The Rules are Different There
As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he
Matthew 15:10
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Matthew 15:10
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Seattle's alternative paper, The Stranger (Seattle), ran a piece last Thursday entitled, Hell house, outing those homes on Seattle's Eastside who were so unsaavy as to place McCain signs in their yard (via Lt Nixon.) Claiming to spoof Christmas articles which list homes with the best lighting displays, the editors allowed the article to run the addresses of the homes that dared to earn their ire.
Seem like a slightly off-base foray into ridicule? A poor attempt at Saturday Night Live level humor? Really, it is not-too-shy of Brownshirt strong-arm tactics. The Left seems every bit as deranged as their hardcore Right brethren. This was not an invitation to friendly ribbing. The readership of this paper is skewed hard Left. Running the addresses says, "These people are Other; they are the enemy."
Problem is, in a democracy, no one who participates freely and fairly in the electoral process is the enemy.
The Doonesbury comic strip this weekend ran a bit from their "correspondent" in Kenya who warns, "There will be rioting in the streets if Obama wins" or if he loses; "It could turn ugly." Thinly veiled warning?
In our neck of the woods, people are getting Obama yard signs to place out as precaution. Enough of the slams against the madness of the Right, and their very real insanity. The Left press has whipped up enough of its own to make things scary. The whispers have been circulating for months: Obama is the second coming of RFK, JFK, MLK. Will he be assassinated, preempting our second shot at Camelot?
If you say something often enough, it becomes true, at least to you. The biggest fan base for Obama does not seem to be swirling around the message of conciliation or harmony, or any of that One World stuff. The biggest thread drawing them together is their neo-conspiracy theorizing.
Whenever people rally around a savior there will be trouble. The message should be larger than the man, for mortality is the guarantee in life, and any number of similarly aligned people should be able and groomed to take over the reigns as necessary. Instead, we see a cult of personality surrounding Obama, an almost angry challenge to start a fight.
As mentioned in the previous piece, racial discord is the overriding misery in our society. The anger surrounding the candidacy of Obama symbolizes the unresolved anger simmering under the fractured surface.
Labels: doonesbury, hell house, obama conspiracy theory, the stranger
posted by Lisa at 10:15 AM
6 Comments:
Around here, Obama signs (like mine) are being stolen, kicked down, or covered with shopping bags.
Here in Western Washington, bluest part of the state, only the very rich and very poor are pro-McCain.
I consider it as silly as Palin complaining that reporters questioning her campaign tactics are "impinging" upon her First Amendment rights, to call the Stranger's teasing akin to Browndshirt tactics.
Compared to GOP phone callers who spout that Obama is just a "F***ing N*****!" when you say that is who gets your vote, I'd say The Stranger poking fun is pretty damned mild.
labrys,
We're not saying who gets our vote. Ranger doesn't politic. Sadly, I think some folks mistake not campaigning as being somehow brutish. We say: consider all the facts and make your own decision. Who has the right to tell anyone how one will, or another should, vote?
Point of the post is: Thuggish behavior is not American. Where is fair play, respect and "may the best man or woman win"?
The Stranger wasn't teasing -- they named names and ran photos of those yards with McCain signs.
It would be as disturbing as if your Obama sign and address were to be run in a far-right, skinhead publication. Would you be happy?
Intimidation tactics are not the American way. Period.
Yeah, around here it's the Obama signs that seem to disappear far more often than the McCain signs... I went through quite a few Vets for Kerry signs back in 04.
So, is The Stranger a radical paper that espouses violence and hatred? It had better be if you are comparing it to a skinhead publication. I have never heard anybody shouting that McCain is a traitor or sghould be killed at an Obama function, but we sure have had our share of such sentiment from the righties.
I agree that when you get to the extremes, the left and right are equally insane and violent...it's just that the violence of the right wing starts way further down the spectrum than the left. It isn't the namby-pamby liberals who are so in love with guns, war, capital punishment and concentration camps.
Rick98,
We'll challenge you on the assertion re. "namby-pamby liberals."
Most political assassinations in 20th century N. America and Europe were carried out by radical liberals. Example, Lee Harvey Oswald. Granted, these are people on the extremities. Madness knows no political affiliation.
The only point of my piece was, the paper was out of line to run front yard pictures with addresses obviously aiming, locking and cocking crazies in their direction.
Unacceptable for a free press to do in any case.
The Stranger is not a thuggish paper...it is independent of the usual brand of paper ownership and dismissive of anything resembling governmental toady behavior. So, they put names of those with signs in their yard...big deal; the signs ARE in their yards and anyone can see them.
Considering Bush buddies are the sorts that put the names of doctors who work abortion clinics out in online "hit lists" I just don't see how noting neighborhoods of McCain supporters publicly qualifies as thuggish.
Ah, but we should be better than them. I don't know about the online sights, but having something in print disseminated in newsstands is, well, a hard copy, and open to a wider audience.
When one finds such a website, one is already a fellow traveler. Disgruntled people always find each other. A newspaper should adhere to a higher standard of ethics than wingnuts on their own private networks.
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