There Is No Such Thing as “Politicizing” a Tragedy

Max Read: “There is no such thing as ‘politicizing’ tragedy. James Holmes did not
materialize in a movie theater in Aurora this morning, free of any
relationship to law and authority and the structures of power in this
country; nor did he exit those relationships and structures by murdering
12 people and injuring several dozen more. Before he entered the
theater, he purchased guns, whether legally or illegally, under a
framework of laws and regulations governed and negotiated by politics;
in the parking lot outside, he was arrested by a police force whose
salaries, equipment, tactics and rights were shaped and determined by
politics. Holmes’ ability to seek, or to not seek, mental health care;
the government’s ability, or inability, to lock up persons deemed
unstable — these are things decided and directed by politics. You cannot ‘politicize’ a tragedy because the tragedy is already political. When you talk about the tragedy you’re already talking about politics.”