Two days ago we brought you the shocking news about the Arizona shootings by suspected gunman Jared Lee Loughner in which 6 people were killed and more critically injured, including US Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. We also told you about Loughner’s links with MySpace and about the videos he’d posted on YouTube.

Now, as you might expect after such an incident, there is the usual debate about gun control going on and Sarah Palin is also facing a lot of criticism because of a ‘target list’ that was posted on her Facebook site last year. This was meant to depict to constituents the districts of 20 democratic politicians with the particular aim of beating them in the midterm elections because of the support they showed for President Obama’s health reforms. Graphics on the map included cross hair targets in the style of gunsights according to an article on the Mail Online. The words “It’s time to take a stand,” were also displayed next to the map.

There are now accusations against Palin that this sort of violent imagery could contribute to the vitriolic atmosphere surrounding politics that some feel could have contributed to the Arizona shootings. One of the politicians listed with a target was Gabrielle Giffords and Giffords later criticised the target imagery, saying on TV, “When people do that, they’ve got to realise there are consequences to that action.” This came after Gifford’s office in Tucson had been hit with shotgun pellets. After the Arizona shootings massacre the ‘target map’ has now been removed.

An article on the New York Daily News by Michael Daly also talks in detail about the accusations against Palin of incitement. Palin also used the following words on Twitter, “Don’t retreat! Instead – RELOAD,” and the article goes on to say that this sort of violent language “can incite actual violence.”

What are your thoughts on this terrible event and your take on Palin’s Facebook ‘target list’? Do you think this kind of imagery can incite actual violence and lead to this sort of incident? We’d be really interested to hear your thoughts on this so please do send us your comments.

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter