“Out of Chaos Breathes Creation”: Human Agency, Mental Illness, and Conservative Arguments Locating Responsibility for the Tucson Massacre

Abstract

In this essay, we examine public responses to Jared Lee Loughner’s attempted assassination of U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords, focusing in particular on the rhetorical strategies employed by political conservatives. We argue that the most prominent conservative reactions either undermined the potential for reasoned debate and a cohesive narrative regarding the causes of the attack or, by emphasizing Loughner’s agency as an individual, deranged actor, painted the event in a way that failed to provide transformative redemption, foreclosed even the possibility of a rhetorically satisfying sense of justice, and preempted what could otherwise have been a rich, deliberative deployment of civility. We utilize Kenneth Burke’s dramatism in speculating about possible alternative interpretations of the situation, hopeful that such an analysis might offer both the public and the government more effective rhetorical resources for dealing with and even preventing such increasingly common tragedies. In particular, we advocate the use of a hybrid, tragicomic frame—a sort of Burkean Serenity Prayer in which we accept the things we cannot change while still finding the inspiration, strength, and wisdom to respond productively—alongside a multifaceted set of pentadic ratios to address the complex demands created by mental illness.

Rhetorical Constellations and the Inventional/Intersectional Possibilities of #MeToo

“…However, the practice of unloading the total burden of responsibility for pervasive and systemic sexual violence onto individuals is rhetorically and socially problematic. Francesca Smith and Hollihan (2014) discussed similar consequences of scapegoating discourse in their analysis of the attempted assassination of Representative Gabby Giffords (D-AZ). Media narratives about the shooting were quick to label Jared Lee Loughner as a lone wolf shooter with mental illness, cleaving him from being considered a product of polarized political rhetoric.…”

“…Media narratives about the shooting were quick to label Jared Lee Loughner as a lone wolf shooter with mental illness, cleaving him from being considered a product of polarized political rhetoric. A focus on scapegoating Loughner “closed off rhetorical alternatives that would allow the nation collectively to take responsibility for, learn from, and work to prevent similar instances of violence in the future” (Smith & Hollihan, 2014, p. 587). In engaging exclusively with rhetorics of scapegoating, we block ourselves off from considering the possibility that scenic influences might play in the performance of the act and from considering structural remedies to restoring the order.…”