Assassinations

Oliver Stone's JFK got me interested in that subject.  But I didn't walk away from the film as an admirer of Stone's.  As a matter of fact, the very opposite occurred.  What I got from that film was that an unfortunate historical event was being used for political purposes.  It had little to do with truth, everything to do with stirring up people and getting them to behave in a way that the instigator wished.

Talking about vitriolic rhetoric.  That film a one long propaganda piece against what Stone was pleased to call "fascism".  It was slanderous.  The name calling and the false accusations.

As a result of watching the film, I got acquainted with the facts of the assassination and came to quite different conclusions than the one Stone wanted to portray.

It may be thought that I was biased.  But not so.  Back then, I was a lot closer to the moderate version of conservatism than now.  This film pretty much turned me against liberalism in a visceral sort of way.

But let's leave emotion aside.  What could have President Kennedy done in his own defense of his own life?  Could he have done something?  Yes.  As a matter of fact, his own decisions made the Secret Service's job of protecting him harder.  If an agent was closer to him when those shots first rang out, he may have survived that day.

I think there are parallels between the Kennedy assassination and the Giffords' attempted assassination.  In both cases, the politicians involved could have done something to aid in their own protection.  She could have held the event in a more secure place.  A parking lot gave access to anybody at all.  This meant an assassin as well.  For this reason, she holds some responsibility for what happened to her.

Now, don't get me wrong.  I don't think it is good to blame victims for what happened to them.  But reality is what it is.  She had to know as well as anyone the risks she was taking.  She must have known she was exposing herself to any wacko that might have been out there to do harm.  And so she did.  For that, she should accept responsibility.  She might not only have spared herself a lot of suffering, but she may have spared the rest of us this garbage that is going on now.