Let the welkin ring
Andrew Sullivan has a most worthwhile proposal here, and I’m just going to repost it in its entirety:
PROTEST RALL: The hate-monger is syndicated by Universal Press Syndicate. It’s not censorship or “McCarthyism” for people to complain about any syndicate that peddles the poison that Rall lives off. Today’s disgusting diatribe against Pat Tillman is so vile, so utterly devoid of any motive or argument but personal malice and hatred, some form of protest is surely merited. Email the vice-president for print syndication, Lee Salem, and tell him what you think of Rall’s cartoon. Please, please, be civil. His email is lsalem@amuniversal.com. He needs to hear from you.
I’m behind this one hundred percent. Let these people know how you feel. The time for merely railing in places like this against Rall’s childishly treasonous outbursts is past. It’s now time to do something more concrete and tangible about him. Let him scream “stifling of dissent” all the way to the pauper’s grave he so richly merits; let him peddle his filth from somewhere other than the protective bosom of the country he so obviously despises. Let him lie down with the terrorist dogs his nihilistic ivory-tower Leftism breeds, weans, and coddles and see if he’s more comfortable in their embrace than our own. Let him reap what he’s sown. There is no reason in the world that any nation, any society, any civilization, should have to tolerate such trifling, intellectually dishonest, and despicable attacks. The fact that he lacks the self-discipline to muzzle his own baser impulses is no reason to continue letting him shit on a rug he didn’t pay for in the first place.
I am not for censorship; really, I’m not. I am not for depriving all purveyors of unpopular and unconventional thought of their livelihood. But Rall has not only crossed the boundaries of human decency time and again, he has displayed a willingness – an eagerness, really — to betray his country and give succor to its enemies. Perhaps he has simply miscalculated here, and perhaps he ought to be free to do that. But there should also be a price to be paid for it. It’s time for him and all other vermin like him to put their money where their treasonous mouths are. Let’s see how steadfast Mr. Rall is when the paychecks for his hate-mongering, insensitive, anti-American venom stop coming in.
Write Universal now. Be polite, be reasonable, but write them. Rall needs to be shown once and for all that he can’t get away with this sort of thing forever.
- Entries
Censure (I did not just say censor, I said censure) is what this man deserves, as does Universal Press.
It should be noted, by the way, that by doing this, we are expressing our freedom of speech, and that any suggestions that we are "opposing free expression" by urging that Rall be dropped would be wrong on its face. Suggesting that he is unworthy of an insitution such as Universal Press Syndicate, and that his presence sullies the credibility of anything else that appears from that fine organization, is certainly not censorship. It's an opinion.
One I happen to share.
I know, Dean.
It's just that the thought of taking a sawed-off twelve gauge with 00 buckshot and blowing Rall's kneecaps off just puts me in such a warm, happy place...
(Did I mention I was part Sicilian?)
The very best thing that could happen re: Rall would be for everyone to ignore him. It's obvious from this cartoon that he is desperate for attention of any kind (the thinking that there's no such thing as bad publicity, or my three year old son's view that even getting disciplined is attention taken away from his sister...)
I do not advocate violence against Mr. Rall. I can UNDERSTAND it, but I don't condone it. I mean, to quote Sam Kinison, I wouldn't want to be the deciding member on a f**king jury or anything...
"I hate to see anything banned because I am a creative type who has encountered censorship before."
If Universal dropped Rall that would not be censorship. That would be an economic decision. You know -- like a network dropping "Friends" because the producers want to end it, or a radio station dropping "Air America" because no one is listening. Rall would be free to find a new distributor -- or even to distribute his tripe on his own. (The "Day By Day" model.)
Censorship is when the government -- whether the national government, right on down to a junior high school principal -- uses cover of authority to restrict speech. Unless a government agency is acting, it really ain't censorship.
It is censorship, but it's not the kind prohibited by the First Amendment. See, the college radio or newspaper is owned by the college. It's their media. Since whatever you were saying was broadcast over their media, their name is associated with your words. It's in their interest (notice: I am NOT saying best interest) to protect what is said under the tender auspices of their media.
If it is a private college it is not censorship. It a property owner determining what is to appear in his property.
If it is a public college, and the college is using the authority granted by the state (as opposed to private property rights) to supress an opposing opinion then it is censorship.
Censorship is done by GOVERNMENTS. If INDIVIDUALS cannot control what is said on their property, then they have lost their property rights. For Sinclair to refuse to run Nightline is not censorship. For John McCain to promise to use his position as Senator to lift their broadcast licence if they do not run what he prefers to see run IS censorship.