Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Mocked effigy

In West Hollywood, a man has decked out his home for this "holiday", and for whatever reason cannot understand the hoopla that is surrounding said display.

John McCain poping out of his chimney as Satan. Sarah Palin hanging from a noose.

McCain aside, the effigy of Palin is the one that is creating the most outcry. And I couldn't agree more. We all know that if it were Obama in place of Palin, it would be considered a hate crime because of the color of Obama's skin.

The Feds eventually gave Chad Morrisette, the creator of the macabre tableau a visit yesterday and determined that no violent intentions were afoot. Morrisette declared that, "If it's a political statement, it's that (McCain's and Palin's) politics are scary to us."

Okay, make Palin a witch, then...don't hang her from a tree. Mock lynchings are not cool. I don't care who is at the receiving end.

5 comments:

  1. As usual, you're on target. But one thing to think about -- misogyny IS a hate crime, but of a type we've come to think is "normal" in society.
    Note that McCain, the presidential candidate and the one who could potentially yield real power, isn't the one hanging. Palin is. That image doesn't portray "That woman scares me", it portrays "I want to do violence to that woman."
    We hear similar calls to violence toward other strong women in this society -- toward Hillary Clinton from the right-wing and toward Ann Coulter from the left-wing.
    We don't even think of misogyny as a hate crime because it's so common. Soon-to-be ex-husbands and boyfriends kill their wives and girlfriends with such frequency that any cop investigating a murder of a female goes first to the man in her life. This motif -- "If I can't control her, I can kill her" -- is a common one in literature (Read Browning's "Porphyria's Lover" as example).
    In short, what is a hate crime? Wanting to kill that which we fear and cannot control, whether it be blacks gaining political and social power, gays gaining acceptance, or women gaining independence and power.

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  2. Point taken. Actually, the way I see it is, if it isn't a zombie hanging off a noose, it is a hate crime, no matter what race or sex. It is depicting murder.

    And for this person playing the innocent naive card, I don't buy it for a second. He is being an agent provocateur in a very dangerous way.

    Freedom of speech and freedom of expression comes with responsibility.

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  3. I only expound these points for people who are intelligent enough to get them ;) That's why I love reading your blog -- you write articulately without being oh-so-impressed with yourself...

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  4. you write articulately without being oh-so-impressed with yourself

    Ditto.

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  5. And I'll keep on letting y'all believe that. *snorf*

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