I stopped reading Rusty’s comments when he said it was acceptable to bash people because of their skin color.

I don’t say that. I say the opposite. Huh?

But I don’t hold his comments against Michelle.

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Agreed. I think that the issue doesn’t bear censure so much as it simply raises the question that Michelle started out with:

Why would you take an action, however tongue-in-cheek, that is very likely to alienate some large portion of the 51% of America that seem to be non-liberal (roughly the folks that put W in office twice now)? If you’re not a political site, and you live largely on ad dollars, why in the world would you do that? The liberals have been a minority lately, all MSM volume to the contrary. So, sure, it’s a joke, but it’s just bad business, as MM pointed out at the top.

Rusty, the point, as I see it, is not that there is a threat of imminent violence to the conservatives pictured. What you recently said is correct as far as “Take my wife… please,” being a joke and not serious. I think most of realize that this is a joke and Frauenfelder was not actually put a hit out Michelle and the rest of the group. My problem with this is that a website that has nothing to do with politics is using their site as a soapbox from which they are making such (tasteless) jokes about a group of conservatives.

bear, good info. For what it’s worth, I would point out, however, that the the parties were much different at that time and the names aren’t that relevant in terms of comparing the respective political ideologies of politicians over time.

governmentdrone, sometimes it’s okay to concede a point.

Hate speech is hate speech. Period.

Rusty, you can’t right past wrongs by doing wrong to a group of people now.

First off, no one did anything to anyone. It was a joke.

Hate speech is hate speech? What? You don’t see the contextual difference there? Humor doesn’t work on some kind of categorical imperative. History and stereotypes make every joke and comment different. So, yeah, “hanging” a bunch of conservative pundits is merely a double-entendre on the word “hang.” A joke about hanging black people brings to mind the centuries of terrorism black people faced if they so much as looked at a white woman.

You can call me cheap, but you can’t do the same to a group of Jewish people. You can call me lazy, but you can’t do the same to a group of Hispanics. And on and on.

These double-standards aren’t mine. They’re society’s. And if you really think the line “they had me at the first seven words!” is hate speech, then you are probably the least funny person on the planet. If the humor is a little dark for you, fine. But “hate speech?”

On October 4th, 2007 at 2:53 pm, Rusty said:
Gvmtdrone, the situation would obviously be different if it were a group of black people.

Why?

Hate speech is hate speech. Period.

Rusty, you can’t right past wrongs by doing wrong to a group of people now.

Wrong is wrong, no matter the time or place.

Your double standards, and rationalizing of them are mind blowing to say the least.

“May we also suggest: Ann Coulter Poster”
The Ann Coulter poster is yours. Take it. Rape it.

How pathetic.

Jokes, every joke ever, depends on the context of a situation. If America had a history of lynching conservative pundits, I would have been infuriated at the Boing Boing joke.

I mean, do you get offended every time you hear “Take my wife…please” because it endorses wife-swapping and/or adultery? Or do you think it’s just a silly joke? The context of the comment (here being an unexpected addition to a popular phrase) makes the joke (arguably) funny.

Or how about “Women, can’t live with them and murder is illegal.” Is that offensive because it implies people want to murder women? Or is it funny because the second part of the phrase goes counter to the listener’s expectations? If you have a sense of humor, the latter.

I mean, “Do they sell bundles with dart sets too” is being used here as an example of a comment going too far. As if using a conservative poster as a dart set is an implicit threat to impale Robert Novak with a projectile spear.

Come on people! Have a laugh! Even at your own expense! If you want to make a funny joke about me being a troll, go right ahead. If we lose our sense of humor we have nothing left.

The webmaster is in woeful need of a history lesson.

And, yes, I’m way too old to spend as much time as I do playing online video games … but once my wife and kids are in bed, there are still several hours available every single night … it’s so hard to resist!

It’s Ok as long as the three of you aren’t in mom’s basement…

No particular significance to ‘pwned’, if that’s what you’re asking. As Rusty points out, it’s a slip for ‘owned’, as ‘teh’ is to ‘the’. Often on online communities (multiplayer online games, for example), both ‘teh’ and ‘pwned’ are used widely, often where the speaker is assumed to be (or posing as) as a tween or teen. As another poster noted earlier, ‘teh’ can connote a bit of extra emphasis, and the same goes for ‘pwned’ … tends to mean “I OWNED YOU!” as in, “I completely and utterly defeated you in that argument / online battle / or just generally in how great I am.”

In other words, it tends to be slightly offensive, in that it’s boastful, but it’s often just good-natured ribbing as well.

And, yes, I’m way too old to spend as much time as I do playing online video games … but once my wife and kids are in bed, there are still several hours available every single night … it’s so hard to resist!