http://m.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/01/12/remarks-president-barack-obama-memorial-service-victims-shooting-tucson
His speech was meh. It wasn't the propaganda piece I expected, but it was a bit vague and... directionless. It wasn't too distasteful, which I appreciate. I was disappointed, though, that he did not quiet the audience's applause(as I was disappointed that the audience applauded at all).
The irony of this is that while conservatives are now upset at being blamed for the acts of an individual extremists, if this had been a guy with a Muslim name, the conservative pundits would've been first in line to bash Islam & Muslims as responsible.
Muslim name, eh? Is Loughner a "conservative name"? Was he spouting rightist propaganda or quoting the founders as he massacred innocents? Nope. Lil' different from the cases to which you refer.
I'll go ahead and say that, whenever a person(Arab name or not) starts shooting people while screaming 'allahu akbar', the "pundits"(and most otherwise clear-minded people) can pretty safely start assuming religious motives. Or were you on the lets-not-be-too-hasty bus with Hassan?
Loughner wasn't conservative, or liberal, or anything other than *broken*. At first, after reading about his grammar and currency conspiracies, if I had been asked to guess what his favorite radio show might be I'd have said Alex Jones... but we now know he didn't follow news, radio, or much of anything. He must have gone nuts all by himself, with no help from Rush.
I think some terms are so associated with certain political beliefs as to be irrevocably so associated. "Blood libel', despite any protests to the contrary, is associated with anti-Semitism, due to a centuries-long history of being so used in that specific context. If Governor Palin had been giving a speech about immigration and used the term 'lebensraum', would we we claim that she inadvertently used a term so associated with Nazi ideology, or was she sending a coded message? I would lean towards the latter, and I would say that about anyone on the political spectrum.
Coded message? You mean, dog-whistle politics?
What coded message might Palin be sending with "blood libel"(or did you even mean to imply that?)?
I don't take issue with her use of the term, and I don't think Jews should either. Indeed, one might think a Jew would have a strong understanding of politically-motivated fabrications, and perhaps empathize with an individual suffering them. I think she could maybe have chosen a better term, but let's be honest - something else would've been chosen to pick on. Or, as ABC put it, she would've found another way to insert herself into the story :rolleyes:
MillCreek, do you think Palin was correct in her statements?