elsewhere: grim amusements, January 19, 2011

grim amusements / January 19, 2011 / speech, protected and otherwise:

In which we discover that speech can have unexpected and profoundly undesired consequences. [...] Unfortunately for Mr Corcoran, "provocative and kind of cute" does not seem to be the spirit in which his words wore taken by others, including his local police. [...] words have consequences, after all. You may be allowed to say something, but nothing says that private individuals can't hold you to account in entirely legal ways, such as removing their business from you. That is the sort of price you need to be prepared to pay when you say something that mindbendingly stupid, insensitive, callous and detestable in public.

Police are, quite possibly illegally, confiscating his legally obtained and licensed weapons and trying to get the federal government to investigate him. That seems entirely wrong; words may have consequences, but these are precisely the sorts of consequences that the Constitution says the state may not exact from him. The state may not act against him unless a direct threat has been perceived, and nobody sane should see those words as a direct threat. Unfortunately, Corcoran's words were not only stupid, insensitive, callous and detestable but very very badly timed; something that might have gotten a brief (and probably unknown to everyone) quick look over by the Secret Service -- if it was even brought to their attention at all -- have turned into something all out of proportion to the actual words themselves....

grim amusements / January 19, 2011 / parenting patterns

... So, pardon my French (or appalling lack thereof), but: no fucking shit, Sherlock? Really? The rather large numbers of people in this country that are not "rich white guys" are truly, truly astonished to hear this....