Tombstone karma

So many terrible things to mourn about the Tucson tragedy….and since it happened in the shadow of Tombstone, we are in for a serious round of OK Corral references.

Here’s one from Timothy Egan titled “Tombstone Politics” from today’s NYT:

And Gail Collins quotes Giffords herself after her office was vandalized:

Giffords brushed off the incident. “When you represent a district — the home of the O.K. Corral and Tombstone, the town too tough to die — nothing’s a surprise,” she said.

Same quote picked up by Michael Daly in the NY Daily News.

Try googling “Giffords” and Tombstone.  One painful irony is that the page promoting the annual “Helldorado” days of OK Corral reenactments, now comes up with the heartrending articles about Child Dead in Tucson Shooting, Giffords Head Shot Through-and-Through States Surgeon.

Hard to imagine an unambiguous thrill at the reenactment this year.

That said, no end to cheesy reenactments or political context or return to civility can wish away the fact that serious mental illness is at the root of this tragedy.