This following graphic was taken from a web site called Political Byline, which is a right-wing pro-McCain website that John McCain's campaign advertises on. I personally verified its existence on the web site in question as of 9:23PM PDT on Sunday, October 12, 2008.
The next image was taken from a web site and Smithsonian exhibit collecting photographs of a dismal part of our nation's heritage and history. It is one of approximately one hundred photographs on that web site. I chose this one primarily because its size is small enough to fit well on this web page and it is blurry enough that you cannot see the graphic details (which on some of the other photos are stomach-turning):
Draw your own conclusions. The first: A pro-McCain web site. The second: A web site on lynchings that happened here in the United States of America in the early part of the 20th century. There are some crazy people out there, folks. Crazy people. And none of us should be proud of this regardless of our political affiliation.
-- Badtux the Saddened Penguin
Hmm. And how does this picture pass the Brandenburg test?
ReplyDeleteImmediacy. Unfortunately. Presumably the reader of the web site is not in the immediate presence of Obama and thus the author of the web site is not urging the reader to immediately go out and lynch Obama. Also specificity. The ad certainly is suggestive of lynching Obama but nowhere says to go do it. That said, it would not surprise me if this guy gets a visit from the Secret Service.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to American "discourse". American civilization. It would be a good idea :-(.
- Badtux the DIsgusted Penguin
Holy shit. I lack the words.
ReplyDeleteUpdate: The author of the web site has removed the picture above and posted a non-apology apology blaming liberals for the outrage. Huh. Yeah, Republicans, the party of personal responsibility -- unless it's their responsibility, in which case it's always Democrats' fault. Alrighty, then!
ReplyDelete- Badtux the Snarky Penguin
It is 2008, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteI dunno. Feels an awful lot like 1908 at times :-(.
ReplyDelete- Badtux the Disgusted Penguin
"It's the mean liberals bein' meeeeean! They made me take it down. Waaaaaaaah!"
ReplyDeleteFucking coward.
Bah.
ReplyDeleteIn related news: Six days ago, on Yom Kippur, an Israeli Arab drove his car in the mixed city of Acre, to pick his daughter. A Jewish mob, its tender felling wounded at this "desecration" of the holiday, immediately transformed into lynch mob. Police managed, barely, to get the man out alive, and told him to run as fast as he could. His car is kaput.
Riots ensure - they start with an Arab mob, since there were rumors the driver was in fact lynched. Arab riots are followed by Jewish riots. Ultra-nationalists summon semi-militias from the settlements into Acre. Driver officially apologizes in the Knesset. Jewish lynch mobs throw petrol bombs into Arab houses. Many Arabs flee. Police is helpless.
So, in order to show they're doing something, the police have arrested the driver yesterday. He's accused of speeding, of risky behaviour, and of "hurting religious feelings". Only democracy in the Middle East, I tell you.
Here in the United States that would never happen today. We are too tranquilized for those kinds of happenings and besides our only religion is the Almighty Dollar no matter what the so-called "Christians" claim and the only thing that could ever get us upset would be if someone tried to steal our money, in which case there would be no lynch mob (since we are well armed), just a dead body. But fifty or eighty or ninety years ago? Sure. We had plenty of "race riots" back then, generally playing out similar to the one you describe except instead of religious desecration it usually was a case of some poor sod black guy accused of looking too long at a white woman or not giving the proper respect to a white shop keeper or so forth. Same deal, though -- people looking for an excuse to "kill the darkie" and finding one.
ReplyDelete- Badtux the History Penguin
the perfect song for the worst possible crappy situtation..thank you for bloggin this - we all need to blog what these fuckheads are about....
ReplyDeleteI am sorry McFuckhead is in the fifties...