Thursday, April 14, 2005
Beyond Reason
It's nice to know that the U.S. Secret Service is doing its job...
Apparently, this incendiary nonsense appeared in a Chicago art show:
The exhibit (titled "Patriot Act") -- as well as the artist, no doubt -- are being investigated by the Secret Service. The exhibit's curator find this "frightening" -- no, he's not frightened by the suggestion that anonymously assassinating the President is somehow patriotic; he's frightened by the investigation! No doubt he's the sort who claims his inalienable artistic right to shout "fire" in a crowded theater...
(As always, we can judge the fairness of something by putting the shoe on the other foot. Would "artwork" depicting the assassination of John Kerry, or Ted Kennedy, or Bill Clinton be considered incendiary? I'd consider it so... and I suspect the "artist" in question would agree.)
It's worth mentioning in passing, by the way, that there is (or was) a considerable amount of mechandise available for sale on this theme... but, according to Michelle Malkin, there is nothing advocating the assassination of John Kerry. (I couldn't find any either. Oh, plenty of people asking him to sign his SF180, as he promised he would, but no calls for his immediate burial.)
The closest I could find were the occasional halfhearted hopes by Kim du Toit that Hillary Clinton would shuffle off... but in spite of the serious firepower he owns (or perhaps because of that firepower, and the responsibility it inspires!), I don't recall him ever even suggesting that she be hurried along to meet her Maker.
Last I heard, it is a Federal crime to threaten the life of the President -- "whether you mean it or not", as the saying goes. I've also heard that it's stupid, almost Darwinian, to challenge the Secret Service by doing so.
UPDATE: Here's another example of the same sort of thing.
A while back, I argued that Bush was seeing unreasoning hatred that no sitting U.S. President has seen since the days of Lincoln. In a polite e-mail reply, Stephen den Beste replied that, no, Reagan was villified as much or more.
I was tempted to argue the point further... but then I realized that (a) one doesn't disagree with Mr. den Beste lightly; (b) the man was a mature adult throughout the Reagan presidency, and no doubt remembers it better than I; and, most tellingly, (c) there was an attempted assassination of Reagan (perhaps the only universal yardstick of how intensely a President is hated).
Still, you tell me -- do you think this sets a new low? Or was criticism of Reagan as bad or worse? Let me know in the comments; I promise to read your replies. Both of them.
UPDATE II: How come I didn't think of that? Blackfive points out what the logical consequence of all this would be. (Let me put it in terms that the Loony Left will understand immediately: President Halliburton.)
Now, I'm not scared of that... but I'd think some of these let's-talk-about-offing-the-President idiots would be!
UPDATE III: My my my, isn't this special...
And I love the subtitle: "Making fun of Repubicans won't get them on our side, but threatening to kill them might be more effective."
To which I reply: just remember which side has the guns...
It might also be useful to remember that, when talking to armed people, 'threatening to kill them' might be counterproductive to you and your cause. Just a thought.
