Have you read/seen Julius Caesar? It's hardly pro-assassination. The Senators kill Caesar because they think he's going to become a tyrant and it ends up destroying the Republic. Besides, it's art. I'm far less concerned about this kind of thing than I am about fake news stories about how Hillary Clinton is running a human trafficking and pedophilia ring out of her campaign headquarters. Good at makes you think. Fake news just enrages people.Philip wrote:It's not. What is wrong is to tie an assassination to a living political figure, with all of the implications of that. Are people thinking Trump - or ANY president (unless they are a Hitler figure) is worthy of assassination???!!! Is that a symbolism that is moral to portray?
Same theater group, same play. Obama was murdered by Tea Part Republicans rather than Trump by liberal Democrats, but otherwise it's the same.Philip wrote:I'm not familiar with that - but if it was done in the very same manner, I'd say it's a terrible things. Right and wrong doesn't change per one's race, political or whatever other affiliation.
I don't have a problem with either play, really. I agree with the guy who wrote that American Conservative article. The real scandal is that the cowardly sponsors caved to a fake outrage campaign.
Glad to hear it, but unfortunately it seems like your news sources are withholding information that doesn't fit their narrative. I'd love to see more conservatives of conscience calling out hypocrisy wherever it rears its ugly head, but in order to do that you have to know about it. If you get all of your news from conservative sources you'll never have all of the facts, so the other side will always seem incompetent, stupid, or evil. Context is important.Philip wrote:Not for TRUE conservatives of conscience! Wrong is WRONG!
First off, Sanders wasn't talking about "Christians" or "public office," he was talking about one guy and a high level government job. And as a guy who wants my secular government to stay secular I appreciate his line of questioning, even if it was pointless, which I'm pretty sure it was.Philip wrote:So, Ed, in the current context, as to what Bernie said about Christians being unsuited for public office, with "art" like the NY play showing Trump's ("Caesar's") assassination, the dumb redhead with the severed Trump head - are these not terribly wrong? Are they not dangerous? And you can plug in any background, person or political affiliation and I would denounce these same kinds of things as horribly wrong and dangerous.
So no, I don't think that's wrong or dangerous, but then I'm an atheist in America. I'm used to hostility, distrust, and irritating questions being directed my way. As I previously said, there are states, today in America in 2017, that literally have laws barring people like me from giving sworn testimony or holding public office. Sure, they're not enforced, but they're still there and they're indicative of a great deal distrust and hostility coming our way from the Christian majority. So when conservative Christians lose their [poop] because a Senator that they hate asks a question that offends them I'm not impressed. I'm not sure if the outrage is contrived or if you guys are really that thin-skinned, but what Bernie said isn't a big deal. I don't understand why conservative Christians feel so insecure about their place in America.
Regarding the play, as I said, I was fine with it in 2012 and I'm fine with it now.
The dumb redhead? No, she's harmless, too. It was in poor taste and not funny, but harmless. It's no worse than that time Ted Nugent went on Mike Huckabee's show and called for President Obama to be assassinated and the Huckster, righteous man of God that he is, just let it slide.
As I said, what concerns me is fake news, and hyperbolic hysteria from pundits who present themselves as journalists. Bernie's comments, Trump Caesar, and Kathy Griffin's gaffe aren't nearly as big a deal as is the fact that there are pundits who make a living taking incidents like those and using them to create fear, distrust, and outrage.
Please, Phil. FOX News knew about the 2012 version of Julius Caesar. They knew that the conservative outrage over liberals making a show of assassinating Trump was complete [nonsense]. They knew that, Phil, but they cranked the outrage generator to 11 and did their damndest to infuriate people about it. They didn't give a [poop] about the truth, they just wanted the rage. And I've been watching them do precisely that for years. And they're tame compared to Limbaugh, Alex Jones, and all of the angry bloggers who give B.W. and Abe their "news."Philip wrote:And, obviously, most of the media wants to selectively play up the crazies on the right, but not on the left. That same charge can be accurately leveled at many in the conservative media - but to a far lesser degree. The media doesn't do NUANCES, it mostly does marketing - playing to it's perceived audience and demographics - it's about ratings, circulation and money. Truth and balance - forgetaboutit! Moral relativism rules!
But I agree that nobody does much with nuance. Worst is that they tend to ignore context and history. Everything is the latest and greatest or the worst thing ever. The political party that lost the last election is always doomed forever, and every scandal is unprecedented, even if the same thing happened ten years ago. It's inexcusably lazy journalism.