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Archive for the ‘Giffords’ Category

Tucson Talks: Another Reaction to Tragedy

Posted in Giffords, Latino, Leadership, Social Media, Twitter, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on January 13, 2011| Leave a Comment »


We love our friends on Twitter. We love the community we have met there, especially the connections we have made through #LATISM. Today, we also had the pleasure of asking Tucson native and Twitter friend, Ana Gonzales Lewis, her thoughts about the tragedy. Here is what she said:

Tucson’s Ana Gonzales Lewis

JRV: As a Twitter profile who tweets about local issues in Tucson, how would you say the community is handling this tragedy?
AGL: I think that this tragedy has had a huge impact on the entire city. For example, a local non-profit organization, Ben Bells distributes handmade clay wind chimes in secret to heroes every week. This week, Ben Bells distributed about 1,000 bells, but 1,400 volunteers showed up to help out. There were more volunteers than bells! Everyone is feeling the need for unity and community right now.

JRV: How has this crime impacted the Tucson community?
AGL: The community has had to deal with the long-term impact of the fact that in most places, it’s legal to bring a concealed weapon. At the local community college that [suspect Jared] Loughner attended, they have had to have mental health experts speak to the instructors, to help them deal with mentally ill students and the signs they need to be more aware of.

JRV: What do you think will happen once the “cameras all leave?”
AGL: Once the cameras leave, I don’t think Tucson is going to be much different from it is now. Yes, it will heal, but even though the metropolitan Tucson area has a million people in it, it is very much a town at heart. It’s pretty much what you see on camera. A lovely college town with mountains, golf courses and the best Mexican food/margaritas.

JRV: Do you think the Tucson community will heal or is this just a sign that the worst is still in front of us? Share your thoughts about this.
AGL: I am worried about the long-term picture of Tucson. We still have a 22-year-old assassin that needs to go to trial. And, I don’t think Gabby Giffords will ever be the same. A gunshot wound to the head is serious business. Her beauty and strength (as I believe with all my heart, she will be back), will be a heart-wrenching reminder of how we need to do better.

JRV: Has you seen a more respectful tone among contrasting views in the Tuscon community or is it still “business as usual?” Can you provide examples?
AGL: There are a lot of emotions being felt throughout Tucson right now — anger, heartbreak, frustration and even some finger-pointing, but all-in-all, it seems like most people, as President Obama said, are trying to use “healing words.”

To meet Ana and connect with her (she is fabulous), follow her here on Twitter. We stand united with Tucson and America.

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Talking with Tucson: “We Will Never Forget”

Posted in Giffords, Latino, Leadership, Twitter, tagged , , , , , , , , , on January 13, 2011| 2 Comments »


The Tucson murders have become a part of all us. Today, we had the opportunity to interview Tuscon’s Peter C. Rodriguez, Jr., one of our #LATISM Twitter friends, about his beloved city and how he thinks the city is reacting. Here is what Peter said:

Tucson’s Peter C. Rodriguez, Jr.

JRV: As a Twitter profile who tweets about local issues in Tucson, how would you say the community is handling this tragedy?
PR: Tucson is coming together even more than ever to handle this horrible tragedy. All over the city, I see examples everyday of an already close community coming together even more to heal each other.

JRV: How has this crime impacted the Tucson community?
PR: The initial impact was shock and disbelief. “How can something like this happen in our community?” Then I noticed the city of Tucson, my fellow neighbors, and citizens come together in support of everyone involved in this tragic event.

JRV: What do you think will happen once the “cameras all leave?”
PR: I believe that Tucson will carry on stronger than ever, and we will not allow the memories of this tragic event be forgotten. I personally will not forget those that have lost their lives that day visiting what was suppose to be a peaceful event, especially 9-yr Christina Green. Mr. Obama stated, “We should do everything we can to make sure this country lives up to our children’s expectations”. I plan to honor this statement.

JRV: Do you think the Tucson community will heal or is this just a sign that the worst is still in front of us? Share your thoughts about this.
PR: The healing has begun, there are countless memorials all over our beautiful city. The memorials keep growing and I am proud to see the Tucson coming together by the hundreds to heal.

JRV: Has you seen a more respectful tone among contrasting views in the Tuscon community or is it still “business as usual?” Can you provide examples?
PR: I believe a respectful tone is present in our community and Arizona. There will be always be different views on religion, politics, gun control, SB1070, and other topics in Arizona, but there must be respect for each others views and opinions first, above all.

To connect with Peter on Twitter, visit his profile and say hi. Here is to Tucson, America’s city.

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We Must #BCivil

Posted in Giffords, Leadership, Politics, Twitter, tagged , , , , , , , , , on January 12, 2011| Leave a Comment »


There is hope in America again. It is starting to show during the ongoing events of the heinous shootings in Tucson, whether in the cheers we shout to hero Daniel Hernandez or by a simple thumbs up from Gabby Giffords. It still doesn’t eliminate the continuous tweets and posts we see that are shamefully politicizing this event, but the call for America to pause and unite is starting to bubble.

Mind you, Twitter is still going a bit crazy with tweets that are blaming everyone, from Palin to the Tea Party to the Democrats to the Socialists. It’s beyond disrespectful, and just adds more fuel to the political fires.

But as we said, there is hope. And, ironically for us, it started on a Facebook prayer page dedicated to Giffords and run by a Michigan Republican. As the site states: “God bless and heal Gabrielle and all those killed or affected by this tragedy. God Bless America and keep her safe, watch over us all and guide us.” As of January 11, it has over 28K fans.

 

 

What is interesting to note is that the Facebook page is run by Jason Asselin, who identifies himself as Republican and associates himself with the Tea Party. The story that explains Asselin’s intentions to create this Facebook page can be found on TucsonCitizen.com, a citizen journalism page that covers Tucson.

As Asselin says in the article:

Our positions political don’t matter right now. We need to come together as America. United we stand, divided we fall: I try to live by that every day.

What was intended as a noble gesture to honor Giffords and other victims of the shooting has still been abused by posters who wanted to politicize the crime. As the article states:

Despite Asselin’s willingness to put aside political ideology in the name of empathy, the Facebook page has been evidence that not all share his perspective. He said his ability to post updates to the page has been taken away, leaving him only able to delete comments and comment on them, and he believes the change is the result of objections from people who think he is trying to use the page to further his political views. “It’s really upsetting,” he said, describing how he has painstakingly read and moderated each comment on the page and deleted those that violate his sense of decency. “I banned like 50 people today,” he said.

This was probably the breaking point for us. When a prayer page gets abuse from people who want to politicize a tragedy, we come to the conclusion that civility and respect no longer exists on social media and in society at large.

So in our effort to promote respect, support (even though we might not agree on a topic), and civility, we suggested a new hashtag for Twitter tonight:

 

#BCivil

 

If you are Twitter user and feel the same way that we do, If you believe that essence of Twitter has always been one of support and respect, use #bcivil to remind people. We are not expecting that it will trend to the top, but at least if we can calm our own little corner of Twitter, then maybe there really is hope in America.

So follow #bcivil, and if you want to add your name to the list of Twitter profiles who will use the hashtag, just let me know here via comment or on Twitter and we can add your profile to this blog.

 

Profiles that will #BCivil on Twitter

@julito77, @fbnovel, @fernandovarela

 

 

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