Someone forgot their Halloween Manners.
Halloween is not about you. About your political beliefs or mis-beliefs.
People who will hang in effigy- Governor Palin- you need to put an ad in the lost and found. You have lost your common sense.
Perhaps you don't have the compassion of my chihuahuas. When you put that noose around her neck- you may as well have put it around every middle class traditional woman in this nation. You showed contempt for every conservative woman in this nation. You think that kind of arrogance makes you look good? Think again.
Take the doll down. Or don't tell me your candidate stands for hope and change.Don't tell me about the mean Republicans.
Senator McCain and senior spokespeople have been very clear to their supporters- treat Obama, Biden and the families with respect. I'm waiting Senator Obama. Where is your outrage about this? Or is it reserved for people who stand in the way of your ambition?
To the "installation artists"- I have posted these photographs so you can see the kind of Halloween party decoration that celebrates the holiday. Which if you aren't celebrating- you aren't participating in a holiday.
About the time I was married, a brother of a woman I knew was murdered. He was a teacher here in California. His sister told me it was a witches ceremony for Halloween. His body was drained of blood. So don't give me excuses about how what you did is "art". Art is not synonymous with hateful bad taste.
We need more people like you. It seems that the people who want to destroy us are getting way to much control in our goverment. Why do so many people feel that we as a country deserve what we got plus alot more?
ReplyDeleteThank you.
ReplyDeleteThere is not enough discussion about what is the domain of Caesar and what is the Domain of God.
In a secular society, government is seen as the head of the house, the provider. I disagree that is healthy.
As a people, the case might be made that we have replaced racial and ethnic segregation with political segregation. Very often these lines are demarcated along urban/ suburban/ rural living choices.
The embracing of guerilla marketing techniques for political purposes has exasperated coarsening of the dialogue.
I could write for weeks on end about how the breakdown of journalistic ethics and responsibility as one of the saddest changes in our civic life.
The short overaching reason: Everyone is plain too busy. We need to slow down. Think things out. Remember not everyone thinks as we do. Not everyone can be reasoned with. We need to give proper consideration to the law of unintended consequences. Good intentions do not always lead to good results.
And not everything that gets broken can be fixed. Fortunately, it can usually be rethought. But at what cost?
However this election breaks down- what I hope will come from it is a reawakening of intellectual curiosity.
Lydia,
ReplyDeleteI received an email from a friend today who called the mayor's office in West Hollywood. Here is the email I wrote back to him:
Val,
Thank you for sending this email. As soon as I read it I picked up the phone and called the West Hollywood mayor's office. It took a while for them to answer as they being inundated with calls. The gentleman was very nice and polite and agreed with everything I said. I did tell him at the end of the conversation that I have been working hard on this campaign and as a good Republican I value property rights and that homeowner's rights to do what he wants that's within the law on his own property. I told him that when I saw that doll hanging there the first thing I thought of was if that had been an Obama doll hanging there, the house would more than likely have been burned down! There would have been such an outcry! He agreed. The homeowner is not taking it down. I told him I just wanted him to know this did not do much for the West Hollywood reputation even tho I know there is nothing they can do about it. I said that people all over our country are outraged by this! He agreed.
Lydia, my Arkansas cousin wrote to me and told me that if that had been an Obama doll,the home owner would have been arrested for a HATE CRIME! Oh why didn't I think of that!! I would have dropped that one on the mayor's office! We live in a double standard society!!
Thanks for writing about this topic, Lydia!
XO Trisha
I think Hate Crime legislation is well-intended- however an incident such as this should illustrate why it was not universally praised. If we are all equal under the law, then crimes against any individual adult should be prosecuted the same.
ReplyDeleteWhere a difference is appropriate is where there is a factual power difference. Crimes against children, the elderly and the physically impaired deserve greater consequences.
I think the "artists" intended the display to get the attention it did. If so- they deserve the bill for what it cost their fellow citizens to provide protection and field calls at City Hall.
Bravo! Send this to Letters to the Editor!!
ReplyDeleteSue
Lydia,
ReplyDeleteI loved your commentary - you say it like it is and stand by your convictions.
Thank you. Your words are encouraging. Maybe some day we will meet in person.
ReplyDeleteThat display should have been condemned and damned by ALL that saw it.
ReplyDeleteTo me it was not funny and contributes to 'Hate', Fears and Division of community and Nation.
This fellow should have been 'made' to take it down and the Secret Service called in to explain that things like this could be considered as 'Domestic Terrorism' or an incitement of same.
G
Interesting point. Political speech is protected. Halloween speech.???
ReplyDeleteWe all make mistakes. What offended me most was the lack of contrition by someone who would hang an effigy of a real, specific living person- and be totally lacking introspection for the harm they caused.