November 07, 2003

KILLING JOKE: Paul Krassner, in

KILLING JOKE: Paul Krassner, in his latest New York Press column, lists a few unfortunate Americans who have been tossed in jail for talking/joking about killing the president. Fair enough, but Krassner ludicrously calls this a sympton of "our nation's gallop towards a police state," and quotes a reporter as saying:

Almost daily, someone informs me that he is scared of openly expressing his views. Even those who do dare to speak out do so in hushed tones, fearful of what ears might overhear. In the politically charged atmosphere that exists in America today, having the wrong person hear criticism of the government can lead to trouble.

Whoa. So now talking about killing the president is just another protected form of "criticism of the government"? It's always been illegal to threaten the president- not a new Bush/Ashcroft provision- and it's even something comedians have been joking about for decades. Krassner, the guy who as editor of The Realist came up with the famous LBJ-fucks-JFK's-neckwound bit, should know this as well as anyone.
Besides, how many people has Bush tossed in jail for "criticism of the government"? That number would be zero.
For what it's worth, crack-smoking Washington Mayor Marion Barry was once quoted as saying "But you must ask yourself: are there more people who want to kill me than who want to kill the president? I can assure you there are." It's uncertain to which president Barry was referring; it's actually Barry's second most-infamous quote, after "bitch set me up."

Posted by Stephen Silver at November 7, 2003 05:19 AM
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