January 9, 2011

"Our spirited political discourse, complete with name-calling, vilification—and, yes, violent imagery—is a good thing."

"Better that angry people unload their fury in public than let it fester and turn septic in private. The wicked direction the American debate often takes is not a sign of danger but of freedom. And I'll punch out the lights of anybody who tries to take it away from me."

Slate's Jack Shafer comes out in favor of free speech.

Can you imagine writing about politics without the violent metaphors (and dead metaphors... yikes!)? You'd have to give up words like campaign! From the Online Etymology Dictionary:
campaign

1640s, "operation of an army in the field," from Fr. campagne "campaign," lit. "open country," from O.Fr. champagne "open country" (suited to military maneuvers), from L.L. campania "level country" (cf. It. campagna, Sp. campaña, Port. campanha), from L. campus "a field" ... Old armies spent winters in quarters and took to the "open field" to seek battle in summer. Extension of meaning from military to political is Amer.Eng. 1809. ...
And you know damned well that the people who are calling for the abandonment of violent metaphor are setting themselves up for hypocrisy when they go back to it. It will be so tedious to point it out when the time comes.

"Argument is war" was used as the first example of a metaphor we live by in the book "Metaphors We Live By":

Primarily on the basis of linguistic evidence, we have found that most of our ordinary conceptual system is metaphorical in nature. ...

To give some idea of what it could mean for a concept to be metaphorical and for such a concept to structure an everyday activity, let us start with the concept ARGUMENT and the conceptual metaphor ARGUMENT IS WAR. This metaphor is reflected in our everyday language by a wide variety of expressions:

ARGUMENT IS WAR

Your claims are indefensible.

He attacked every weak point in my argument.

His criticisms were right on target.

I demolished his argument.

I've never won an argument with him.

you disagree? Okay, shoot!

If you use that strategy, he'll wipe you out.

He shot down all of my arguments.

It is important to see that we don't just talk about arguments in terms of war. We can actually win or lose arguments. We see the person we are arguing with as an opponent. We attack his positions and we defend our own. We gain and lose ground. We plan and use strategies. If we find a position indefensible, we can abandon it and take a new line of attack. Many of the things we do in arguing are partially structured by the concept of war. Though there is no physical battle, there is a verbal battle, and the structure of an argument — attack, defense, counter-attack, etc. — reflects this. It is in this sense that the ARGUMENT IS WAR metaphor is one that we live by in this culture; its structures the actions we perform in arguing. Try to imagine a culture where arguments are not viewed in terms of war, where no one wins or loses, where there is no sense of attacking or defending, gaining or losing ground. Imagine a culture where an argument is viewed as a dance, the participants are seen as performers, and the goal is to perform in a balanced and aesthetically pleasing way. In such a culture, people would view arguments differently, experience them differently, carry them out differently, and talk about them differently. But we would probably not view them as arguing at all: they would simply be doing something different. It would seem strange even to call what they were doing "arguing." In perhaps the most neutral way of describing this difference between their culture and ours would be to say that we have a discourse form structured in terms of battle and they have one structured in terms of dance. This is an example of what it means for a metaphorical concept, namely, ARGUMENT IS WAR, to structure (at least in part) what we do and how we understand what we are doing when we argue. The essence of metaphor is understanding and experiencing one kind of thing in terms of another. It is not that arguments are a subspecies of war. Arguments and wars are different kinds of things — verbal discourse and armed conflict — and the actions performed are different kinds of actions. But ARGUMENT is partially structured, understood, performed, and talked about in terms of WAR. The concept is metaphorically structured, the activity is metaphorically structured, and, consequently, the language is metaphorically structured.

Moreover, this is the ordinary way of having an argument and talking about one. The normal way for us to talk about attacking a position is to use the words "attack a position." Our conventional ways of talking about arguments presuppose a metaphor we are hardly ever conscious of. The metaphors not merely in the words we use — it is in our very concept of an argument. The language of argument is not poetic, fanciful, or rhetorical; it is literal. We talk about arguments that way because we conceive of them that way — and we act according to the way we conceive of things.

The most important claim we have made so far is that metaphor is not just a matter of language, that is, of mere words. We shall argue that, on the contrary, human thought processes are largely metaphorical. This is what we mean when we say that the human conceptual system is metaphorically structured and defined. Metaphors as linguistic expressions are possible precisely because there are metaphors in a person's conceptual system. Therefore, whenever in this book we speak of metaphors, such as ARGUMENT IS WAR, it should be understood that metaphor means metaphorical concept.
Now, perhaps you think we shouldn't argue anymore and you'd like to deprive us of our war metaphors as a way to make us amiable, uncomplaining citizens in the future. You think that controlling speech would improve the world. But it wouldn't. In fact, it would be... doubleplusungood.

276 comments:

1 – 200 of 276   Newer›   Newest»
Anonymous said...

"And you know damned well that the people who are calling for the abandonment of violent metaphor are setting themselves up for hypocrisy when they go back to it."

The left is different from the right.

The right feels the need to be intellectually consistent.

The left feels no such compunciton on their motives and methods. They know they are hypocrites. It doesn't bother them.

They are completely comfortable telling us that we should not employ the precise same political tactics that they themselves employ to great effect.

They think we're stupid for agreeing to debate them on their terms. They laugh at us for unilaterally disarming ourselves of the precise tactics they would use if they were in our place.

It's funny to them because the left doesn't operate on a moral level. They operate purely on a strategic level.

It's why they're evil and we're not.

Fen said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
chickelit said...

This is my theory of political polarization and utility and I'm sticking to it.

wv = "noped" --Sounds vaguely like Esperanto for a no pedestrian zone.

Fen said...

No. I blame the hateful rhetoric from the likes of AlphaLibtard for the Libtard (yes, he identified as a liberal) who shot all those people.

Clearly, its all the fault of people like AlphaLibtard. They should all be marginalized by this one libtard kook and locked up in camps where their violent rhetoric won't reach the ears of the typical brain-damaged liberal.


/s

Fen said...

"As I knew him he was left wing, quite liberal and oddly obsessed with the 2012 prophecy,” the former classmate, Caitie Parker, wrote in a series of Twitter feeds Saturday. “I haven’t seen him since ’07 though. He became very reclusive.”

Report to the camps AlphaLibtard. And take Jeremy/HDHouse/DTL/et al with you.


/s

Anonymous said...

And I'll punch out the lights of anybody who tries to take it away from me."

Just another liberal stoking the flames of violence.

When will this end?

Why do these liberals have such violent fantasies?

Jack Shaffer couldn't punch his way through a wet paper bag.

chickelit said...

wv = "rante"

LOL! Isn't the very word softened a bit with a feminine touch?

Chef Mojo said...

As I said in another thread:

I reject the notion that any political rhetoric is responsible for any of this. My example is not a condemnation of Mitchell, but an illustration of your rank hypocrisy. I do not condemn political rhetoric or imagery; in fact, I embrace it! It is part and parcel of this nation's history and is enshrined in it's politics. You've surrounded yourself in a feel-good fog of an imagined past when politics was somehow innocent and wholesome, instead of the blood sport that it is.

When you condemn so-called "violent" political speech and/or imagery, then you condemn free speech in toto, and that is where you are, Alpha.


And:

Can no conservatives see any problem with this kind of talk? (quoting AlphaLiberal)

This one certainly doesn't. There is no "violent" speech. There is no "hate" speech. There is simply speech, the freedom of which is enshrined in the 1st Amendment. You obviously have a problem with that, Alpha. You want to shut down political speech you disagree with. I don't. The more, the merrier. It's the American way.

Don't give me bullshit about yelling, "Fire!," yada, yada.

Not one single example you tossed up is an incitement to riot, mayhem or murder. Not a damn one of them.

The left AND right AND all points in between use the exact same language, imagery and symbolism when it comes to politics. They always have and they always will.

Unless it is your intention to stiffle political discourse?

ark said...

"It will be so tedious to point it out when the time comes."

It's tedious already.

Skyler said...

It will be tedious and that's why we won't go back to it.

It has less to do with the supposed sin of using imagery and more to do with uniting the flock around the latest cause. And they follow right into line like the sheep they are.

Anonymous said...

It's not "our spirited political discourse," but the politicians themselves.

Steve M. Galbraith said...

Well, if you argue that inflammatory speech doesn't potentially lead to violent actions then you have to also agree, it seems to me, that calls to the "better angels" of our nature don't work either.

So, Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech or his "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" had no more effect on human beings than Hitler's Nuremberg Rally addresses.

I think not (yes, those are extreme examples but I think they constitute a point).

As to connecting the harsh language from a Beck or a Palin to this murderer's acts, that is flat out McCarthyism. It's an outrageous smear.

There is simply not a single piece of evidence that this individual was motivated or influenced by anything those two people say.

And believe me, I'm no fan of either individual (short version: Beck's a nut and Palin is absurd).

garage mahal said...

So it's not too early to defend rhetoric such as "taking Harry Reid out" with "second amendment remedies".

Unknown said...

Speech can be stirring and inflammatory ("A house divided against itself...", "Ask not what your country can do for you...","As for me, give me liberty or give me death"). If we allow opportunists to regulate what is acceptable, we will only be allowed speech which can be approved on the basis of its objective.

Ann Althouse said...

You think that controlling speech would improve the world. But it wouldn't. In fact, it would be... doubleplusungood.

I think Mr Orwell just smiled.

Chef Mojo said...

@garage:

Dude. C'mon. You're way behind. Keep up with the big kids, m'kay?

Beta Rube said...

No, it's just a good time to remember that "when they bring a knife we bring a gun."

That is strictly symbolic and A-OK when spoken by a lefty President.

After all, he doesn't even respect 2nd amendment rights.

Scott M said...

@Chicklit

I see opposite ends of the spectrum as being opposed and incompatable. Given your theory, please tell me how totalitarianism can somehow complete the circle by becoming it's polar opposite, anarchy, or visa versa.

Alex said...

Can we just cut through the bullshit? What do the left want?

* shut down Fox News
* take Limbaugh/Beck/Hannity/Savage off the air
* shut down all right-wing web sites

that's the nitty gritty of the last 24 hours of MSM jihad.

J said...

""Our spirited political discourse, complete with name-calling, vilification—and, yes, violent imagery—is a good thing.""

It's good for the journalism business, and punditocracy, and media crazes. Not good for rational democracy. But journalists, pundits, and media-windbags such as Rush and the Slate-sters are not in the business of telling the truth. They're in the business of selling ads.

Eugene said...

Naive nostalgia about how supposedly high-minded political discourse used to be doesn't help. The language used by our Founding Fathers during election campaigns--you know, the ones who wrote and ratified the First Amendment and the Bill of Rights--was as vitriolic as anything spoken or written today.

Opus One Media said...

I believe that I, as one of the few moderate-liberals on this board (of for the good old days), am as much a champion of free speech - completely free speech - as anyone but I have to disagree here.

The right is only slightly limited in circumstances (fire in the theatre etc.) but I'm not sure that the framers had in mind a society where so many voices can be heard and with equal "authority".

Internet business is a prime example. Brick and mortar are gone in favor of an internet storefront. You have very little idea about the veracity of the contents or the management - essentially who is putting up the product and sending you the message - and it is up to the individual to decide if listening to the message is a good idea or not, of value or not, true or not.

The same holds true with "fact" interspersed opinion that bombards everyone all day all the time. It is very hard to figure out what is true and what isn't and I guess the point is this lunatic in Arizona had very little "quality control" in his mind. He certainly had lost a grip on what was real and what was just in his mind and, free speech be damned, he got lost in the endless messages.

It would be nice to limit free speech to truth only.

Alex said...

HD - respond to my post.

Opus One Media said...

Florida said...
"The right feels the need to be intellectually consistent."

...those who possess an intellect perhaps....


See? This is just what I mean. There was no need for Florida to say that. I had a need, however, to poke fun at such a silly generalization. Florida will come back with some name calling and we will be off to the races.

AlphaLiberal said...

Jack Schafer is right to a point - like the point of a gun, say. Like when guns are brought to political events and threats are made to use them. Or when it goes beyond figures of speech to actual threatened violence.

It's actually funny how conservatives say that their violent political speech inspires no-one to action.

The whole point of political speech of to get people to take action of some sort, and usually for peaceful purposes.

People become political leaders because their speech can stir others to action.

But now, conservatives insist, their leaders and members have no effect when they speak. Odd claim, that.

HKatz said...

was as vitriolic as anything spoken or written today.

There's a good video about that here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_zTN4BXvYI

woof said...

Westboro Baptist Church thanks God for Tucson shooter Jared Lee Loughner.

Members of Fred Phelps's Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) plan to picket memorial services of Loughner's victims.

woof said...

God sent one of your heroes to shoot a Congresswoman, a federal judge and 16 others. Thank God for His righteous judgments.

Alex said...

woof - you are disgusting and typically representative of the left.

Opus One Media said...

Oh...and by the way, the last time I thought about it, I'm not at all sure that Mein Kampf was filled with liberal rhetoric.

Und einen? wie schade.

Alex said...

HD - he also read the Communist Manifesto, but you ignored that part. An Inconvenient Truth?

Palladian said...

"Naive nostalgia about how supposedly high-minded political discourse used to be doesn't help. The language used by our Founding Fathers during election campaigns--you know, the ones who wrote and ratified the First Amendment and the Bill of Rights--was as vitriolic as anything spoken or written today."

Much worse, actually. But of course, no one bothers to study history anymore.

"For God's sake, my dear Sir, take up your pen, select the most striking heresies, and cut him to pieces in the face of the public." Thomas Jefferson to James Madison, writing about Alexander Hamilton.

Toad Trend said...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=om_yq4L3M_I

More 'violent' imagery.

wv - pronhy. Compelling fake.

Tyrone Slothrop said...

The most frightening phrase in the English language is "hate speech." Once an opinion is defined as such, it can no longer be defended. Thus when Juan Williams confesses to a not entirely irrational fear of Muslims in airports, the left seeks to snuff it completely out, never mind that it was the statement of a man about his own feelings, of which he was not terribly proud.

Leftists never seem to get it that the tactics they use against the right may one day be turned against them. It wouldn't take a huge cultural shift for the defense of Muslim terrorists or of illegal immigrants to be declared hate speech, and the speakers sentenced to indefinite prison terms.

Free speech has to be free, Alpha.

Birkel said...

There is a good account of some of the worst vitriol from the left directed toward President Bush available here:

http://www.zombietime.com/zomblog/?p=621

****

HDHouse
Mein Kampf was written by a devoted socialist. Own the hatred and murder of socialism if you continue to believe it a worthwhile philosophy.

Or should the bodies be piled somewhat higher to be seen from your high horse?

Palladian said...

"Westboro Baptist Church thanks God for Tucson shooter Jared Lee Loughner."

LOL. Quoting the Westboro "Baptist Church" as proof of general political sentiment of a political party or philosophy is as useful and honest a rhetorical tactic as quoting Jared Lee Loughner for the same purpose.

Or, using a more local set of examples, quoting "Florida" or "Alex" as general exemplars of any legitimate political philosophy or party or sentiment. There's a word for these people: trolls.

Try again, poodle boy.

Alex said...

From a CBS News article trying to blame Sarah Palin:

by hamsterattack January 9, 2011 4:00 PM EST
it's a bit ironic that the one person who talks about "targeting" and "taking out" opponents who are in the "crosshairs" is now trying to play like she had nothing to do with this...

i just wish it was Palin who was targeted instead of gifford...



Read more: Lefty calls for assassinating Sarah Palin

J said...

One problem is the great majority of WASPs and jews--even ones who visited Collegetown--- generally can't reason, write, or provide an argument supported with facts, evidence, data--even at the crackerbarrel Jeffersonian level.

So they resort to...Limbaughspeak, which is to say...Wheezebaggery. And Orwell would probably agree (tho Orwell's own writing fairly mundane as well). Whoop, there it izz, hilllbillies of Wheeze-house

Sprezzatura said...

Presumably a free speech advocate can also express disapproval when politicians comment about 'second amendment remedies,' or 'resorting to bullets if ballots don't go their way.'

I don't think cons would resort to armed rebellion. But, at least one person thinks that it's possible: “it’s almost an imperative” that conservatives win.

“The nation is arming,” she told the newspaper. “What are they arming for if it isn’t that they are so distrustful of their government? They’re afraid they’ll have to fight for their liberty in more Second Amendment kinds of ways. That’s why I look at this as almost an imperative. If we don’t win at the ballot box, what will be the next step?”

woof said...

I only posted the WBC quotes because I thought they were disgusting.

Would you consider the WBC right wing or left wing ?

chuck said...

"I'm not at all sure that Mein Kampf was filled with liberal rhetoric."

It's got some good bits on how to be a manipulative asshole, sort of a "Rules for Radicals", but by a guy who was even more successful at it than Alinsky.

Trooper York said...

Anyone with a bare minimum knowledge of American History would know that the current level of political discourse pales in comparison to the violent and combative tone of the era leading up to the Civil War. The threats of violence and virulent partisanship lead to such salutary events as the caning of a Congressman in the Capital building. The tone of our current rhetoric should be viewed as a mere bag of shells....so to speak.

chickelit said...

Scott M said at 3:13 PM:
I see opposite ends of the spectrum as being opposed and incompatable.

A yet they attract each other.

Given your theory, please tell me how totalitarianism can somehow complete the circle by becoming it's polar opposite, anarchy, or visa versa.

The second figure exaggerates the degree of ring closure for effect; the third figures shows why the two ends need never actually meet, which is related to Althouse's point (I think).

Was there free speech along the German/Russian divide in the mid 19th century? I think not. Also, the normal state of affairs isn't normally so strained as implied in my figures.

Sprezzatura said...

Can a free speech advocate express disapproval of this sort of chit chat, at a TP event?

Anonymous said...

"So it's not too early to defend rhetoric such as "taking Harry Reid out" with "second amendment remedies"."

I'll gladly defend it even though you've deliberately mis-characterized what Sharon Angle said. Even still, I'll defend it.

Here is what Sharon Angle said, and I find it imminently reasonable:

Angle: "You know, our Founding Fathers, they put that Second Amendment in there for a good reason and that was for the people to protect themselves against a tyrannical government. ... I hope that's not where we're going, but, you know, if this Congress keeps going the way it is, people are really looking toward those Second Amendment remedies and saying my goodness what can we do to turn this country around? I'll tell you the first thing we need to do is take Harry Reid out."

What Angle said is true: Tyrannical government can only be stopped by an armed populace, but an unarmed people cannot stop a tyrannical government. Our founding fathers knew that because they lived under the rule of a tyrannical government. And they killed it by declaring war against it.

If our government becomes tyrannical, we have an obligation to end that government - peaceably if possible - but if that's not possible then the founders made sure we'd have other options so that we would never become slaves again to tyranny.

Remember: Democrats are already passing laws saying we have to buy things from their campaign donors. That is one definition of slavery.

There is nothing wrong with using deadly force against a tyrannical out-of-control government - even here in the United States. Maybe especially here in the United States.

Our political leaders know our history as well as we do. They know we have the means to do it and that's what keeps them in check.

That's a good thing that only a government heading towards tyranny would want to extinguish. A government heading towards enslaving its population would want to make sure to eliminate any opposition first by disarming that opposition.

So I'm not surprised to see our resident Marxist GarageMahal agitating toward eliminating the ability of Americans to provide for themselves good guards for their future security.

Tyrone Slothrop said...

1jpb said...

Presumably a free speech advocate can also express disapproval when politicians comment about 'second amendment remedies,' or 'resorting to bullets if ballots don't go their way.



Do I endorse Angle's sentiment? No--not yet. Do I believe such opinions must be silenced? Absolutely not. Do you?

Unknown said...

Where power rises
upwards from the people to the great, as in all republics,
such refinements of civility are apt to be little practised;
since the whole state is, by that means, brought near to a
level, and every member of it is rendered, in a great measure,
independent of another. The people have the advantage, by the
authority of their suffrages: The great, by the superiority of
their station. But in a civilized monarchy, there is a long
train of dependence from the prince to the peasant, which is
not great enough to render property precarious, or depress the
minds of the people; but is sufficient to beget in every one
an inclination to please his superiors, and to form himself
upon those models, which are most acceptable to people of
condition and education. Politeness of manners, therefore,
arises most naturally in monarchies and courts; and where that
flourishes, none of the liberal arts will be altogether
neglected or despised."

No advantages in this world are pure and unmixed. In like
manner, as modern politeness, which is naturally so
ornamental, runs often into affectation and foppery, disguise
and insincerity; so the ancient simplicity, which is naturally
so amiable and affecting, often degenerates into rusticity and
abuse, scurrility and obscenity.
Of The Rise And Progress Of The Arts And Sciences / Hume, David

Anonymous said...

Presumably a free speech advocate can also express disapproval when politicians comment about 'second amendment remedies,' or 'resorting to bullets if ballots don't go their way.'

And presumably, self anointed monitors of public discourse can announce disapproval of Democrats saying things like this:

"That Scott down there that's running for governor of Florida," Mr. Kanjorski said. "Instead of running for governor of Florida, they ought to have him and shoot him. Put him against the wall and shoot him.

But I won't hold my breath.
Hypocrite.

Anonymous said...

It's actually funny how conservatives say that their violent political speech inspires no-one to action.

It's actually funny that you can't acknowledge that liberals wish death on their political opponents.

Where were you when Bill Maher wished death on Glenn Beck?

Unknown said...

Justice Frankfurter put it succinctly when he said that "one of the prerogatives of American citizenship is the right to criticize public men and measures." Such criticism, inevitably, will not always be reasoned or moderate; public figures as well as public officials will be subject to "vehement, caustic, and sometimes unpleasantly sharp attacks."


Despite their sometimes caustic nature, from the early cartoon portraying George Washington as an ass down to the present day, graphic depictions and satirical cartoons have played a prominent role in public and political debate. Nast's castigation of the Tweed Ring, Walt McDougall's characterization of presidential candidate James G. Blaine's banquet with the millionaires at Delmonico's as "The Royal Feast of Belshazzar," and numerous other efforts have undoubtedly had an effect on the course and outcome of contemporaneous debate. Lincoln's tall, gangling posture, Teddy Roosevelt's glasses and teeth, and Franklin D. Roosevelt's jutting jaw and cigarette holder have been memorialized by political cartoons with an effect that could not have been obtained by the photographer or the portrait artist. From the viewpoint of history it is clear that our political discourse would have been considerably poorer without them.Hustler Magazine and Larry C. Flynt, Petitioners v. Jerry Falwell
No. 86-1278
SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES
485 U.S. 46
February 24, 1988, Decided

Trooper York said...

The events of the last few days will be used by the enemies of freedom and free expression to attempt to stifle our first amendment rights. Led by the usual suspects….the mainstream media who want a monopoly of freedom of expression due to their failing business model…..left wing politicians who demand that speech by moderated and controlled by the elite….and the fellow travelers of the Moderate RHINO’s who will stand on the couch holding up their dress to show how dainty are their sensibilities. It is unfortunate that “Our Russ” was turned out of his position as he would have been happy to combine with that First Amendment hating John McCain to formulate some new legislation to abrogate the rights of Americans under our Constitution that the liberal intelligentsia has had so much fun mocking the last few weeks.

Stand with the first amendment.

Stand with our Founding Fathers.

Stand with our Constitution.

Trooper York said...

Is that pompous enough?

madAsHell said...

"und ihnen?"

nicht "und einen?".....moron!

David said...

One of my favorites was liberals saying that the sex life of Dick Cheney's daughter was "fair game."

It's a hunting term, meaning "appropriate to shoot."

Those bloodthirsty liberals.

Kirk Parker said...

woof,

"Would you consider the WBC right wing or left wing ?"

Is that a serious question? Really????

What's wrong with you, that you can't tell WBC travels in its own little universe, with no real connection to what serious folks in the left, center, or right think and want?

Trooper York said...

It is of course paticularly distressing that hdhouse has forgotten about the rethoric leading up to the Civil War since he lived through the entire conflict.

Trooper York said...

Kirk, woof is just selling tickets and should be ignored as a sad and silly troll.

Just sayn'

Sprezzatura said...

"Do I believe such opinions must be silenced? Absolutely not. Do you?"

Not silenced by law. But, I think we can shame folks to not make such incendiary comments.

This is similar to the way that most folks wouldn't legally restrict the so-called ground zero mosque, but folks can speak out against it, if they think that it's the wrong thing to do, even though it's legally permissible.

I think the comments from Angle and West's almost-CoS and folks wanting to shoot Scott are wrong. I think these folks should be ridiculed out of the public square when they say stupid (but legal) things.

Toad Trend said...

"We’re going to punish our enemies..." - Barack Obama

wv - ovensile. Appliance section.

rhhardin said...

We shall argue that, on the contrary, human thought processes are largely metaphorical.

I wonder if he realizes it's a circular explanation.

David said...

" . . . Lincoln's tall, gangling posture . . . "

Posture? Lincoln was regularly portrayed as a devil, complete with pointed tail, often with exaggerated black characteristics. This was by his opponents in the North.

G Joubert said...

Just another case of liberals wanting to muzzle those they are unable to out-debate. AlphaLiberal's umpteen posts on this incident are consistently demonstrative of the point.

Michael said...

This nutbag hated the congresswoman from when he met her in 2007, before Palin and before the "target" language.

And Trooper has it exactly right. The MSM is happily forming up to squelch free speech, gleefully going on and on about how a nutcase came to be murderous because of words.

rhhardin said...

If you're going to do any shaming, it's for taking any serious interest in this soap opera.

No tragedy goes to waste, enertainmentwise.

Leave the MSM to their vast audience.

Anonymous said...

Obviously, I'd prefer it if those who stood up to the task of governance wouldn't be gunned down while having a met and greet, along with many totally innocent bystanders, including a nine year old girl.

Yet, this guy was clearly crazy.

What's troubling to me, and a sign that I will not cast my vote anywhere near the democratic platform, is that so many who want that platform to succeed are resorting to using this tragedy to gain political traction, villify those who have principled disagreement, and further their aims.

They jumped on it because they needed to,in order to maintain power.

I want our offices to be filled who least want to hold them, but most realize the importance of holding them

Trooper York said...

It is the plan and evil design of the liberal dominated main stream media to stifle all other forms of discourse because their industry is dying the death of a thousand cuts. With every outraged citizen who turns away from their biased reporting to find alternative views they bleed just a little bit more. Band aids with not suffice. They are gearing up for a jihad against those who do not hew to the Jounrnalist line. They have been trying for quite some time to destroy diversity of opinion and will use any tool in their frenzied attempt to survive.

They are truly rats backed into a corner and shoudl be considered just as rabid and dangerous.

Toad Trend said...

“I hope his wife feeds him lots of eggs and butter and he dies early like many black men do, of heart disease.... He is an absolutely reprehensible person.” -- USA Today columnist and Pacifica Radio talk show host Julianne Malveaux on Justice Clarence Thomas, Nov. 4, 1994, on PBS’s “To the Contrary.”

Anonymous said...

Republican or Democrat. And here I sit cast into the role of "independent," when I'm probably more center right than anything else, because our politics is so contentious and such a spectacle at the moment

Scott M said...

Ah, 1j. You make the erroneous assumption that there's still such a thing as shame. The moral relativists amongst us ended that for us a few decades back. They refuse to accept responsibility for it even in the face of such an event.

Anonymous said...

Kanjorski is illuminating:

When a 73-year-old Democrat who has risen through the regime of power for 16 years says that political candidates of the opposing Republican party should be murdered, then we ladies and gentlemen need to begin a national discussion about our tyrannical government and what to eliminate them.

Fortunately, Florida voters took care of their tyrannical little Representative and fired his dumb ass and replaced him with a Republican.

But what if Kanjorski had won re-election? What if other Democrats began taking his calls of murder to heart?

What if we were not armed against this quite real possibility?

http://thetimes-tribune.com/opinion/editorials-columns/roderick-random/kanjorski-ponders-nuts-bolts-from-blue-1.1052739#ixzz1AZ0PD61A

Toad Trend said...

"You guys see Live and Let Die, the great Bond film with Yaphet Kotto as the bad guy, Mr. Big? In the end they jam a big CO2 pellet in his face and he blew up. I have to tell you, Rush Limbaugh is looking more and more like Mr. Big, and at some point somebody’s going to jam a CO2 pellet into his head and he’s going to explode like a giant blimp. That day may come. Not yet. But we’ll be there to watch. I think he’s Mr. Big, I think Yaphet Kotto. Are you watching, Rush?" -- Chris Matthews

Toad Trend said...

"I believe in ecoterrorism." -- James Cameron

somefeller said...

Not silenced by law. But, I think we can shame folks to not make such incendiary comments.

This is the key point. No one is calling for vitriolic political speech to be banned, at least from what I've seen over the past couple of days. The issue is what is considered socially acceptable and what should be criticized by decent people. Politics is a rough game, and martial or pugilistic metaphors are common. Nothing wrong with that, and some people or ideas need to be criticized or mocked savagely. The issue is, at what point does one say, that's out of line?

And that's the question I'd like to put to you, Althouse. You've been critical in general of those who want to see certain kinds of rhetoric cast outside the pale of civil society. Do you have a line that you draw? Again - I'm not talking about use of the law in this context, I'm talking about social mores among normal people. (Obviously the rage addicts won't get the message - but part of the idea here is to draw the line between them and the rest of society.)

Toad Trend said...

"F*** God D*mned Joe the God D*mned Motherf*cking plumber! I want Motherf*cking Joe the plumber dead." -- Liberal talk show host Charles Karel Bouley on the air.

somefeller said...

You make the erroneous assumption that there's still such a thing as shame. The moral relativists amongst us ended that for us a few decades back.

First of all, that's not completely true. There's lots of things that are perfectly legal to say that respectable people won't say publicly without being criticized as out of line, or not sat all. Casual use of racial slurs comes to mind. And if you are correct that shame isn't as strong a part of cultural life as it should be (and I'd agree), why not work to bring it back?

sunsong said...

Freedom, responsiblity and power are intimately and intricately linked. (not *power-over* but personal power [the ability to act])

Freedom, with responsibility, is for grown ups. Freedom, without responsiblity is for children.

The kid says, "when I grow up no one's going to tell me what I can say, what I eat, whether I have to clean my room, when I have to go to bed - etc etc"

That the child's perspective: "I can do whatever I want because I'm free"

And I suppose if that's your dream - you can be an adult child most of your life. The question isn't whether you have the *right* to be an asshole - the question is why would you want to?

R.L. Hunter said...

1jpb said...
I think these folks should be ridiculed out of the public square when they say stupid (but legal) things.

‘If They Bring a Knife to the Fight, We Bring a Gun’ Barack Obama

Why don't you start at the top?

somefeller said...

Anyone with a bare minimum knowledge of American History would know that the current level of political discourse pales in comparison to the violent and combative tone of the era leading up to the Civil War. The threats of violence and virulent partisanship lead to such salutary events as the caning of a Congressman in the Capital building.

Absolutely true. But is that a standard we want to go back to?

Trooper York said...

People who believe in freedom are childish assholes?

And so it goes.

Trooper York said...

"Absolutely true. But is that a standard we want to go back to?"

No. But perhaps we can stop pretending like what we have now is new or novel or cause for the abrogation of our first amendment rights which is the obvious design of so many of the enemies of freedom.

Alex said...

somefeller - so you want social shaming of those who use over-the-top violent rhetoric. Yet in this thread such rhetoric by the left has been pointed out again and again, you are silent. I can only conclude that you are a viscous lefty who wants to silence conservatives.

Alex said...

People who believe in freedom are childish assholes?

And so it goes.


That's a typical leftist tactic. Accuse their enemies of being children, insane, anything but debate the substance.

somefeller said...

But perhaps we can stop pretending like what we have now is new or novel or cause for the abrogation of our first amendment rights which is the obvious design of so many of the enemies of freedom.

I'll agree with the first part of that sentence, but who is calling to abrogate the First Amendment in the wake of this? I'll agree that John McCain has said some dumb stuff in the past about banning negative campaign ads, but who cares about him anymore?

Alex said...

so I can see no lefty wants to disavow Obama for his "bring a gun to a knife fight" comment. Or when he tried to incite Latinos against whites.

Revenant said...

The right feels the need to be intellectually consistent.

Wouldn't it be nice if that was actually true.

Alex said...

The Chicago Way

Anonymous said...

I think the comments from Angle and West's almost-CoS and folks wanting to shoot Scott are wrong. I think these folks should be ridiculed out of the public square when they say stupid (but legal) things

Great.

And Obama has said “If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun,” Obama said in Philadelphia last night. “Because from what I understand, folks in Philly like a good brawl

You're going to heckle him out of office, right?

Alex said...

Wouldn't it be nice if that was actually true.

Wouldn't it be nice if the left wasn't filled with hypocrites, liars, thieves, assholes?

somefeller said...

Yet in this thread such rhetoric by the left has been pointed out again and again, you are silent. I can only conclude that you are a viscous lefty who wants to silence conservatives.

No, you can conclude that I don't see a need to respond to every comment. Also, I don't usually respond to obvious mobys (mobies?) or trolls, but I've made an exception in your case this time.

Sprezzatura said...

R.L.

IMO, that quote is not at the same level as the ones I linked to where cons are suggesting that fellow cons are literally stocking up with guns so they can take back their government if they loose at the ballot box.


BTW, do any of you think that 18 USC Sec. 871 should be modified, to further advance freedom of speech in America?

"...Whoever knowingly and willfully deposits for conveyance in the mail or for a delivery from any post office or by any letter carrier any letter, paper, writing, print, missive, or document containing any threat to take the life of, to kidnap, or to inflict bodily harm upon the President of the United States, the President-elect, the Vice President or other officer next in the order of succession to the office of President of the United States, or the Vice President-elect, or knowingly and willfully otherwise makes any such threat against the President, President-elect, Vice President or other officer next in the order of succession to the office of President, or Vice President-elect, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both."

JAL said...

woof Would you consider the WBC right wing or left wing ?

Like Kirk said.

Is that a serious question?

Wikipedia Phelps is a disbarred lawyer, founder of the Phelps Chartered law firm, a past civil rights activist in Kansas, and a Democrat who has five times been a candidate for political office in Kansas Democratic Party primaries....

Democratic Party
Phelps has run in various Kansas Democratic Party primaries five times, but has never won. These included races for governor in 1990, 1994, and 1998, receiving about 15 percent of the vote in 1998. In the 1992 Democratic Party primary for U.S. Senate, Phelps received 31 percent of the vote. Phelps ran for mayor of Topeka in 1993[unreliable source?] and 1997.

Support for Al Gore
Phelps supported Al Gore in the 1988 Democratic Party primary election.[31] In his 1984 Senate race, Gore opposed a "gay bill of rights" and stated that homosexuality was not something that "society should affirm". Phelps has stated that he supported Gore because of these earlier comments. According to Phelps, members of the Westboro Baptist Church helped run Gore's 1988 campaign in Kansas. Phelps' son, Fred Phelps Jr., hosted a Gore fundraiser at his home in Topeka and was a Gore delegate to the 1988 Democratic National Convention. Gore spokesman Dag Vega declined to comment, saying "We are not dignifying those stories with a response."


Now I know wikipedia is not a bastion of truth, but facts is facts woof.

Do I think he represents a typical Democrat? No.

But you might want to consider *fact checking* before you decide to post. Might create the illusion of responsible posting.

Alex said...

No, you can conclude that I don't see a need to respond to every comment.

Somefeller is a lefty tool. He admits he has nothing to say about inflammatory rhetoric uttered by leftists.

Trooper York said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Revenant said...

Absolutely true. But is that a standard we want to go back to?

We are in no danger of "going back to" the days when it wasn't unusual for politicians to use physical violence on their opponents. When you make an argument like that, you are implicitly smearing people who engage in heated political rhetoric.

Michael said...

I spent an hour cruising the comments at Huffington Post and Salon. If you are looking for vilification you need look no further. If you are looking for violent imagery you will find on those sites an abundance of adolescent fantasies concerning what should be done to conservatives. You will see the words "Fox News, Palin, Beck, Hannity, etc" as though cut and pasted on dozens and dozens of comments. No irony in evidence.

Toad Trend said...

During a weekly radio and television address on February 28, 2009, President Obama laid out his plan to reform healthcare in America. He also had a message to the special interests opposed to his agenda.

“I know they [the special interests and lobbyists] are gearing up for a fight as we speak. My message to them is this: so am I.”

wv - bansump. Official denier.

Trooper York said...

"I'll agree with the first part of that sentence, but who is calling to abrogate the First Amendment in the wake of this?"

Did you just see the quote by Chris Matthews regarding Rush Limbaugh? Or anything that AlpahLiberal and others of his ilk have been spewing the past few days. The dream of the left in this country is that Fox News be destroyed, Limbaugh and the rest of talk radio be silenced and NPR and other liberal propaganda vehicles be fully funded by government money as the only acceptable provided of news or political discourse.

And by the left I include such worthies as the current President of the United States.

You would have to look long and hard to find a bigger opponent of free speech then President Obama.

Revenant said...

Wouldn't it be nice if the left wasn't filled with hypocrites, liars, thieves, assholes?

I think it would be nice if there was ANY political group of significant power in this country that wasn't filled with hypocrites, liars, thieves and assholes. :)

JAL said...

@ 1jpb (or whatever)
While I can't personally imagine myself stockpiling weapons for a fight with the federal government, that is actually something the Founding Fathers considered not unreasonable. And IIRC, commendable. (Read some Jefferson quotes. Some people love his "wall" thingey about church & state, but not his comments about tyrannical governments.)

But then that was all more than 100 years ago. So it doesn't count. Right?

wv tareersu
Dessert without the mi

Michael said...

@Trooper York: I believe that if it were in their power to shut down Fox they would do so without a qualm. They would use the disappearance of opposition as evidence of the wisdom of their move and would proceed to talk radio and a re imposition of the fairness doctrine. They are working on this at this very moment. The left is or has become what I thought Orwell was describing as the right. I think I misread completely.

somefeller said...

We are in no danger of "going back to" the days when it wasn't unusual for politicians to use physical violence on their opponents.

I hope you are correct. But the way to make sure that's the case is for certain norms of behavior to be maintained. Civilization is an everyday struggle.

Did you just see the qoute by Chris Matthews regarding Rush Limbaugh?

Yes, it was a dipshit comment. But not state action.

Or anything that AlpahLiberal and others of his ilk have been spewing the past few days.

AlphaLiberal said some dumb stuff while jumping to conclusions about this case. (And we still don't know enough about this shooter to make judgments on ideology or not.) But if he called for the government to shut down Fox News or Rush Limbaugh, I missed that.

Toad Trend said...

During the town hall meeting protests of the summer of 2009, Senior White House adviser David Axelrod and deputy chief of staff Jim Messina told Democrat Senators, “If you get hit, we will punch back twice as hard.”

Although the quote is attributed to Messina, it has been tied to Obama and did come from an official top source in the Administration.

sunsong said...

People who believe in freedom are childish assholes?

People who want freedom - without responsibilitiy - are potentially childish assholes. Children want freedom to do whatever they want - regardless of the consequences.

What do you want to be *free* to do?

Toad Trend said...

At another campaign stop on September 18, 2008, Obama advocated that his supporters “argue with [people], get in their faces”:

Revenant said...

IMO, that quote is not at the same level as the ones I linked to where cons are suggesting that fellow cons are literally stocking up with guns so they can take back their government if they loose at the ballot box.

Neither of the quotes you provided says that.

Sprezzatura said...

"While I can't personally imagine myself stockpiling weapons for a fight with the federal government"

IMHO, the disturbing part isn't that they're stockpiling for a fight w/ the feds. The disturbing thing is that they're stockpiling for a fight if the majority of the electorate doesn't vote the way they want them to.

In other words; if majority rule doesn't work out for them, they've got bullets. Is that what Jefferson had in mind?

Toad Trend said...

"...so I know whose ass to kick." - Obama's defensive retort when questioned about his inaction on the BP oil spill during an interview for American television on June 7, 2010.

wv - chedly.

Thats some good cheese.

Sprezzatura said...

Rev,

see 3:36

Michael said...

Part of the problem with violent rhetoric is that it is used by people who have never been violent themselves. I chalk up many of our modern day problems to the cessation of playground fist fighting where people learned that violence hurts, is effective in some instances and should be used sparingly. The fist fights of my youth taught me much about when to push and when to walk away and to observe people very very carefully. I can assure you that the shooter in Tucson has never been in a fight, has never had the shit knocked out of him when that was what was called for.

Revenant said...

I hope you are correct. But the way to make sure that's the case is for certain norms of behavior to be maintained. Civilization is an everyday struggle.

The way to "make sure" that we don't go back to the use of physical violence in politics is to condemn and crack down on the use of physical violence in politics.

Which we do. Nothing more than that is needed.

Trooper York said...

"People who want freedom - without responsibilitiy - are potentially childish assholes"

Which is why the elite (the parents if you will) have to constrain the children and their right to speech and assembly and of course to bear arms. It is that potential which forces us to have hate speech codes and censorship and FCC oversight and other forms of making sure the "children" don't say something bad.

Bad bad children.

Trooper York said...

When the American spirit was in its youth, the language of America was different: Liberty, sir, was the primary object.
Patrick Henry

Revenant said...

Rev, see 3:36

I did. The statement there is that people are arming themselves because they're afraid they will have to fight for their rights.

Your claim is that they're threatening to fight if they lose the election. I'm not sure if you're lying or just stupid, but in either case you're misrepresenting them.

Revenant said...

I would also add that your remarks are particularly silly in light of the fact that the person in question DID lose the election, and yet no violence happened. :)

Anonymous said...

"No, you can conclude that I don't see a need to respond to every comment."

Disingenuous evasion.

Somefeller, you really need to address Barack Obama's violent rhetoric if you wish to be taken seriously as someone who merely wants to see comity restored across the land.

You're very quick to demonize Republicans or Tea Partiers, but you are strangely silent when Barack Obama encouraged union thugs to town hall meetings to beat people up. To bring guns. To punish their enemies. TO get in their faces.

What say you?

Nobody is taking you seriously because it's transparent that you only want to shut down the other side's successful speech and your protestations to the contrary are easily dis-proven by your lack of condemnation of Democrat Party tyrants.

Your silence, in other words, speaks volumes.

If you want to be seen as a moderate (and it's clear that you desperately need that) then you need to condemn Barack Obama's hate-filled violent campaign speeches.

Trooper York said...

If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquillity of servitude than the animating contest of freedom, — go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen!”
Samuel Adams, Brewer and Patriot.

R.L. Hunter said...

1jpb said...

R.L.

IMO, that quote is not at the same level as the ones I linked to where cons are suggesting that fellow cons are literally stocking up with guns so they can take back their government if they loose at the ballot box.


That's not the point.
The point is when a Democrat says something like this.

"That Scott down there that's running for governor of Florida," Mr. Kanjorski said. "Instead of running for governor of Florida, they ought to have him and shoot him. Put him against the wall and shoot him.

You pretend it didn't happen.
Anything anyone posts that shows the left is just as guilty, you either don't acknowledge it or dismiss it as irrelevant.

You're being a hypocrite.

Toad Trend said...

"If you get sick, America, the Republican health care plan is this: Die quickly. That's right. The Republicans want you to die quickly if you get sick." -- Alan Grayson

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

Just call yourselves liberatores.

Toad Trend said...

"I have a good news to report; Glen Beck appears closer to suicide - I'm hoping that he does it on camera; suicide is rampant in his family, and given his alcoholism and his tendencies towards self-destruction, I am only hoping that when Glen Beck does put a gun to his head and pulls the trigger, that it will be on television, because somebody will capture it on YouTube and it will be the most popular video for months." -- Mike Malloy

sunsong said...

Which is why the elite (the parents if you will) have to constrain the children and their right to speech and assembly and of course to bear arms. It is that potential which forces us to have hate speech codes and censorship and FCC oversight and other forms of making sure the "children" don't say something bad.

I'm just repeating myself. You have the *right* to be an asshole. My question is why would you want to be one? What is it that you want to be free to do? to be?

This whole imagined scenario that America is about to repeal the first amendment seems hysterical to me. But it is a clever way to change the subject from responsibility I guess.

somefeller said...

Trooper York: Good Henry and Adams quotes, but remember, they were referring to rebellion against a government that didn't allow for elections or other means of peaceful political action. The rules of the game when overthrowing a foreign (and by that time, Britain had become quite foreign to the Colonies) power and dealing with your fellow citizens in public life differ greatly.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

Then don't bring a knife to the fight.

Anonymous said...

AlphaLiberal said some dumb stuff while jumping to conclusions about this case.

It is fun, yet sad to watch her go from saying the tea party caused this, to now sputtering that only conservatives make comments referencing violence.

However, she is the poster child for the modern left.

Unknown said...

One thing to keep in mind is that people like PB&J and some phony folksy want to use shame on the Right - as in the old "Have you no shame, sir?" always trotted out from the Joe McCarthy days.

We have yet to see them want to use it on any Lefties.

This is a ploy that works on RINOs. It should be used right back against them by the rest of us.

PS PB&J omits that the Lefties assume government's guns are going to be on their side when they start talking about what should be done with "cons" and Tea Partiers.

Sprezzatura said...

R.L.,

I've already stated (in this thread) that the guy who made the Scott comment should have been ridiculed out of the public square (which was the same remedy I recommended for the other two situations). I'll accept your silence as an apology for your error, I know it'd be asking too much to expect an actual retraction.

Rev,

There is a clear link to a loss at the ballot box:

“it’s almost an imperative” that conservatives win.

“The nation is arming,” she told the newspaper. “What are they arming for if it isn’t that they are so distrustful of their government? They’re afraid they’ll have to fight for their liberty in more Second Amendment kinds of ways. That’s why I look at this as almost an imperative. If we don’t win at the ballot box, what will be the next step?”

And here was the other quote (3:44) that directly discusses bullets instead of ballots:

"I don’t care how this gets painted by the mainstream media, I don’t care if this shows up on YouTube, because I am convinced the most important thing the Founding Fathers did to ensure me my First Amendment rights was they gave me a Second Amendment. And if ballots don’t work, bullets will."

IMHO, these comments should be avoided. You disagree. So what? It's a free country.

Where are you re 18 US sec 871?

Michael said...

Sunsong: There is no reason to repeal the 1st Amendment if you can reinstall the Fairness Act, implement Hate Speech codes in the academy, take over the internet and use the media to demonize the opposition at will.

Kirby Olson said...

I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice! And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue!

Goldwater * Acceptance Speech as the 1964 Republican Presidential candidate.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

I predict the left will use this horrific event to further erode our access to free speech.

The left is already on a rampage saying that anyone who disagrees with Obamacare is no different that Timothy McVeigh or the Tiller murderer.

According to our holy left wing betters, we are all as guilty as Loughner.

Trooper York said...

I am not changing the subject. Of course you should be responsible for what you say and do. Who is arguing that? Not me. But impugning your opposition and trying to say that political ads and overinflated rhetoric was the trigger for the acts of a madman is a time honored means of restricting rights. Of setting the tone to regulate through the FCC or other government agencies. Look at the speech codes and "Hate speech" laws that are all over our country. And as we have found out these laws will only be applied to certain members of our society. The Obama justice department applies the laws according to the color of your skin and not the content of your character. Or haven’t you been following the news?

How did they escape the “responsibility” for that?

You may rest assured that the application of the laws by this administration will be a one way street. And that sends a shudder through those who are not part of that cabal.

Believing in an utter and absolute right to any type of political speech does not make you a childish asshole. It makes you a Patriot.

Revenant said...

they were referring to rebellion against a government that didn't allow for elections or other means of peaceful political action.

That's not a very accurate description. The problem with the British governance of America wasn't that it didn't allow elections (it did), but that the elections didn't matter. Americans were ruled by people they had no control over.

The feeling in the Tea Party movement is that we still are. This isn't an anti-Democratic thing, it is an anti-political-establishment thing. Don't think that just because Sarah Palin has shoved herself onto the stage at Tea Party rallies that she speaks for the movement. They -- we -- are angry that we vote and IT DOESN'T MEAN SHIT. No matter who gets into office, the same outrages keep happening.

Toad Trend said...

"Anybody toting guns and stripping moose don't care too much about what they do with Jews and blacks." -- Democratic Congressman Alcee Hastings on Sarah Palin

wv - boature.

A thief of water craft.

Michael said...

Conservatives4:"Then don't bring a knife to the fight."

Exactly. Our pussy president thought his catchy little movie slogan was manly when everyone with any sense knows that what you suggest is correct.

Roux said...

My grandfather was involved in politics in La. during the Huey Long area. Most people don't know what political vitriol is. If you weren't with Huey you were against him and he would not only say bad things about you but destroy you and your family.

Trooper York said...

If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.
George Washington

You bad, bad child.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

I think speech should come with no responsibilities! Yeay!! We should all just be able to say shit with no responsibility attached to what happens as a result of what we say!!! That's what happens in mature democracies!!!! We put people in crosshairs and don't expect that to influence the loonies!!!! It's ALL GOOD!!!11!!1!! FUCK THE LIBERALS FOR BELIEVING IN REASON. REASON SUX AND HINDERS OUR LIBERTY!!!1!1!1

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

A leftist commie shot a moderate blue-dog democrat with the intent to kill her. The same leftwinger crazy person shot 5 others and ended their lives.


Free speech or fact? Both.


The left will now use the crime to condemn everything the right has ever said. The left will use this to chill free speech on their terms. The left will gladly... giddily campaign on top of the dead.

Michael said...

Roux: But then you got Jimmie Davis and You are My Sunshine. And the Sunshine Bridge, the original bridge to nowhere.

Terry said...

Alphaliberal wrote:
But now, conservatives insist, their leaders and members have no effect when they speak. Odd claim, that.

In the context of a campaign, a leader putting bullseyes on political offices, or political office holders, inspires his or her followers to target that political office or officeholder for capture or defeat.
It no more encourages people to kill than a clip art target icon encourages murder and mayhem.

Sheesh. No wonder they call you "Libtard".

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

Michael: Don't bring half a wit to a debate, either.

No one was influenced to do any political harm because of what Obama said.

Michael said...

Conservatives4: That all caps trick is working. It is so convincing. Hop over, or back over, to the Huffington Post or Salon to see more of the same. Better put.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

In mature democracies, what you say has no consequence.

Ayn Rand. Or thereabouts.

sunsong said...

Michael,

There is no reason to repeal the 1st Amendment if you can reinstall the Fairness Act, implement Hate Speech codes in the academy, take over the internet and use the media to demonize the opposition at will.

The House is now solidly in republican hands. The chances of the Fairness Act being reinstalled are slim for the next two years - same with taking over the internet.

There is no *media* anymore, imo. people get their info from lots of different places these days. We all know what Chris Matthews is about and we all know what Glenn Beck is about. Again, we are also personally responsible for who we choose to believe.

Michael said...

Conservatives4: "No one was influenced to do any political harm because of what Obama said."

And you know this how?

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

No one agrees with you, Michael. The cons are on the defensive about this for the simple reason that their obsession with violence and unwillingness to compromise influences the loonies, and they know it.

But it's about the freedom, you see. The freedom to not be responsible. For death. That's very, very important - their ultimate trump card. Well, really, their only card.

Toad Trend said...

"If Obama loses it will spark the second American Civil War. Blood will run in the streets, believe me. And it's not a coincidence that President Bush recalled soldiers from Iraq for Dick Cheney to lead against American citizens in the streets." -- Erica Jong, 2008

wv - voledic.

The mind races...

Mini-member.

Michael said...

Sunsong: I realize that the Republicans will prevent a reimposition of the Fairness Act, but my point was that liberal Democrats would happily reinstall it. I think you will find that most efforts to curtail free speech come from the left and not from the right.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

There's no evidence for it, Michael. Show me the body/bodies. Show me the searched property and seized literature of the perpetrators of acts against these invisible corpses.

You are fantasizing. Keep the peyote for those times when you're in the desert. And I don't mean politically.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

It's victimology equivalence. Cons know that sympathy is a powerful emotion, so they want to claim a right to it. Saying violent things about people who later end up murdered them shouldn't matter, of course. Why would it? All that matters is whether cons get sympathy for their cause and whether the people they target with violent imagery end up dead, well, that's just not a fair excuse for denying the cons their sympathy. It's just not fair. They are right always no matter what forever and ever til the end of time.

Michael said...

Conservatives4: Have a look at the comments section here on Althouse and then on Huffington Post and Salon. I won't even bother to waste your time on the obvious rabid sites. You will see more vitriol, more vilification and more violent imagery there, on the left, than you do on the right. But the left has managed the big lie by repeating over and over that the right is violent. We have been too busy fucking the poor and stealing from the indigent to be violent. Political violence is a lefty fantasy, a Che comrade wet dream.

Toad Trend said...

"Call me wacky, but hurray for the tiger that killed the kid who was... taunting him. Now, I know this is not right... but let's hear it for the wild... I loathe zoos. I'm still cheering the fact that some stingray whacked that Aussie pain in the *ss Steve Irwin." -- Air America radio host Lionel, 2008

Toad Trend said...

"So, 4000 rubes are dead. Cry me the Tigris. Another 30,000 have been seriously wounded. Boo f*cking hoo. They got what they asked for--and cool robotic limbs, too.

...The nearly two-thirds of us who know this war is bullsh*t need to stop sucking off the troops. They get enough action raping female soldiers and sodomizing Iraqi detainees." -- Ian Murphy, 2008

Ritmo Re-Animated said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

"No one was influenced to do any political harm because of what Obama said."


No one was influenced to do any harm because of anything any conservative has ever said.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

Anonymous web comments do not equal ads endorsed by politicians or their johns and paid for by powerful people who emblazon them across television screens all over the constituents' district. It's a power thing, Michael - which is why you don't recognize it.

David said...

An email from Wall Street Journal:

"The sheriff's department cleared a man who had been considered a possible second suspect in the shooting spree. Authorities said they had identified the man as a cab driver who had brought Loughner to the scene, but had no involvement in the shooting."

Anonymous said...

their obsession with violence

You, nor anyone reading, can give a singular example of any elected Republican or prominent conservative wishing death on their political opponents.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

For the past two years, many conservative leaders, activists, and media figures have made a habit of trying to delegitimize their political opponents. Not just arguing against their opponents, but doing everything possible to turn them into enemies of the country and cast them out beyond the pale. Instead of “soft on defense,” one routinely hears the words “treason” and “traitor.” The President isn't a big-government liberal—he's a socialist who wants to impose tyranny. He's also, according to a minority of Republicans, including elected officials, an impostor. Even the reading of the Constitution on the first day of the 112th Congress was conceived as an assault on the legitimacy of the Democratic Administration and Congress.

This relentlessly hostile rhetoric has become standard issue on the right. (On the left it appears in anonymous comment threads, not congressional speeches and national T.V. programs.)


Source.

Michael said...

Conservatives4: Look at the speech codes on any college campus. Compare and contrast the medias response to the Ft. Hood massacre with yesterday's. Google the sponsors of the Fairness Act and note their affiliation. Look for copies of any American literature in the universities of the former Soviet or East Germany or the Gulag, or in China or North Korea.

Anonymous said...

he left has managed the big lie by repeating over and over that the right is violent.

Yes, while SEIU goons rough people up at political gatherings and elected Democrats openly talk of shooting people running for office in the other party, no less.

Why it is almost Orwellian...

sunsong said...

I am not changing the subject. Of course you should be responsible for what you say and do. Who is arguing that? Not me.

Well good :-) I'm not sure why you took issue with my original post, then. But be that as it may - I'm happy to know you're not arguing against responsiblity.

For the record I fully support both the first and second amendments.

Opus One Media said...

@alex...."he also reads the communist manifesto...."

well just for shits and giggles Alex, can you tell me how Hitler felt about communists? Think 30s...mean guy with a wierd mustache...communists....ring a bell?

There is no cure for stupid.

Michael said...

Conservatives4: So you are one of those who believe that opposition to a position is obstruction? That delegitimizing the opposition based on their stupid ideas is the same as violence? I see.

Anonymous said...

This relentlessly hostile rhetoric has become standard issue on the right.

I love how you think this mindless assertion has validity.

It says a lot about you being not that bright and easily misled...

The Crack Emcee said...

Saying "I want so-and-so dead" isn't violent imagery (which, along with name calling, I'm in favor of) but a call to action.

I think the people online who are always screaming "ad hominem attack" are just pretentiously trying to show they know big words (or latin?) as well as their contempt for the colloquial language of the common man - who, many times, is smarter than they are. It's a way to avoid the substance of an argument by focusing on the words used. (Saying "you're full of shit" sure has meaning to me.)

Freedom of Speech means just that - you have the freedom to speak as you do - it's avoiding the point is what's troublng.

Opus One Media said...

Birkel...."Mein Kampf was written by a devoted socialist..."

Not the ghost writer Birkel but Hitler....little guy...painter...funny mustache...ring a bell?

Anonymous said...

Instead of “soft on defense,” one routinely hears the words “treason” and “traitor.”

After 7+ years of Bush/Hitler and Bush & Cheney being war criminals no less.

You are simply a bad parody.

Peter Hoh said...

Alex and Florida (and a few others) want to jump all over anything any liberal says and use it as if it were the position of all liberals.

It's similar to the efforts of some on the left who want to tie the shooter's actions to right wing rhetoric.

This is how the extremes mirror each other. They want to paint the whole of the other side by the words and actions of the few.

I'm tired of it.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

M:

I am opposed to speech codes on campus but do not consider them equivalent to the need/impulse/glory of using violent rhetoric to target political opponents. At least, not when you have the shamelessness to cry sympathy and coincidence as a result.

Your other "examples" don't occur on American soil so I'll consider your willingness to post them either an attempt to derail the point (the charitable conclusion), or your side's typical, and desperate interest in accusations of treason on account of a simple, stupid political disagreement.

I'll repost what Packer wrote and see if you still can't understand the difference:

For the past two years, many conservative leaders, activists, and media figures have made a habit of trying to delegitimize their political opponents. Not just arguing against their opponents, but doing everything possible to turn them into enemies of the country and cast them out beyond the pale. Instead of “soft on defense,” one routinely hears the words “treason” and “traitor.” The President isn't a big-government liberal—he's a socialist who wants to impose tyranny. He's also, according to a minority of Republicans, including elected officials, an impostor. Even the reading of the Constitution on the first day of the 112th Congress was conceived as an assault on the legitimacy of the Democratic Administration and Congress.

This relentlessly hostile rhetoric has become standard issue on the right. (On the left it appears in anonymous comment threads, not congressional speeches and national T.V. programs.)

Michael said...

HDHouse: Hitler and Stalin were briefly allies, no?

Anonymous said...

Alex and Florida (and a few others) want to jump all over anything any liberal says and use it as if it were the position of all liberals.

Actually, they're pointing out that liberals do indeed wish death on their political opponents, reference violence, and in fact, people like you won't condemn it when it happens.

I'm tired of it.

And I'm tired of your head in the sand willful ignorance.

Anonymous said...

Sunsong wrote: The House is now solidly in republican hands. The chances of the Fairness Act being reinstalled are slim for the next two years - same with taking over the internet.

What you say is technically true, but you're forgetting about the vast administrative state, which is in the hands of the Executive. Agencies can't specifically pass laws, and Congress can override them (if they are paying attention, which they usually are not), but they can regulate out of existence, and they can do so bit by bit, so that each little step doesn't seem so bad.

- Lyssa

Opus One Media said...

Trooper York said...
"... rethoric leading up to the Civil War since he lived through the entire conflict."

But I remember back to the day Jefferson and Adams died...wow the press had a field day....God's will and everything..

whewboy those were the days of oratory!

Anonymous said...

I'll repost what Packer wrote and see if you still can't understand the difference:

I think you should repost baseless assertions again.

Really, I do.

Lyle said...

Amen... our political speech towards politician actually used to be worse. God damn Andrew Sullivan and like minded ilk to hell.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

Calling something stupid is not the same thing as delegitimizing a faction's existence.

Delegitimizing is a prerequisite for making something disappear, so to speak. Murderers dehumanize their victims, so as to make the act ethically compatible with their aims. I'm not surprised you used that word and am shocked that you don't see the big pile you just admitted to stepping in by using it.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

Like certain people's addiction to violence, Jay is incapable of posting a comment without the phrase "not that bright and easily misled" in it.

Michael said...

Conservatives4: So, you concede that the left is more inclined than the right to limit speech? And you believe that speech that you might choose to characterize as hateful or violence inducing should be squelched? The Packer quote is his opinion to which he is entitled. I could write a similarly sweeping paragraph on the left's consistent demonizing of the right as racist, etc. Because that kind of baseless big lie has been told so often that it is a matter of a Katie Couric like faith on the part of the left. Not to mention the new voice of the left on such matters, Joy Behar. Who may in fact lead someone to do violence.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Obama's extremist rhetoric:
Could he be to blame? He's as bad as that horrible Palin and Glen Beck!

Obama: “They Bring a Knife...We Bring a Gun”
Obama to His Followers: “Get in Their Faces!”
Obama on ACORN Mobs: “I don’t want to quell anger. I think people are right to be angry! I’m angry!”
Obama to His Mercenary Army: “Hit Back Twice As Hard”
Obama on the private sector: “We talk to these folks…...so I know whose ass to kick.“
Obama to voters: Republican victory would mean “hand to hand combat”
Obama to lib supporters: “It’s time to Fight for it.”
Obama to Latino supporters: “Punish your enemies.”
Obama to democrats: “I’m itching for a fight.”

Opus One Media said...

Michael said...
HDHouse: Hitler and Stalin were briefly allies, no?"

Miss history class in HS Mike? How did that "allies" thing work out? What was the initial reason...

In 20 words or less what was Barbarossa? Was the Soviet Union mentioned in Mein Kampf? Does Hitler's writing in Mein Kampf give you any indication as to the relationship Hitler invisioned with the Soviet Union?

Buellar? Buellar? Anyone?

Toad Trend said...

Until your daddy learns that it's not 'fun' to kill, keep your doggies and kitties away from him. He's so hooked on killing defenseless animals that they could be next! -- From a PETA booklet called "Your Daddy Kills Animals," which was designed to be handed out to children.

wv - coonix

Scavenger cereal

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

I concede nothing. I assert that there are responsibilities that come with what you say and how you want to say it. A point that cons want to apply as a caveat (or so they claim) to the second amendment, but apparently not the first.

Shameless, immature irresponsibility.

Keep trying to delegitimize. It reflects your lack of security/legitimacy in your own ideas.

David said...

As I watch the Packer game, I realize this is all the NFL's fault. Sack. Blitz. Target. Eviscerate (a defense). The QB yelling "kill, kill, kill."

Ban the NFL.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

And lazy, too.

Michael said...

HDHouse: Google the word "briefly." I think I used it in my one sentence. It modifies the thought. Google. Better than Wiki.

David said...

Jim Clyburn on Fox News saying it's his "duty" to call people out on "extreme" rhetoric.

Where was he during the Bush administration?

R.L. Hunter said...

1jpb said...

R.L.,

I've already stated (in this thread) that the guy who made the Scott comment should have been ridiculed out of the public square (which was the same remedy I recommended for the other two situations). I'll accept your silence as an apology for your error, I know it'd be asking too much to expect an actual retraction.

WTF? You're immediate response to my statement is claiming I'm being silent?
I have nothing to retract or apologize for.

These are your exact words.
"I think the comments from Angle and West's almost-CoS and folks wanting to shoot Scott are wrong. I think these folks should be ridiculed out of the public square when they say stupid (but legal) things"

Call out the right wingers by name but left wingers that spew hate that's just "the guy" or "folks wanting to"
Can't bring yourself to at least name their political party can you?
No that might make your side look bad.
You're still a hypocrite.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

Just to re-cap:

Michael's taking the brave, courageous stand in favor of denying people responsibility for what they say.

There's your Republican integrity and decency!

Toad Trend said...

"It's about time that we have an intifada in this country that changes fundamentally the political dynamics in here. And we know every -- They're gonna say some Palestinian being too radical -- well, you haven't seen radicalism yet." -- U.C. Berkeley Lecturer Hatem Bazian fires up the crowd at an anti-war rally by calling for an American intifada

Freeman Hunt said...

So we shouldn't use violent metaphors because some people believe that that might set off the occasional untreated insane person who might hurt people? (Even though we have no actual evidence that any sort of rhetoric spurred this violence and ample evidence that insane people are not set off by such rhetoric.)

I guess we should never talk about good food then. That could set perfectly sane people off to eat unhealthily. That kills far more people than random violence perpetrated by the insane.

Michael said...

HD: I apologize. I did not mean to bring up the glorious revolution, the failed revolution so dear to your memory. I meant only to say that the two old boys were allies. And they were. Briefly.

Would love to get a pdf of those Soviet Awards. I have a family member fluent in Russian.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

THere's our honor, Fellow Republicans!

Let's not be responsible for what we say, but hold others accountable for what they say. Heads we win, tails they lose!!!

What decent people we are to play a game like this!!!

Michael said...

Conservatives4: Kindly cite the times when I commented as you suggest. I do not believe that your putting words in my comments that did not appear is appropriate.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

And don't forget the whales, Freeman. Whales and bunny rabbits are much more important than rejecting the intrusion of violence into the political process.

I swear, you guys sound more and more like your fellow Middle Eastern "revolutionaries" every day.

Peter Hoh said...

Jay, I don't need to condemn every instance that someone somewhere says something stupid.

On the flip side, I don't think I've ever acted as apologist for violent rhetoric coming from the left.

If I had blamed yesterday's violence on right wing rhetoric, then yes, you might have a point in insisting that I treat left wing rhetoric the same way.

I haven't, and I'm not playing that game.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Ritmo Re-Animated said...

What I'm responding to is when you say:

And you believe that speech that you might choose to characterize as hateful or violence inducing should be squelched?

This sounds to me as if you are opposed to restraint in the realm of violent speech, even if self-imposed or allowed but put into a context less crud than one involving firearm sightings.

Of course, it's possible that I've misread or jumped to conclusions, so please feel free to clarify.

Unknown said...

As hard as is it to accept on a day like today, when a little girl lay dead at the hands of a madman, the truth is it's to our credit we don't have more of these incidents. Look at Mexico, for instance. Even before the drug war, 20 or some journalists a year are murdered.

We still have a fairly low level of violence for such a huge country. No nation has a 100% non-violent society.

Toad Trend said...

"I know how the 'tea party' people feel, the anger, venom and bile that many of them showed during the recent House vote on health-care reform. I know because I want to spit on them, take one of their 'Obama Plan White Slavery' signs and knock every racist and homophobic tooth out of their Cro-Magnon heads." -- The Washington Post's Courtland Milloy

Anonymous said...


Keep trying to delegitimize. It reflects your lack of security/legitimacy in your own ideas.


Hysterical.

Um, I guess that is why the left tried so desperately to tie this incident to the Tea Party.

You know,
One veteran Democratic operative, who blames overheated rhetoric for the shooting, said President Barack Obama should carefully but forcefully do what his predecessor did. “They need to deftly pin this on the tea partiers,” said the Democrat.

Your projection is as predictable as it is sad.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

Hysterical.

Not that bright and easily misled.

Hysterical.

Not that bright and easily misled.

Hysterical.

Not that bright and easily misled.

Would one of you please have the decency to chip in and upgrade Jay's microchip circuitry? His program is clearly bugged.

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