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The Republic | azcentral.com

Put Ohio State on the list.

Another tragedy. Another chance for political opportunism. Another chance for each side to jump up and down and claim vindication.

About guns. About immigrants. About how to keep our public places safe.

What’s missing is any sort of coming together. We pause briefly for sorrow. Then take up rhetorical arms. A nation divided.

What’s missing is a second for reflection. It all happens at the speed of social media. Tweet first, think later.

The easiest thing to do is retreat to long-held beliefs. There’s no time to question our favorite stereotypes.

Pro-gun, anti-gun: Start your arguments

Social media was the reason former vice presidential candidate and Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine got it wrong with his tweet decrying “gun violence.”

It was an honest mistake. The initial alert from Ohio State warned students of an “active shooter on campus.”

But Kaine’s comments were instantly tweeted down by Ohio Rep. Niraj Antani: “But not saddened by the senseless act of machete or car violence?”

Pro-gun, anti-gun. Start your arguments.

The “machete” used by the assailant is being identified as a butcher knife, BTW.

ROBERTS:Ohio State carnage could have been catastrophic

Social media was also the way students spread the word to get someplace safe – including a tweet with a picture of a classroom barricaded with chairs. Students stayed out of the way and spread the word. They followed directions.

The attacker was a Somali refugee named Abdul Razak Ali Artan. A student and legal resident who told campus media on his first day at OSU that he was “kind of scared” about what people would think if he, a Muslim, prayed in public.

He reportedly left a rant on social media before driving his car into a group of people, then jumping out and attacking people with what OSU sophomore Jacob Bowens called a “big-ass knife.”

Eleven people were rushed to hospitals. One in critical condition.

Refugee? Terrorist? Arguments abound

The attacker was shot and killed by campus police officer Alan Horujko. He was trained for such emergencies.

Pro-cop, anti-cop. Some say we should all be carrying weapons instead of hiding in classrooms.

The Somali Association of Ohio has been fielding calls. “As a Somali community here, we are in a state of shock,” the group’s president Hassan Omar told NBC News. “We live in a very peaceful community . . . we are American.”

Refugee? Terrorist?

Pro-immigrant, anti-immigrant. The melting pot versus the bowl of Skittles.

There will be dueling lists compiled. Some arguing that massacres are committed by people who look like Jared Loughner in Tucson. Others will point to San Bernadino killers Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik.

Listen for the quiet, thoughtful voices

Just like every other national tragedy, there’s something here for everybody to grandstand on.

Was it Trump’s rhetoric or Obama’s welcome?

How fast can you get some idea out there? How provocative can you make it?

There will be moments of pure, honest grief and reflection after yet another assault on our freedom to assemble in safety. There will be laments for our loss of that old-time sense of security in public places. There will be quiet, thoughtful voices trying to be heard.

Listen. If you can spare the time. Try to come together. If you dare.

It won't be easy.

Now the politics take over. Nobody gives an inch.