When news broke that a West Hollywood couple had hung a Sarah Palin effigy by a noose outside their home as part of a Halloween display, the blogosphere could hardly contain itself. Although many bloggers agreed that the effigy was not a crime, there was a general feeling that it was in bad taste.
Jordanian blogger Camel's Nose felt that Barack Obama himself should have stood up against the incident:
Whatever you think of Sarah Palin’s politics, there is no excuse for the hate speech that has been unleashed against her. The latest is some guy in West Hollywood, California, Chad Michael Morrisette, who thinks hanging Sarah Palin with a noose makes for good art. Is anyone else as dumbfounded by this as I am? Here is the link.
Listen to the video too. The guy who put it up, Chad Michael Morrisette, says:
I know if we had done it with Barack Obama people probably would have thrown things through our windows…I mean, the image of a hanged black man is a LOT more intense than the image of a hanged white woman…
I am thinking of one person who has the eloquence to talk about this disgraceful episode in the way it deserves to be talked about.
Commenter Heather is not impressed with the quote by Morrisette:
I think it is misogynistic. Listen to Chad Michael Morrissette’s own words. It is “more intense†to depict a black man hung by a noose than a white woman because of “our history.†It is obviously correct that black men have been murdered by racists through lynching. But “our history†is also stinking with violence against women, and worse, the complacency about it by people like the “artist†Morrissette. This complacency is why women are still murdered, why girls are sexually assaulted, why women and girls are still used in sexual slavery. Putting Palin in a noose is VERY intense, Chad Michael.
The Canadian Sentinel thinks that the outrage against the incident would be much bigger were the effigy of Obama rather than Palin:
Wouldn't there be a much bigger outrage and uproar if it was Obama who was lynched or burned alive in effigy?
Oh… I see… it is, however, ok to lynch, in effigy, a “white”, conservative, Christian woman and to depict an elderly “white” war hero being burned alive, as far as the “artist” is concerned…
The hatefulness of the Far Left knows no boundaries; nothing's too taboo for them- they'll be anything bad/evil if it advances their radically extreme agenda… They're sooo racist, sexist, you name it!
Clearly, this can be considered incitement to deadly violence… the psychotic, hateful, “progressive” “artist” responsible for this so-called “free speech” (is it simply “free speech” to incite murder, or is it a crime?) should be appropriately charged and dealt with. A strong, unmistakable message ought to be sent so as to make it clear that Free World elections are to be free of intimidation and incitement to violence, something the Far Left seems to think is ok…
Saying “It's Halloween, dude, so it's ok” doesn't make it ok
French blogger and McCain supporter Le blog drzz sees hypocrisy as well:
Un homosexuel habitant a West Hollywood, en Californie, a exposé devant sa maison un mannequin représentant la candidate à la vice-présidence républicaine pendue haut et court[..] Pendant ce temps, n'importe quel loser alcoolique qui crache sur Obama dans son patelin perdu du Colorado ou du Tennessee est immédiatement jeté dans un pénitencier par le FBI…
Incidentally, the owners of the home have commented to the L.A. Times.
9 comments
Forget liberal or conservative arguments of who is “meaner”. Free speech is one thing but here are a couple of “designers” looking for a little publicity and calling this art. How about I hang an effigy of Chad by his hanging chad out my window? Would that be art? Would that be calling forth a history of hate crimes? Why not get to the hear of it and hang an effigy of Uncle Sam? Democrat or Republican we are in a pickle here and “art” won’t change that. Can these guys even vote?
I don’t like Palin and her behaviour in not inciting hatred against Obama and not challenging people who shouted “kill him” is despicable, but two wrongs don’t make a right and i agree hanging an effigy of her is taking things too far (though it’s probably hatred for her actions and neither racism nor sexism)
There’s a simple reason why an effigy of Obama being hung would be much worse though – because black people were lynched by white people for centuries in the US and in living memory around 30 years ago.
agh i meant ‘her behaviour in inciting hatred against Obama’
If a black dummy, Barack Obama, was lynched for Halloween,
cries of racism would be dominating the mainstream media!!!
Hey Duncan,
How about Mr. Obama not challenging the people who hung her in effigy??? Didn’t the Secret Service investigate the “kill him” allegations and discover it to be bogus? Hmmm, don’t think Sarah Palin has been treated fairly by any of you bozos. If I were her I wouldn’t want the job, what a bunch of disgusting creeps coming out of the woodwork to try and destroy her. She doesn’t deserve the treatment she’s gotten.
Take a hard look at Obama and tell me what in the world he has done to deserve this job. He hasn’t accomplished one blasted thing of value. Sarah Palin is miles ahead of him in accomplishment and executive experience.
Ah the hollywood LA crowd where that truck driver was pulled out of his truck and beaten savagely by a group of blacks one stood on his neck while another hit him in the head tramatized he forgave his attackers then sued La and LOST!!! OJ Simpson after he stabbed and decapitated two whites adoring thongs shouted go OJ go! Johnnie Cochran turning around to Goldman family in court and saying gotcha. Memories brought on by the quiet tolerance of hatred again for whites in this country. we the middle class taxpaying nothing serfs .
So you thought the sight of a white woman hanging wasnt a hate crime? Festive and Helloweeny And you see Obama as the man who most sees things the way you do Interesting. Racism is not tolerated by the just and the innocent.
No one has a voice without a vote!
Obama 08, fools!!!
As for the Canadian Sentinel..the same type of effigy was hanging from a woman’s porch in the California area, I believe it was…whereever it was, it happened. For a media company to be ignorant about the news is unforgiveable, when you are most OBVIOUSLY backing the “right” conservative agenda.
If you are against the effigy, it should have nothing to do with politics, someone’s politics should be fodder for any type of criticism. However, if it is the underlying meaning of the effigy, you are ACTUALLY concerned about, then the tone of your argument should be against racists and sexists…certainly certainly not Democrats or liberals.
And let us not forget, that Sarah Palin is the very person who started this negative campaigning, this hate speech, the very thing that is inciting all of this negativity towards her is what she started. She was the love of America prior to showing her true and ignorant colors.
So blame not the left…
…and her introduction into the McCain campaign is one of the paramount reasons that his campaign had no legs and he lost the Presidency to the man who is about to change America, and return it to its superpower status…President Barack Obama!