Sarah Palin's Facebook Page Depicts Democrats in Crosshairs!!!!

[KatNotKathy]

That is a good point. The crosshairs aren't on politicians, just states. Clearly she wants those states destroyed.

 

[gnomon]

If we even knew that Palin had much of anything to do with this........

 

[KatNotKathy]

If we even knew that Palin had much of anything to do with this........

This is also a good point. Regardless, whoever did this, it was a stupid move, but I don't see it as anything too serious even given the current state of affairs.

 

[The Voice of Reason]

If we even knew that Palin had much of anything to do with this........

You mean, other than the fact that the third line down on the homepage is "Sarah Palin's Official PAC"?

Or the fact the paperwork filed in Washington, DC lists only the treasurer (Timothy Crawford) in order to try to hide who the officers of the PAC are?

Come on, Gnomon. I'm on record as saying that this is "much ado about nothing". I think the least that you could do is admit that she openly endorses the entire affair. It may not be her actual thoughts put on paper (not that one would need more than a Post-It note to capture all of that), but regardless of who came up with the idea, her website and her twitter account make it pretty obvious that she endorses and embraces it.

 

[Falvlun]

Well, consider the flabbergasting mutual. I know what her point is, but how you can say she's not joking about shooting people just blows my mind. Do you think those bumper stickers that say "I still miss my ex.... But my aim is improving" are metaphorical, too?

That would be an example of a pun, playing on the two different meanings of the word "miss". The bumper stickers are obviously meant to be a joke. And no one would think that the person displaying the bumper sticker actually did try to shoot her ex... so, doesn't that actually support my contention?

Saying that the crosshairs were a joke doesn't make any sense. What's funny about crosshairs? Nothing about the image says "ha ha". We are left with either a) she seriously meant the crosshairs to literally mean "go out and shoot people" or b) she seriously meant the gun language to be used as a metaphor for regrouping and continued fighting on health care. My wager is on (b).

Of course, I'm not saying that your average joe Repbulican is going to take her seriously, either.

Which is why I highly doubt such an image would actually incite someone to go do something violent, who hadn't already made plans to do so.

Palin's a poster child for the militia type element in USA.....
frankly I dont think we can take this as anythign but an incitement to violence....

The incitement to violence is the over-the-top rhetoric spewed over the past couple of months that has people believing that America will be utterly destroyed if health care reform passes. The creation of this seething, angry group of people has been carefully nurtured. If this image is the spark that blows the keg, then it's hardly the image's fault. The keg was bound to blow at some point.


And just as an addendum, it's pretty silly that this is graphic got the attention it recieved. These sort of nitpicky issues are what's keeping our government at a standstill, and the American people so bitterly and deeply divided. If nobody got all huffy about the image, then all the news stations wouldn't have picked it up. If anything, they are the ones giving this image a wider viewing audience, where it has more of a chance to push that one teetering person over the edge.

 

[Alceste]

To me, this is much ado about nothing.

If the crosshairs were superimposed over the faces of the politicians, then it would be different.

IMO, the list of names serves exactly the same symbolic purpose as faces would have, and has the additional benefit of providing a means by which her "targets" can be located. Not everybody recognizes faces, but just about any gun toting lunatic can find someone if they have a name, an occupation and a place of residence.

Which is why the anti-abortion people post lists of names and locations of abortion doctors, not just pictures of their faces.

 

[Alceste]

That is a good point. The crosshairs aren't on politicians, just states. Clearly she wants those states destroyed.

Now now, she says "taken", and the guns and targets implies "by force" (otherwise she'd have said "won").