Americans too often forget how ugly politics used to be. In the 19th century, “tarring and feathering” was just one terrible way among many of “making a point.” Drenching somebody in hot tar is painful; putting feathers on that someone and sending them running was humiliating, as well.
And a sign of horrid cruelty.
Politics, which (we should remind ourselves) is how we publicly decide who gets to use the awesome and awful powers of the state (itself known to be the cruelest of cold monsters), can’t help but conjure up hate and violence. We must remain vigilant against that tendency.
So the recent killing of a Democratic campaign manager’s cat — actually, his child’s pet — and its desecration with the word “liberal” marked on it, has a context.
But that context is no excuse. It’s an incredibly sick, deranged, hateful act. We should all hope justice prevails.
The campaign manager responded reasonably, condemning whoever did it without casting blame about blindly. Too bad I can’t say that about the comments to the article on ThinkProgress.org. Many commenters there blame all “conservatives,” right-wingers, Rush Limbaugh, et al.
Like racist rhetoric, this paints blame with a wide brush, holding a whole group of people responsible for what one person in that group does. Shameful. But it’s even a bit worse in this case, since the guilty person has not been caught, so we don’t even know who did it or whether that person was actually a “conservative.”
Isn’t it time to get past blind hatred of the “they”?
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.
12 replies on “Swinging a Dead Cat”
Here here!
The tone comes from the top of all of the parties and needs to be modified.
Mike
If the liberal had killed his own cat in order to be able to cry out, “Rush Limbaugh killed my cat!” I wouldn’t be surprised. It would not be the first — or the hundredth time — a liberal created false charges. The Nazis used to fabricate similar fantasies to spur hatred against the Jews quite frequently.
Hideous, I hope that the mentally ill criminal who perpetrated such a heinous act against a helpless blameless child’s beloved pet is caught and punished to the fullest extent of the law.
Funny. Here I am just as suspicious and jaded, for, like 2WAV, one of the first things that came to my mind is that this could be another manufactured crisis devised to attract press and create negative attention. Just because of all of the manufactured crisis that have gone before, every crisis is starting to feel false. And I know that one of the attributes of the Alinski plan from his book is to create disorder and cast doubt even in otherwise obvious events and institutions. Well I am there. I have doubt now about almost everything that comes from the left.
I deplore the act. I feel sad for the family, whether they were victimized by a nutball, or whether they were “sacrificed for the good of the party” as Stalin used to do.
And most cats are fiercely independent. Better suited to the conservative school of thought.
If a “conservative” lunatic did this, it doesn’t cast any blame on all the conservatives who didn’t do it. If, instead, it was a “liberal” lunatic doing it to smear conservatives, it does not cast blame on all the liberals who did not do it.
But thank goodness no one has suggested a libertarian could possibly do it. After all, we’re practically perfect in every way.
I am sorry to hear of this kind of treatment to anyone’s pet. It is a cruel and inhumane thing to do. My sympathies and prayers go out to the family.
I bet it is a lie but if it is true whoever did it should kill itself and rid the world of evil
The views/comments (on the “Progressive”) site are very reminiscent of the shooting of the Congreswoman in Arizona. Immediately, the left claimed it was a “right winger” spurned on by Sarah Palin ( and I am sure others) – when in reality, it was a fellow with mental issues, who ahd no real political views, except somewhat half baked Marzxism.
The liberals screamed for “more civility’ in politics, but from the top down, show none.
‘Jaded’ doesn’t begin to cover it. I simply refuse to believe such stories until the person who did it is found with the bloody knife. Too much water has gone under the bridge. Today, liberals must prove their accusations. I no longer give them the benefit of the doubt. It’s harsh, but they’ve earned it, with situations such as what they did to Sarah Palin and most especially, their behavior after Congresswoman Giffords was shot.
Listen to Democratic callers on C‑SPAN’s morning show. The hate for all who hold non-liberal positions comes across in too many cases.
I really want to believe that people of all political persuasions like animals. Kids and animals usually give me a common ground. Extreme cruelty such as this is difficult to imagine.
Who ever the sick puppy that killed that childs pet should be arrested and thrown in jail. It’s not a matter of Progressive vs Conservative it’s a matter of a sicko killing a pet because he didn’t like the owners politics.
Given liberals bent to stir up emotions, I wouldn’t put it past the Democrat to have done it himself.
I could go scour the archives, but I recall many times when it’s been found that a Democrat created a “display” (in this case a dead cat, but in other cases hanging nooses, broken windows, threatening calls, etc.) trying to pin the blame on conservative hate.
Al Sharpton and Tawana Brawley is one of many examples.