Free Speech And The Gun Debate

According to the AP, Black politicians in Pennsylvania  are suggesting a banner used in a pro-gun demonstration was racist, akin to calling for the lynching of politicians. Philadelphia. (AP Photo/The Patriot-News, Gary Dwight Miller)

The banner reads: Rep. Cruz Should Be Hung From The Tree Of Liberty For Treasonous Acts Against The Constitution. The purely rhetorical tree phrase comes from a quote of Thomas Jeffersons.

"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." - Thomas Jefferson

I don't know that it's wise to advocate the hanging of anyone for treason without a trial - which is moot in this case. But my question would be: Is there a tangible tree of liberty from which these protesters are suggesting the representative should be hung?

As the answer is no, I have a hard time understanding how the politicians are viewing this as an actual threat. It may be impolitic rhetoric, nevertheless, it clearly is rhetorical in nature. That leaves the fundamental question, should politicians be allowed to ban political rhetoric with which they disagree when it is not really suggesting any genuine physical action, illegal or otherwise, against anyone?

Some legislators are threatening a boycott until action is taken to prohibit such protests. I'm unsure if I want to argue that politicians shouldn't be allowed to, in effect, strike. Or if the optimum solution isn't just to allow them all to stay at home. Certainly they'd do less damage that way.

Rep. Thaddeus Kirkland, chairman of the Legislative Black Caucus, told reporters the banner displayed Tuesday was "an act of racism, an act of hatred, an act of bigotry and a terroristic threat on the life of a colleague."

"No one has the right to call for the lynching of another human being - no one," he said.

Rep. Jewell Williams, chairman of the Democrats' Philadelphia delegation, threatened a boycott on legislative business unless leaders of both parties agree to a policy or procedure to ban threatening signs from the Capitol.

Comments

[seekeronos]

Funny thing though, how if a conservative group puns on a figure of speech (one that is over 200 years old, at that) ... the liberals and the self-serving Victim-Identity Politics Game players/anti-White racists/race-baiters come all unhinged. Even if the thought expressed is of less than gentlemanly conduct, it is still entirely figurative, and in no way calls for Congressman Cruz to be literally "lynched".

But if a radical terrorist Muslim Imam calls for the literal decapitation of an apostate, it's suddenly clean and innocent as "free speech"; if a liberal laments on national television about how a jihadist failed to strike down a US leader (nevermind the actual soldiers who *did* die in that attack)... it is free speech.

Or the countless thousands of mindless cattle on HuffPo pulled out their hair because Mr. Cheney escaped the fate they had so fervently supplicated unto their false moon god (Lucifer) for... we can't criticise them, for it is free speech!

How we do love the double standard!

[Zifnab]

"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." - Thomas Jefferson

See, I always thought the quote was "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with black people hanging by their necks for opposing gun control." Which, admittedly, sounds a bit more racist. Maybe they were just confused.

[seekeronos]

Zif, it has nothing at all to do with skin colour (except in the minds of the race-baters and the white-haters, some of which are not far removed from the revolutionist black supremacists of the 1960s who once advocated a "Final Solution" against whites), and likely are the same ilk as the murderers of Channon Christian and Chris Newsome.

Colour me blue, but anyone wanting to take away my guns *is a tyrant* who will on the next turn tax me into paupery, imprison or enslave me on account of my religion, skin colour, or whatever, or those would do worse things to me and my kinsfolk.

Geo. Washington once said firearms are the "liberty teeth" of the people; and another patroit of old, that: "at well-armed publick do tyrants tremble".

[bloodrage bob]

oh, look: a liberal rewriting a famous founding father quote to tar americans - her own countrymen - with. teacher taught that it's always fun to make it seem that someone like jefferson was a racist, inbred, cousin-marrying, bucktoothed KKK lyncher: as everyone knows most americans are.

saaaay, ziffy, HERE'S a quote you might remember: way back when, (st.) phoenix asked you "your idea of a proper and proportionate response to 9-11". remember that? that was - interestingly enough - just before you ran away like a scalded dog for a week or so; neglecting to answer or even acknowledge the question.

how come? were/are you a gutless wonder? or is it that it's just a lot easier and safer to warp the quotes of dead guys unable to defend themselves, rather than actually back up your idiotic political "ideas"? DO tell, wontcha?

[templar knight]

"...with black people hanging by their necks for opposing gun control..."

Ziffy, why do you liberals want to hang black people for opposing gun control? Conservatives would love anyone who opposed gun control. You just can't stand it when black people leave the tribe and start thinking for themselves, and conclude that the ownership of firearms is the thing that secures our liberty. You liberals are just terrible, terrible, I say. Hanging black people, you ought to be ashamed, Ziffy.

[Zifnab]

'Geo. Washington once said firearms are the "liberty teeth" of the people; and another patroit of old, that: "at well-armed publick do tyrants tremble".'

But when Washington said it, he restrained himself from suggesting everyone get together and lynch Alexander Hamilton.

If the sign had read the Jefferson quote, or if it had been some pro-gun "Only from my cold, dead hands"/"Give me gunnery or give me death", people wouldn't have blinked twice. But you've got a bunch of pro-gun activists calling for a man to be executed for his political position (which, apparently, was treasonous).

This isn't an affirmative "I like guns and would like to keep them". It's a definitively negative, "I want to kill that bastard while drapping myself in the American Flag." And so it loses big points with me.

[bloodrage bob]

(applauds)

wow! a MASTERFUL spin job there, ziffy! while enever actually *denying* you'd changed the jefferson quote in typical gutless liberal fashion - because that could be *checked* - (damn paper trail!), your attempt to wrap yourself in the flag by invoking the greatest american ever, george washington, was just so....so....so clintonesque in its gall.

you could almost HEAR the strains of "america the beautiful". really.

but....not to be a negative meanie or nothing.....BUT i couldn't help notice that you never actually *denied* that you changed the jefferson quote for sorry political gain; you never actually *denied* that doing so is the first mark of a contemptible gutless liberal; and you never actually *addressed* (st.) phoenix's "9-11" question.

how come? didja chicken out? did your keyboard suddenly freeze up?

[Phoenix]

It's weird how liberals do not understand metaphor.

"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." - Thomas Jefferson

Tree: Symbolic of deep roots that continue to grow and spread; upper part of the tree symbolic of our country's liberties and freedoms - continuing to grow. Easy to see. It's metaphor.

That the tree needs to be refreshed from time to time an indicator that freedom and liberty will always be something we will have to fight to maintain and will always be worth fighting to keep alive and flourishing.

It is stunning that people are so stupid.

[Phoenix]

Hey Zif,

You might have missed it, but I noticed you didn't answer one of the questions. I wanted to know what you would have done if you were president AFTER 9/11 happened. You did a nice job answering the other two questions.

Posted by: Phoenix | Wednesday, April 25, 2007 at 05:35 PM

Zif - I brought this up in case you missed it below.

[Phoenix]

Ground Control to Major Zif.....

Hello?

[bloodrage bob]

(theme music loop from 'final jeopardy' begins for the 383,000th time as we continue to wait for ziffy's answer.)

(perhaps she's frantically dialing teacher? "tell me what to say!" ??)

[Hard Right]

What Zif and the Black Caucus is showing is that blacks that leave the leftist plantation will be punished. Then they project their own racism onto others (aka Conservatives). Amusing really.

[seekeronos]

Ziffers and Legal-Beagle are too busy avoiding reality and enjoying each others' stash of magic mushrooms to answer your questions, Phoenix.

As for the racism of Liberals... I dunno, but I seem to recall the ancient antecedents of today's liberal (many of whom were elitist white captains of industry during the civil war) preferring that the South keep its "negro population" south of the Mason-Dixon line. Of course, it goes without saying that those same captains of industry jumped on the bandwagon to exploit the situation and destroy the economies of the Southern States by pressing for emancipation, at a time when the South was unable to to adequately shift its mostly agrarian slave economy to a post-slavery industrialized status on short notice.

After all, no competition from the South is less competition to deal with, and the better to own thier sorry Southern (both white and black) butts with, no?

I'm sure George Soros knows a thing or two about being an extremely wealthy proletarian and lifting up the masses of cash from the wallets of those oppressive bourgeoisie workers, all while being a good little "liberal" tycoon.

[Ol' Jim, hisself]

I must be an idiot!

I read Zifnab's comments as a satire upon the racist Black Caucus in Pennsylvania that sees threats behind any statement that disagrees with them.

Seen in that light, his comments were actually pretty funny.

Maybe some of you need to get a sense of humor. . .

(and, before y'all start on me, I am politically to the right of Attila the hun!)

[templar knight]

You don't know Zif like the rest of us do, Jim.

[Phoenix]

Jim,

Zif has never made a 'funny' remark on this blog. He also consistently misses all of Dan's satire. He's a proverbial wet blanket.

[rightwingprof]

I don't think racism has anything to do with it, but the sign is sheer idiocy, as are the death threats. And living in Pennsylvania, I do have a dog in this fight.