that number of people were killed in this country, there would be an uproar.

  • Elizabeth Farson

    Except for targets and skeet shooting, guns are manufactured and owned to wound and kill anything and everything when they are fired, whether purposefully or accidentally.

    I believe the Sheriff of Tucson expressed things as they are. Why is it okay for politicians to say anything they want about anyone and everyone, while the Sheriff is criticized for expressing his feelings about the hideous series of events that happened in his own home town, which he is expected to keep safe?

    Elizabeth

  • Paul K. Dougherty

    I was struck by the complete lack of diversity of thought displayed by the interviewed journalists. I chuckle when I think that this segment would not have passed Fairness Doctorine muster by not presenting another view.
    Example: The shooter is mad and, perhaps, had a personal parnoid grudge with the congresswoman (bless her and all the victims).
    Please excuse me for pointing an inconvenient glitch in the “racist southern redneck” prejudice fetish some have when recalling the atmosphere around Dallas in ’63, but L.H. Oswald was a hard left deranged murderer. If a persons opinion offends, it is not necessarily “Hate”. A little more tolerance and understanding from all sides are in order.

  • David Walk

    The principal issue here is mental illness, the complex question of the responsibility of acquaintances and institutions when confronted with the mentally ill, and the problem of how to be sure that treatment is obtained by those who need it. Everyone is missing this. People are jumping to a discussion of politics because it is the discussion they want to have, but it is is a secondary issue in this tragedy. Worse, the French journalist is retreating to stock naive European caricatures of Americans that make the French feel superior but do not inform her readers about American culture or the true, and rather difficult, issues here. It is FOX news in French. Equally juvenile is the British opinion that objectivity can be legislated. Apparently insightful journalism is dead on both sides of the Atlantic.

  • P Gilbertson

    PRI’s “sampling” of international opinion illustrates either an agenda-driven “sample” or the negligent provision of a platform to pathologically uninformed opinion. As the facts come out, it becomes increasingly is clear that the shooter was mentally ill and had incrutable motivations. It is equally clear that the left has tried to appropriate the narrative of this tragedy in the most cynical way. It did as much any other to create our degraded political culture.