Quote:
Originally Posted by TheMercenary
That doesn't bother me that much. The cops were obviously on to them and given the amount of protection that our President receives I doubt they would have gotten even close.
On the otherhand hanging an effigy from a house or a tree is a legal hate crime that incites other to do stupid things, like burn down someones house or perform a violent act on an unsuspecting person. It is more about the double standard I see here and else where, like it is only some kind of prank for the holiday. Well that is until they hang an Obama one from the tree. Then people will be all outraged. I would not support that act and I do not support the one of Palin.
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Ithink I probably have a slightly different oreintation to effigies than you do. They traditionally play quite a large role in protest here, and our most treasured national tradition involves burning one. When my eldest niece finished primary school, she and her friends and my bro's family had a big celebratory bonfire in their back garden, at which the kids burned an effigy of their most hated teacher, stuffed full with old school notes.
Around Guy Fawkes Night, kids take 'Guys' that they've made, around in a wheelbarrow and ask people for "a penny for the Guy" to gather money for fireworks and sweets. Though it's traditionally meant to be Guy Fawkes, there is also a sub tradition of making the Guy look like an unpopular figure of the day.
I still think there is a vast difference between hanging up a Halloween dummy to look like a politician of the day, and hanging up an effigy of the first black cntender for president. Your country has a
recent history of lynching black people: the Palin effigy cannot hold the same cultural resonance (and therefore importance) as hanging the effigy of a black man.
[eta] not that I approve of the Palin dummy. I think it's in poor taste.