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  • From: Ian Meyer <ianmeyer AT gmail.com>
  • To: "Internetworkers: http://www.ibiblio.org/internetworkers/" <internetworkers AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: Why? Re: [internetworkers] Be afraid, be very afraid.
  • Date: Wed, 27 Oct 2004 23:36:48 -0400

A nice jumbled up reply to both messages from mr. dasher:

> 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.

The difference here is there were people who thought of Helms as a
hero, someone standing up against the evil liberals in Washington and
California who wanted to take away their guns, kill their babies, and
send their jobs overseas. These are the kind of people who actually
would take something like that as encouragement from this 'hero' of
theirs to try to do something. One lowly blogger has nowhere near the
clout, following, or power that a senator does.

I have often said--in jest--that the only reason I wouldn't want
someone to kill dubya is that then dick would be the president.

does that make me a threat to national security? no.

the fact is that people in the FBI and secret service ACTUALLY thought
that this person was enough of a threat to pass it on and end up
sending agents to her house.

And were supposed to feel more safe? The fact that manpower is being
used to posts made to a blog, obviously in jest, when I'm sure there
are real problems out there frightens me.

> [..]but it definitely appears that what she really needed was to be,
> perhaps metaphorically, smacked upside the head

Why? Because her sense of humor and beliefs differ from yours? Thats
like me saying all the people voting for W need to be smacked upside
the head (when in truth only some do, but they are the same type of
the Kerry or Barnarik supporters who also need to be smacked--the ones
who support them blindly for no real reason, but thats a whole
seperate issue).

> In all seriousness, what do you find objectionable?  The Secret Service
> visit?  

yes.

> That someone can't legally threaten the life of the president?

She didn't actually threaten the life of the president.

> That someone reported her for whatever it was that she said?

yes that too. that we have gotten to such a state of fear in this
nation that someone would honestly take something like this and report
it to the authorities. its ridiculous.

i should be free to criticize or make fun of (even in bad taste) the
president without worrying that someone is going to call the police on
me. Last time I checked that was the kind of thing that happened in
Soviet Russia. (admittedly they didn't get arrested, but still)

> I seem to recall someone on this list saying - just today or yesterday -
> that Christians want to do to people who disagree with them exactly what
> she's saying she wants for everyone in the Bush administration.

And your point is what? The case here is that the administration is
*obligated* to be representing the American People. This is one of
them who obviously thinks they aren't doing that. Thats a little
different than wishing ill on someone because they follow another
religon.

> Can you imagine the reaction if someone jestingly offered such a prayer for
> everyone on the Kerry campaign?  Front page news, that.

And I think if it had been reversed, someone had said it about Kerry,
it *would* be different. All the kerry supporters I can think of would
think "what a tasteless comment. oh well." and move along. not call
the feds on the person.

~ian




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