Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

internetworkers - Why? Re: [internetworkers] Be afraid, be very afraid.

internetworkers AT lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Internetworkers: http://www.ibiblio.org/internetworkers/

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: James Dasher <jdasher AT ibiblio.org>
  • To: "Internetworkers:http"@metalab.unc.edu://www.ibiblio.org/internetworkers/ <internetworkers AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Cc:
  • Subject: Why? Re: [internetworkers] Be afraid, be very afraid.
  • Date: Wed, 27 Oct 2004 21:10:05 -0400


On Oct 27, 2004, at 8:31 PM, Ian Meyer wrote:

http://www.livejournal.com/users/anniesj/331112.html

After posting a political post that someone construed as threatening
to the president, an anonymous reader of this person's blog reported
them to the FBI who turned it over to the secret service, who showed
up at their door.

I took my brother to see Michael Moore at Carolina when he was on a book tour back in the '90's, and he talked about contacting the Secret Service when Jesse Helms commented that Clinton should be careful traveling to NC, because of soldiers, guns, etc. (Moore talked about the same thing in the book - _Stupid White Men_, I think.) Moore said that the Secret Service assured him that they were keeping an eye on Helms - as if Helms was seriously encouraging people to shoot the president.

(Okay, so some people probably believe that, but some people believe NASA faked the moon landings, too.)

Nope, no problems here, these are not the civil rights you're looking for.

Without knowing what the girl said, I can only quote her: "... they WERE very nice – we even gave them coffee and shit, and they laughed with us and were generally very cool about the entire situation...."

In all seriousness, what do you find objectionable? The Secret Service visit? That someone can't legally threaten the life of the president? That someone reported her for whatever it was that she said?

Admittedly, none of those are the methods I would nominate to dial back the rhetoric whipping around the public square. But about the only way to do that is to hold public executions every time some windbag (not excluding list members, even yours truly ;) opens his or her pie-hole and lets fly some ill-considered rejoinder to an escalating crisis of rhetorical catharsis; not to mention general spleen-venting.

Suggestions, of course, would be welcome. Workable ones might even get you a donation toward your next campaign for political office....

--
James Dasher
misterdasher dot com
IM misterdasher




Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page