Is this comedy, or is this inciting violence?
From the Washington Post:
A tidal wave of public outrage over bonus payments swamped American International Group yesterday. Hired guards stood watch outside the suburban Connecticut offices of AIG Financial Products, the division whose exotic derivatives brought the insurance giant to the brink of collapse last year. Inside, death threats and angry letters flooded e-mail inboxes. Irate callers lit up the phone lines. Senior managers submitted their resignations. Some employees didn't show up at all.
"It's a mob effect," one senior executive said. "It's putting people's lives in danger."
Are death threats funny?
Are they entertainment?
Sadly, they are for some.
4 comments:
From WaPo: "It's a mob effect," one senior executive said. "It's putting people's lives in danger."
As if foreclosures, caused by AIG irresponsible and reckless greed, putting families with children on the street due to job losses isn't putting lives in danger. And these families aren't getting bailout funds to hire security guards. Instant KARMA anyone?
Oh Mary, I'm so outraged by the swarthy response of these loonies who have been so badly treated just because they were stupid enough to be following the rules.
Normally I reserve my blog reading to bloggers who have enough balls to fully identify themselves and archive their material in a way that is easily searchable. Mary is the one exception to that rule. She deserves some attention, sitting in her little upside-down condo, on her own little island, watching the pretty sunset. Eden and Freedom for all.
Stick to the issues.
No ad hominem attacks.
These aren't death threats. The thing about Colbert, about all the best comedians, is that nothing is off limits. Colbert plays a fictional character, he's an actor. The satire was blatant in this clip. He was clearly joking and not seriously threatening anyone's life. He thinks they're scum but you think he really wanted to lead a mob with torches to AIG to kill them all with pitchforks?
Death threats were made? And that's because of Colbert and not because of what these people are doing? Besides, it sounds like that's rare. The majority seems to be "angry letters and phone calls" - are they surprised? Really?
Are the death threats right? No, but you can't blame some idiot's actions on a comedy clip. It's expected that the people watching your act are somewhat mentally sane and you can't be blamed when one of the millions turns out to be a nutcase.
Citizens receiving death threats from other citizens are never appropriate under any circumstance.
You say it's OK for an entertainer to incite anger and violence?
Surely you must think there should be limits.
It's interesting that the Left charges conservative talk radio entertainment with creating a hostile environment and inciting violence.
"You can't blame some idiot's actions" on something the individual hears a radio personality say. Right?
Can you name a comedian playing a liberal character calling for taking up arms, pitchforks in Colbert's case, and going after people?
I don't think that would go over too well. I don't think that would be considered entertainment.
Of course, ORGANIZED Leftist radicals have actually become violent in their efforts to subvert the U.S. government and target citizens.
Bill Ayers isn't a comedian, is he? I don't think the Weather Underground is a comedy troupe. The Weather Underground terrorists should have used the "entertainment" defense.
Post a Comment