October 28th 2008
Palin Effigy – The Classic Double Standard
T
his effigy of Sarah Palin hanging by a noose from the roof of a West Hollywood home is not a hate crime, according to the LAPD.
“I’m not defending this; I’m not criticizing it. It doesn’t rise to the level of hate crime,” said Steve Whitmore, spokesman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, who said he went out to the house himself to look at the display this morning. “Now, if there was a crime against bad taste…” (LA Times)
The mayor of West Hollywood sees it more correctly:
“While these residents have the legal right to display Senator John McCain and Governor Sarah Palin in effigy, I strongly oppose political speech that references violence – real or perceived.”
But the readers of the LAT’s Comments Blog showed their overwhelming double standard in an on-line poll. Tell me that fears of being called racist haven’t skewed this entire election:
If the hanged effigy represented Barack Obama, do you think law enforcement would respond differently?
Yes — law enforcement would force the homeowner to remove the display 79% (992 votes)
No — the same rules protecting freedom of speech would apply 11% (139 votes)
Don’t know <1% (12 votes)
Who cares — it’s just Halloween decorations! 9% (116 votes)
So, according to the Obamaniacs who populate LA, law enforcement can be anti-racist but can’t be anti-misogynist? Interesting … I didn’t know we already lived in an Islamic country.
But, if you want to see the double standard at its baldfaced extreme, check out this video. No time to click? Here’s the goodies:
Announcer: Some residents say Palin would find the murder mock-up funny.
Woman: She loves to kill stuff and you know, with a gun, and she’s a, you know, she’s a bad-a$$. And so, I think she’s got a good sense of humor.
Announcer: What if it was a Barack Obama?
Woman: Uh … I’d light the house on fire.
Got it. Only the GOP is interjecting race into the campaign.
Posted in Uncategorized | 6 Comments » | |
Trackbacks/Pings
Leave a Reply
[The "Comment Box" is WYSIWYG except that you have to double space between paragraphs!
Type it the way you want it to look -- Just remember to double up those line spaces.]
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Comments
October 28th, 2008 at 5:10 pm
Someone hang the real Hussein O on a lampost and see if it’s classified as a hate crime.
October 29th, 2008 at 7:23 am
Scrapiron
October 28th, 2008 at 5:10 pm
Someone hang the real Hussein O on a lampost and see if it’s classified as a hate crime.
Reply – QuoteScrapion where have you been? When the college students hung Barack Obama in effigy a few weeks ago the college called it “a prank”. So why should this not be considered a prank? To the conservatives who think this is a disgrace and a shame, what are your feelings on the Obama effigy hanging?I don’t agree with it being done(effigy hanging) but whats good for the goose is good for the gander.
October 29th, 2008 at 7:26 am
Scrapiron
October 28th, 2008 at 5:10 pm
Someone hang the real Hussein O on a lampost and see if it’s classified as a hate crime.
Reply – QuoteI just reread your post and I have to tell you this! if someone hung the real Hussein O( I know who you mean) it would be classified as a hate crime and a crime called murder.
October 29th, 2008 at 11:49 am
Agreed, Ron. I love Scrapiron’s gruffness, which is always fun, but this comment is waaaay over the top.
October 29th, 2008 at 2:17 pm
Scrapiron’s comment is over the top but it illustrates an important point considering that black lynchings have happened during many of our lifetimes as a way to terrorize the black community. If women had been hanged during the 20th century as a means of domestic terrorism, the Palin effigy would be removed.
Just trying to elaborate on the ‘double standard’
October 29th, 2008 at 8:05 pm
Good point, but I think misogyny should be on an equal level as racism.