More Hate Speech - This Time In MY Backyard!
By anniepa
@anniepa (27955)
United States
October 14, 2008 8:19pm CST
I have to admit to feeling a bit of pride recently upon hearing and reading so much about my local area, mostly because Democratic V.P. nominee Joe Biden is from nearby Scranton, Pa. and former Presidential candidate Senator Hillary Clinton also has strong ties to the area. It's been kind of neat to watch the LOCAL news to see reports of Bill and Hillary Clinton and Jill and Joe Biden making an appearance less than an hour from my house. Hey, what can I say, I'm a bitter, small town Pennsylvania girl, we don't get too many big time candidates or former Presidents coming to the neighborhood!
The Clintons and the Bidens were in Scranton Sunday afternoon and spoke to a large supportive crowd, then this afternoon Sarah Palin and Alaska "First Dude" Todd appeared at the very same place, the Riverfront Sports Complex. On Sunday the "stars" of the show were preceded by Scranton Mayor Chris Dougherty, Representative Paul Kanjorski, Senator Bob Casey (also a Scranton native) and Representative Chris Carney and today the crowd was warmed up by Carney's opponent Chris Hackett. It was while Hackett spoke and before Palin entered the building, or at least came onstage, that an audience member shouted the now somewhat familiar "KILL HIM!" It should be noted there had been no mention of Bill Ayers or anyone else before this outburst so it's pretty clear who the person was referring to. Today I'm not so proud of at least one person who may be from my part of the country. Let's hope he's a visitor from a Red State!
http://www.thetimes-tribune.com/articles/2008/10/14/news/doc48f4ba8994588930223377.txt
This time I actually heard it from someone who was there as well as hearing it on the radio, seeing it on TV and seeing it online in the above article among other sources. A worker at the hospital where my mother is a patient, a woman with children, had attended the rally and had been undecided because she had been "semi-impressed" with Palin. She's not undecided anymore nor is she at all impressed with Palin or McCain, "semi" or otherwise.
Not to surprisingly, just yesterday at a rally in Virginia Beach with both McCain and Palin a supporter hollered "Obama Been Lyin'" well within earshot of both of them and nothing was said at all. I have no link for this so far but I heard it with my own ears on TV. Of course, there's no evidence anything bad was meant by that, right...lol?
Any thoughts?
Annie
4 people like this
10 responses
@kenzie45230 (3560)
• United States
15 Oct 08
My thoughts? McCain and Palin are not inciting these people. These people are wrong. But they are like many of us...wanting to know how in the world a man could possibly associate with a known terrorist who hates America. How could that man allow this terrorist (and his wife, also a terrorist) help him start his campaign?
I'd also like to know why Obama cannot apologize for the comment made in one of his campaign commercials about McCain's inability to use the computer....when it was discovered that the reason isn't his "old age" but his war injuries?
Obama doesn't answer any of the important questions. And that scares me.
But people should not be saying, "Kill him" about anyone.
4 people like this
@xfahctor (14118)
• Lancaster, New Hampshire
15 Oct 08
The guy/girl was an idiot. Plain and simple. And I absolutely detest that kind of talk. It is inexcusable, shameful and an embarrassment to this country.
However, If your friend is going to let the actions of a few stupid people in an audience decide her vote for her, then she should just do the country a favor on election day and stay home no matter who she was going to vote for. Lets talk hate speech a minute shall we? It was perfectly alright for people to refer to Bush as terrorist, burn him in effigy, call for his execution or assassination. It was perfectly alright for people to refer to Palin as "that hockey slu-t" or for people to suggest she be tied to a tree and shot from a helicopter? It was perfectly alright for people to wish for Tony Snows cancer to return and kill him, got their wish didn't they. It was perfectly alright for people to refer to Condoleza Rice and "Bush's N****R". Of course none of that was at all offensive or uncalled for.
Bottom line is, the left is finally getting a taste of what those on the right have been dealing with for the last 8 years. Bitter pill to swallow isn't it? Again, this is absolutely NO different, I defy ANYONE to tell me this is somehow different. How is calling for Bush's assassination different from calling for Obama's? Please, I'm dieing to know this, I'm absolutely on the edge of my seat waiting for someone to tell me how this is different
The left has been sewing seeds of absolute vile hatred for years and is now reaping what they have sewn.
3 people like this
@philjas (1134)
• United States
15 Oct 08
It's always wrong to call for anyone to be killed, but, the difference is that Bush has "earned" this hate by being in office for eight years. The hate directed at Obama is primarily because of the name his father happened to have which was given to him. I mean honestly, do you think these people screaming "Kill Him" are saying that because they don't think his economic plan is really going to work? They believe he's a Muslim, which to them automatically means terrorist. That's where their hate comes from. And most of these people, you betcha, are "good" Christians who are Republicans largely because of that. That's the really sad thing about it.
3 people like this
@collieluv28 (388)
• United States
15 Oct 08
I really do believe that McCain & especially Palin are egging the audience on with their negative talk about Obama. They are truly taking the low road & by not saying anything about it, they are condoning it. At least McCain did defend Obama the other day when someone in the crowd called Obama an Arab. But the campaign started this & it needs to stop. They are only hurting themselves!
3 people like this
@ZephyrSun (7381)
• United States
15 Oct 08
Well here's the "Obamas Bin Lying" as it was yelled in a rally. I seen on MSNBC tonight the rally where the McCainics were holding signs saying "Obamas Bin Lying".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4OXVp9iZYs
My mom was a McCain supporter until all the hate McCain supporters have been screaming. I guess they are clueless that it turns off undecided voters and Independents. I just hope that all this hate goes away after all of this is over with.
3 people like this
@chameleonsdream (1230)
• United States
15 Oct 08
I don't think they care. Palin's response to Rush Limbaugh this afternoon when he asked if the McCain campaign has pretty much turned her loose to say whatever she wants was "I've got nothing to lose." She's right - except McCain's election.
1 person likes this
@philjas (1134)
• United States
15 Oct 08
Hi Annie,
I'm from a little closer to Scranton than you are. I've been avoiding the local news today actually but I am so sick of seeing Palin rallies on TV, I'm glad the one in Scranton didn't go too crazy, save for that one "kill him!" from the crowd during Hackett's speech. Hackett/Carney are my district, like Palin, Hackett is a right wing "family values" candidate so it's no wonder he drummed up one of those moral family values calls to murder, huh? 
I wish Obama would come here, Scranton was totally Hillary country during the primaries; however, her supporters there seem to be supporting Obama now.
I wish Obama would come here, Scranton was totally Hillary country during the primaries; however, her supporters there seem to be supporting Obama now.
3 people like this
@ZephyrSun (7381)
• United States
15 Oct 08
Yes most of us Hillary supporters are. Obama is actually in my area this week. He has been in the city and suburbs going door to door talking to people. The local news have shown him actually knocking on people's doors. They even seem to like him in the Republican areas.
1 person likes this
@anniepa (27955)
• United States
16 Oct 08
Gotta love those values candidates and voters! I have as many family values as the next person but they're somehow quite different from these folks.
Thanks for your response, fellow Pa. member! If you don't mind saying, where are you from? I'm in Berwick.
Annie
@bobmnu (8157)
• United States
15 Oct 08
It seems that we are talking about some isolated comments vs a systematic pattern of attack. Nobody can control a person who wants to shout out a vicious comment and to expect the candidate to condemn each comment is foolish. It is different when a candidate is facing an organized attack. The candidates should not do things that show support for groups that engage in the Smear attacks.
2 people like this
@philjas (1134)
• United States
15 Oct 08
The most bothersome about this happening at Sarah Palin's rallies is perhaps that she SAYS NOTHING when people shout out "kill him" and such. However she was very quick to pounce on some people in one of her crowds the other day when she thought they were disagreeing with her (in actual fact that were merely screaming "Louder!" because they couldn't hear her, but she misunderstood and took them to be protestors.) So think about that for a minute: if someone screams something hateful about her opponents she just carries on, but if someone screams a disagreement to her opinion, she spontaneously shouts back at them. What does that say about her?
2 people like this
@Bd200789 (2994)
• United States
15 Oct 08
I'm not at all surprised by anything said at a McCain/Palin rally anymore. It is sad that nearly fifty years after the Civil Rights era we still have people saying things like that. If someone had said it at an Obama/Biden rally about McCain, it would be told everywhere. But, at least around here, nobody seems to care.
1 person likes this
@devylan (695)
• United States
16 Oct 08
Wow, that is so scary. I finally got to see a clip of McCain basically apologizing for the audience members' remarks regarding Obama, and I got to hear different supporters stand up and speak in McCain's microphone. It's so scary to realize how many people are still that ignorant in the year 2008. I almost felt sorry for McCain, until I realized that he played to these people, and he knew what he was doing the entire time, despite his so-called "erratic" behavior.
