So, the anniesj furor.

[kuangning]

You've probably all seen the anniesj post by now. We're going to assume for the moment that she's telling the absolute truth, because I'm quite sure someone else somewhere is reading about that and thinking "hmmmm, there's this left-wing liberal scum I know who should definitely get a visit like Annie got!" And some are, no doubt, disappointed that the SS didn't do their job (or she'd be in jail or getting fined) and some of you are going "OMG SS harassment!" And neither view is truly realistic.


Dear God:

Wassup? How's it hanging? Yeah, I know it's been a long time since we talked. This probably stems from my belief that you do not exist. Anyway, the reason why I'm calling you is because last night, President Bush said that he could feel it every time we prayed for him, and since he apparently doesn't listen to anyone but you, Lord, I thought you might pass this along to him.

Please kill George Bush. I hate him so much. I think he is a giant dick and I want terrible things to happen to him. I'm not really big on the specifics of how he dies, but if you could at least arrange it so that the authorities find his dead body on top of an underage black male prostitute surrounded by a mountain of cocaine and child pornography, that would really be super-awesome. And maybe you could have some media people there when the police find the body, so they can take pictures and stuff. That'd be fucking GREAT. Am I allowed to say "fuck" in a prayer? Shit, I just said it again. Ah, well.

Anyway, that's my prayer, Lord. Please, please, please kill Dubya. And Dick Cheney. And everyone else in the Bush Administration. Maybe they can all commit mass suicide together or something. I don't know. You're the one with all the ideas. You come up with something. I need more coffee.

Smooches and Huggles,
anniesj


Got all that? 'kay. Now, here's why calling the Secret Service about that is idiotic, and why reporting speech like that to get someone in trouble is almost always going to be a waste of time and leave you dissatisfied.

It's not a threat.

There is a difference between saying "I'm going to kill the President!" and "I wish the President would die" -- or, in this case, "God, please kill Bush." One expresses intent. The other expresses sentiment. And even if she had said "I'm going to kill the President," there'd still be the matter of determining whether she actually poses a danger to him -- is she mentally unstable? Is she armed? Has she taken any actions that would make a reasonably cautious person believe she means to carry out her threat? In this case, though, those things don't apply, because what she said didn't express intent. So, a visit happens, she may be frightened, but the determination is made that she's no real danger, and that's that.

Now, on the other hand, the SS do have to investigate once a report's made. They probably didn't even see the post themselves at first. All they got is a report of someone posting threats against the President on a website. So, no, they're not harassing her to show up to check it out. If you're going to be upset with anyone, be upset at the utter asshole who called in a report. And then be happy that the SS guys had sense enough to know that what she said isn't worth their time and effort. After all of the administration's attempts to curtail rights and freedoms, the flying rhetoric, the flaring tempers and the real abuses of power, folks in the SS still understand that, at the end of the day, merely expressing dissent isn't illegal.

I call that a reason for optimism, myself.

Comments

[anoisblue.livejournal.com]

This is a perfectly stated post! Excellent.

[rare.livejournal.com]

I would definitely target the moron that reported this as a threat to the President. Still, isn't there going to be a lot of this posturing around election time? It must drive the SS to have to track it all down. But to visit someone at there home over something like this? You gotta admit… little creepy. Annie mentioned only having suspicions of who reported her while in the courts, she would know.

[gramcracker.livejournal.com]

Thanks for your clear head and well-stated argument!

[i.livejournal.com]

i think she's lying.

[yendi]

Well put.

[kuangning]

I'm not convinced either way. A glance at her journal makes me think she's a bit of an airhead, and maybe not above embroidering the truth to get attention. But the post itself reads very somberly, more of a cautionary tale than "OMG brutality harassment my life is over." She doesn't claim mistreatment, just a civil visit, and I know that there are people who would lash out at someone that way over politics, so for the moment, she gets the benefit of the doubt.

[i.livejournal.com]

it just doesn't seem like something the FBI or SS would waste their time on.

[zibblsnrt.livejournal.com]

I dunno about the FBI, but it's the Secret Service's job to waste their time on things like that. That they've taken a look at people over similar (or lesser) stuff over the years is extremely well-documented.

[i.livejournal.com]

you don't think they have some sort of triage? with all the people out there pissed off at bush, i can't imagine they have the manpower.

[jamaicanjungle.livejournal.com]

Ah, finally somebody posted the link to that entry. Hold, on I'm gonna take a peek and skim at it......



Ummm......no. Entry is a bunch of crap. Too many gaps in the story and it doesn't seem plausible at all. No. No siree.

[lothie.livejournal.com]

*applause* Yup, I'm more upset about the person who reported it than the SS.

[sioneva.livejournal.com]

Well said...

Regardless of whether or not this particular incident is true, we've all heard the *true* stories of government investigations that are based on writing/speech/action that are just as ridiculously non-threatening.

[badger2305.livejournal.com]

To assume she's lying, given everything she has presented, involves making at least one more assumption. Occam's Razor is not in your favor on this. (shrug).

[i.livejournal.com]

i knew i should have shaved yesterday.