(I've also sent a similar, slightly longer letter via snail mail to Sarah Palin's Alaska producer Mark Burnett, politely and rationally requesting he halt production immediately.)
From the Heart & Mind of a 3-Year Tucson Resident, Regarding Saturday January 8
Harvey—
No doubt you spent a portion of your weekend painfully aware of the massacre in Tucson. I know this is a little verbose, but I can't tell you how much I appreciate you taking the time to read it.
Having attended the University of Arizona (which, sure, has put me at friendly odds with Charles & Evan from time to time), I've long known Tucson as a beautiful, diverse city—one incredibly close to my heart. It's the only place other than Los Angeles I've ever called home, and needless to say, waking up to the news on Saturday was sickening. I've shopped in that Safeway and lived a literal stone's throw from Pima Community College, where the suspect currently in custody had been enrolled. Ironically, I spent the previous night with several of my college roommates from my junior year; the fourth, who has lived in Tucson his whole life, initially feared he'd lost a longtime family friend—whom thankfully like Rep. Giffords, miraculously survived a point blank gunshot wound to the head.
As I'm also sure you're aware, it comes as horrifyingly little surprise that Sarah Palin put crosshairs over Giffords and 19 other House Democrats on her site last year, in addition to carelessly spouting "innocently" murderous rhetoric toward her liberal competition at rallies. Although I somehow doubt (I say this rather gingerly) she had anything to do with the tragic events that transpired Saturday morning, it boggles the mind to think that even one sick, sad, downright depraved person in this country of ours has considered her influence as bettering to their person or their country. It is undeniable, however, that her "rogue," "Mama Bear," name-your-own-synonym-for-
While I know this instance falls outside [TMZ's] typical arena, I'm writing you this because I feel it is the right thing to do. I know that ultimately, decisions on the content we provide our audience with is hardly my business, but I'm pleading with you to at the very least take a moment (if you haven't already) and consider the way we tout Mrs. Palin and her family as celebrities. For the last two years, she has all but constantly revealed herself to be not only willfully ignorant, but a legitimate threat to the very integrity of the
Obviously, the hostile political climate America finds itself mired in today has been deteriorating steadily for the last decade, and this is far a bigger issue than Sarah Palin, George W. Bush, the Tea Party or even bipartisanship. While I'll be the first to admit that my politics are "casual leftist"—I've been a lifelong Democrat, a Jewish son of a Vietnam veteran and a lesbian English teacher-turned-psychologist—I do know more than enough to realize that we aren't headed down a road to trouble, we're already there—and digging ourselves deeper and deeper into a hole. Saturday's shooting spree was the direct result of a government that brazenly misplaces its resources at the cost of education and health care: a mentally unstable, miseducated 22-year-old with no one to turn to and in his own twisted mind, only one way to cope. I am in no way condoning this individual's actions, but merely attempting to illuminate just how avoidable this tragedy was. We knew this from Jonesboro, we knew this from Columbine, and we knew this from Virginia Tech. What frightens me most is the veritable certainty that this will not be the last incident of this nature.
As an aspiring comedy writer, I find this situation particularly confounding. It's no secret that Mrs. Palin has been nothing short of a blessing for my craft since surfacing in 2008—but despite putting great energy into countless jokes to elicit laughter from friends and family since then, I've arrived at a crossroads and concluded that I can no longer do so with this knowledge on my conscience. Given the age-old expression "bad publicity is better than no publicity," I'm afraid I'd only be devoting attention to a villain who has risen to prominence by virtue of that very device. That being said, I only feel it is our responsibility to minimize the attention we devote to such a dangerous presence.
For immediate validation, look no further than hers and John McCain's reactions in the wake of Saturday. Although I'd end up voting for Obama in 2008, I developed a great amount of respect for the McCain during my time in Arizona. Reading his passionate, heartfelt and obviously personal condolences both touched and paralyzed me on certain levels, but this impact was only magnified when compared to Mrs. Palin's: a callous cliché, likely written by an aide and hardly exceeding the 140-character limit of a tweet.
While I get the feeling your political sensibilities may place you in my vicinity, I want you to know I have no intention of ruffling any feathers or instigating ideological contempt within our office—I simply felt the need to express my opinion to you directly. I take great comfort in knowing you'll respect my point of view, as I've respected yours on a daily basis for the past year as part of your staff. After all, this intellectual freedom is one of increasingly few things I feel we have left to be proud of as Americans, and certainly one to be cherished. It breaks my heart to see the state I called home for three years gain a reputation as a mecca of American blindness and bigotry, but I do have hope for Arizona—thanks largely to rational, humane individuals like Gabrielle Giffords.
Again, thank you for taking the time to read this.
Sincerely,
Mike White
University of Arizona, Class of 2006
