10-22-2008, 12:00 AM
EDITORIAL
Cullowhee incident an outrage at every level
ù published October 22, 2008 12:15 am
Comments on Topix forums (click to comment):
Read all 29 comments ¯
If the person or persons who killed a 75-pound bear cub, draped Obama posters on its body and then dumped it on the campus of Western Carolina University were trying to shock and horrify, it's fair to say they were highly successful.
If they were trying to make a political statement, they failed miserably.
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First, it's not clear what statement they were trying to make.
Was this a veiled threat against Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's life? Was it a pro-gun, pro-hunting, pro-Gov. Sarah Palin statement?
What to make of it?
Palin's photo with a caribou she killed has been publicized as part of the McCain-Palin campaign. Was it a protest against fears flamed by the National Rifle Association that Obama will take guns from hunters, which he has clearly said time after time that he will not do?
Even if the intended political statement were clear as glass, it is lost in the disgust any humane person feels for the brutal, despicable act the perpetrator or perpetrators committed.
Bear season is under way in North Carolina and the kill may have been legal, though it is illegal to kill cubs that weigh less than 50 pounds.
But the killer's or killers' disrespect for the animal whose life he or they took dishonors the tradition of hunting and shames any worthy hunter.
The deeper concern, however, is that any person who is willing to kill an innocent - human or animal - to make a political point is a terrorist, plain and simple.
Such individuals are a danger to society and should be treated as such under the law.
It's unfair to lay such reprehensible behavior at the feet of the McCain campaign. But the campaign needs to do more to quell the wrath increasingly in evidence at town hall meetings and other rallies featuring Palin and/or McCain as polls show the ticket falling behind.
The rhetoric McCain and especially Palin use as they attack Obama does little to discourage it.
A negatively charged environment
On Oct. 6 in New Mexico, McCain asked a crowd "Who is Barack Obama?" Someone yelled "terrorist." McCain paused, then continued on without responding.
On the same day in Florida, Palin told a crowd that one of Obama's earliest supporters was a man named Bill Ayers.
"And, according to the New York Times, he was a domestic terrorist and part of a group that, quote, `launched a campaign of bombings that would target the Pentagon and our U.S. Capitol.'"
The crowd booed and someone in the audience yelled "kill him."
Character attacks
Ayers was a member of the Weather Underground in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He's now an education professor at a Chicago university. Obama served on a Chicago charitable board with him and has condemned his past activities which, as Obama has pointed out, occurred when he was 8 years old.
Several days later, McCain contradicted a woman at a town hall meeting when she said she didn't trust Obama.
"I've read about him and he's an Arab," she said.
"No ma'am, no ma'am," McCain said. "He's a decent family man...[a] citizen that I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues. That's what this campaign is all about."
If that's the case, McCain and Palin should focus on issues and abandon their attempts at character assassination.
`Another destructive period'
"What I am seeing reminds me too much of another destructive period in American history," Rep John Lewis, D-Ga., said in a statement. "Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin are sowing the seeds of hatred and division, and there is no need for this hostility in our political discourse."
Lewis went on to say that George Wallace never threw a bomb or fired a gun, "but he created the climate and the conditions that encouraged vicious attacks against innocent Americans who were simply trying to exercise their constitutional rights."
The McCain campaign cried foul, demanding an apology and calling Lewis' remarks a "character attack" that is "shocking and beyond the pale."
Lewis later issued a statement saying he did not compare Sen. John McCain or Gov. Sarah Palin to George Wallace.
"My statement was a reminder to all Americans that toxic language can lead to destructive behavior," Lewis said. "I am glad that Sen. McCain has taken some steps to correct divisive speech at his rallies. I believe we need to return to civil discourse in this election about the pressing economic issues that are affecting our nation."
We couldn't agree more.
It was an innocent bear cub that lost its life this time as some deranged person or persons expressed their political rage. Next time, it could be an innocent person.
www.citizen-times.com Asheville , NC 10/22/08
Oh Yeah , people. Even though I am disillusioned with religion , I am disgusted with the talk that , 'no , he's not a MUSLIM , HE'S A DECENT HUMAN BEING' . This is FI at it's worst.
Cullowhee incident an outrage at every level
ù published October 22, 2008 12:15 am
Comments on Topix forums (click to comment):
Read all 29 comments ¯
If the person or persons who killed a 75-pound bear cub, draped Obama posters on its body and then dumped it on the campus of Western Carolina University were trying to shock and horrify, it's fair to say they were highly successful.
If they were trying to make a political statement, they failed miserably.
Advertisement
First, it's not clear what statement they were trying to make.
Was this a veiled threat against Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's life? Was it a pro-gun, pro-hunting, pro-Gov. Sarah Palin statement?
What to make of it?
Palin's photo with a caribou she killed has been publicized as part of the McCain-Palin campaign. Was it a protest against fears flamed by the National Rifle Association that Obama will take guns from hunters, which he has clearly said time after time that he will not do?
Even if the intended political statement were clear as glass, it is lost in the disgust any humane person feels for the brutal, despicable act the perpetrator or perpetrators committed.
Bear season is under way in North Carolina and the kill may have been legal, though it is illegal to kill cubs that weigh less than 50 pounds.
But the killer's or killers' disrespect for the animal whose life he or they took dishonors the tradition of hunting and shames any worthy hunter.
The deeper concern, however, is that any person who is willing to kill an innocent - human or animal - to make a political point is a terrorist, plain and simple.
Such individuals are a danger to society and should be treated as such under the law.
It's unfair to lay such reprehensible behavior at the feet of the McCain campaign. But the campaign needs to do more to quell the wrath increasingly in evidence at town hall meetings and other rallies featuring Palin and/or McCain as polls show the ticket falling behind.
The rhetoric McCain and especially Palin use as they attack Obama does little to discourage it.
A negatively charged environment
On Oct. 6 in New Mexico, McCain asked a crowd "Who is Barack Obama?" Someone yelled "terrorist." McCain paused, then continued on without responding.
On the same day in Florida, Palin told a crowd that one of Obama's earliest supporters was a man named Bill Ayers.
"And, according to the New York Times, he was a domestic terrorist and part of a group that, quote, `launched a campaign of bombings that would target the Pentagon and our U.S. Capitol.'"
The crowd booed and someone in the audience yelled "kill him."
Character attacks
Ayers was a member of the Weather Underground in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He's now an education professor at a Chicago university. Obama served on a Chicago charitable board with him and has condemned his past activities which, as Obama has pointed out, occurred when he was 8 years old.
Several days later, McCain contradicted a woman at a town hall meeting when she said she didn't trust Obama.
"I've read about him and he's an Arab," she said.
"No ma'am, no ma'am," McCain said. "He's a decent family man...[a] citizen that I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues. That's what this campaign is all about."
If that's the case, McCain and Palin should focus on issues and abandon their attempts at character assassination.
`Another destructive period'
"What I am seeing reminds me too much of another destructive period in American history," Rep John Lewis, D-Ga., said in a statement. "Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin are sowing the seeds of hatred and division, and there is no need for this hostility in our political discourse."
Lewis went on to say that George Wallace never threw a bomb or fired a gun, "but he created the climate and the conditions that encouraged vicious attacks against innocent Americans who were simply trying to exercise their constitutional rights."
The McCain campaign cried foul, demanding an apology and calling Lewis' remarks a "character attack" that is "shocking and beyond the pale."
Lewis later issued a statement saying he did not compare Sen. John McCain or Gov. Sarah Palin to George Wallace.
"My statement was a reminder to all Americans that toxic language can lead to destructive behavior," Lewis said. "I am glad that Sen. McCain has taken some steps to correct divisive speech at his rallies. I believe we need to return to civil discourse in this election about the pressing economic issues that are affecting our nation."
We couldn't agree more.
It was an innocent bear cub that lost its life this time as some deranged person or persons expressed their political rage. Next time, it could be an innocent person.
www.citizen-times.com Asheville , NC 10/22/08
Oh Yeah , people. Even though I am disillusioned with religion , I am disgusted with the talk that , 'no , he's not a MUSLIM , HE'S A DECENT HUMAN BEING' . This is FI at it's worst.