Is Arizona the epicenter of divisiveness? - U.S. news - Crime & courts

TUCSON, Ariz. — The woman was a native Arizonan, her family going back six generations. Hours after her congresswoman was gunned down at a neighborhood supermarket, she stood at a candlelight vigil on a street corner and clutched a sign that read "Peace."

Margaret Robles lamented the shooting in the town where she'd lived all her 64 years. She praised Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, agonized for all the victims. But her sadness was mixed with shame.

"I'm embarrassed to say I'm from Arizona," said the retired teacher's aide. "Too many things are happening."

Yes, acts of violence can, and do, happen anywhere. And the dismay over the nasty political rhetoric of past years — much discussed in the days since Saturday's rampage — reaches far beyond this state's borders.

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Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Amanda Lee Myers, Gillian Flaccus and Raquel Maria Dillon in Tucson, Ariz.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Full article at msnbc.msn.com

"We're a microcosm of the whole United States. We are you. We are everybody." ~Marshall Trimble

"Maybe this is that button we had to hit before we say: 'No, this isn't the way we want to be.'" ~Beth Grindell

May it be, and may we see that what Mr. Trimble says is true. Nothing changes except our perceptions. We can stick our heads in the sand and hope things go away, we can get up in arms over every little thing, or we can acknowledge what actually happens around us in order to make informed decisions on dealing with it but refuse to live in fear, anger, jealousy, any of those states that lead to unbridled, inappropriate violence.

Posted via email from Peace Jaway