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My local paper ran this syndicated cartoon today from Investors' Business Daily by conservative editorial cartoonist Michael Ramirez. I hold no brief for the Occupy Wall Street/Oakland/You-name-it movement (though I do sympathize with some of their views); but this piece of dishonest, vicious tripe makes me so angry I can't even think straight:
Tea Party Members vs. Occupiers in a Right-Winger's Eyes: "Which is closer to 99 percent of America?"
As the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-NY) famously said, "Everyone is entitled to their own opinion...but NOT to their own facts." Mr. Ramirez, where is your proof, sir? Have you any evidence at all of any member of any Occupy group having been accused, tried or convicted of "rapes, murders and suicides"? I seriously doubt it. (He also falsely accuses them of wanting to destroy capitalism (see sign) and notes his fictional Occupier "lives in his parents' basement" and "lives with Mom," which are the same thing and also untrue in most protesters' cases...but these are small beer compared to the above libelous caption.)
We should be used to the lies of the right by now, but this is one more instance of how they have kicked it up several notches lately. Disagreement with ideas and policy on the merits (or lack thereof) is one thing; false charges of rape and/or murder to demonize and discredit your opponent is quite another, and the Supreme Court has long ruled the latter outside the First Amendment's protections on speech. At the least—at the very least—IBD needs to be bombarded with phone calls, letters, faxes, e-mails and telegrams of complaint from anyone who has even a modicum of concern for truth and fairness, whether or not you agree with the Occupiers' views or tactics. And were I among the Occupy organizers (such as there may be), I would definitely be considering litigation against them and every other print publication or website that displays this defamation of character.
It should be noted that the home base of OWS was rousted out of Zucotti Park in the wee hours of yesterday by New York Police Dept. officers on orders from the mayor; maybe this is also indicative of how scared certain quarters are getting.
Tea Party Members vs. Occupiers in a Right-Winger's Eyes: "Which is closer to 99 percent of America?"
As the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-NY) famously said, "Everyone is entitled to their own opinion...but NOT to their own facts." Mr. Ramirez, where is your proof, sir? Have you any evidence at all of any member of any Occupy group having been accused, tried or convicted of "rapes, murders and suicides"? I seriously doubt it. (He also falsely accuses them of wanting to destroy capitalism (see sign) and notes his fictional Occupier "lives in his parents' basement" and "lives with Mom," which are the same thing and also untrue in most protesters' cases...but these are small beer compared to the above libelous caption.)
We should be used to the lies of the right by now, but this is one more instance of how they have kicked it up several notches lately. Disagreement with ideas and policy on the merits (or lack thereof) is one thing; false charges of rape and/or murder to demonize and discredit your opponent is quite another, and the Supreme Court has long ruled the latter outside the First Amendment's protections on speech. At the least—at the very least—IBD needs to be bombarded with phone calls, letters, faxes, e-mails and telegrams of complaint from anyone who has even a modicum of concern for truth and fairness, whether or not you agree with the Occupiers' views or tactics. And were I among the Occupy organizers (such as there may be), I would definitely be considering litigation against them and every other print publication or website that displays this defamation of character.
It should be noted that the home base of OWS was rousted out of Zucotti Park in the wee hours of yesterday by New York Police Dept. officers on orders from the mayor; maybe this is also indicative of how scared certain quarters are getting.
"Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?"—Joseph Nye Welch, US Army head counsel, to Sen. Joseph McCarthy (R-WI) at the Army-McCarthy hearings, 1954
