Remembering the Victims in Tucson

I can’t get the image of his face out of my head, the one of Jared L. Loughner who last Saturday nearly succeeded in assassinating Congresswoman Gabrille Giffords.

Loughner’s photo was plastered yesterday on the cover of every major American newspaper.  His bald head, the piercing gaze of his eyes combined with a somewhat reserved grin coalesce to create the image of a diabolic mad man.  In the wake of the shooting we’ve come to learn that Loughner was a troubled young man who had been expelled from the community college he attended in Tuscon, was an expert marksman and enjoyed reading the nihilistic works of writers like Nietzsche.  He and his parents lived a rather withdrawn life in their north-west Tucson neighborhood. 

I imagine in the coming days and weeks ahead more information about Loughner will become public.  The focus of our attention is frequently turned – many times without much resistance – to the one who perpetrates a horrific and nefarious crime.  The life of a victim – in this case victims – gets only a passing mention.  This phenomenon cruelly exacerbates the tragedy of the event.  We compound the crime if we remember Loughner and forget about the lives he so casually sought to and succeeded in snuffing out.

One of the casualties was Judge John M. Roll who had stopped by the mall for a cup of coffee and a moment with a member of Congress to talk about overcrowded courts. Christina Taylor Green was the 9-year-old student council president at Mesa Verde Elementary school.  She had been born on September 11, 2001 and attended Congresswoman Gifford’s “Congress on Your Corner” event because she wanted a real-life lesson in American politics.  Gabriel Zimmerman was the Congresswoman’s 30 year-old aide and was engaged to be married.  At the time of the shooting rampage he was doing his normal duty, helping to line up the Saturday morning crowd.  Three other innocent people were murdered that day, fourteen, including Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords were critically wounded.  Giffords remains in critical condition at Tucson hospital.

While Loughner’s deed should never ever be forgotten, we should seek to remember the people who died by his hands and appreciate the good the contributions that they made to their community regardless of their age.  “Zekher tzadik l'vrakha.” - The memory of a righteous person is a blessing.” (Proverbs 10:7)