then there are blackbirds

mekosuchinae has a link roundup on the shooting of Congressman Gabrielle Giffords; heathershaped includes an interview in which she talks about violent rhetoric.

It's funny, isn't it, how we USians go on and on about the right to free speech, but so often refuse to be held accountable for its results, [eta;] direct or indirect [/eta]. It's always but we didn't do anything, right? No. Speech, too, is an action. There is no such thing as a social vacuum.

Hate breeds hate. Violence breeds violence. Words can breed both.