Matthews and Michael Hirsh: Gun metaphors should be treated like the “N” word

January 21, 2011 | Jim Vicevich | | ,

Yet one more attempt by Matthews to draw a link between Tucson shootings and political talk from the right. My guess is the left is not going to quit on this narrative. As Congressman Cohen said yesterday … repeat a lie often enough. No wait, that was about the right. Sorry.

Matthews brings former Mayor Willie Brown and Michael Hirsh on to talk gun metaphors, the right, and political violence. Hirsh has just published an article on this and what we get is that … no … no crime statistics back up the premise … but … historians and academics tell Mr Hirsh that there is a long link. Got that … no link, but we know there is one. Two bites for your perusal. The first where Matthews and Hirsh try to make their case. It’s laughable.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJu6BDShVTU

Unbelievably, Matthews follows up by bringing up the Kennedy assassinations, which he admits had nothing to do with conservatives, but still in Chris’ mind it means it could happen with the right. In bite two, Hirsh , to his credit, seems to admit there is no direct link to political talk today and violence … but to Matthews delight … he calls for a “social” ban on gun metaphors, which he likens to … racial vindictive?

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VamMEeEjMl0

So let me see if I have this right. We can’t point to one incident where talk on the right has led to violence or death, there is no direct connection between gun metaphors and attacks on politicians (well except the Kennedy assassinations which came from a commie zealot and a religious fanatic) and yet we need to ban phrases like, “kill the bill”, and “repeal the president”? Really? No, really.

What about … ummm … Nazi language?

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24Oc_WswHqA

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Jim Vicevich

Jim is a veteran broadcaster and conservative/libertarian blogger with more than 25 years experience in TV and radio. Jim's was the long-term host of The Jim Vicevich Show on WTIC 1080 in Hartford from 2004 through 2019. Prior to radio, Jim worked as a business and financial reporter for NBC30 - the NBC owned TV station in Hartford - and as business editor at WFSB-TV in Hartford for 14 years while earning six Emmy nominations and three Telly Awards.

5 Comments

  1. phil on January 21, 2011 at 3:50 am

    BANG!!



  2. RoBrDona on January 21, 2011 at 4:45 am

    Does this mean that all of the baseball metaphors before 1948 were racist?



  3. cepops on January 21, 2011 at 5:22 am

    In this dialogue, why be fair…if they were, we'd hear that the "TARGET" store  logo is an equally bad symbol, and how about TV violence in general, or specifically that show "Human Target"?



  4. JollyRoger on January 21, 2011 at 7:38 pm

    These people are insane! All the vitriolic BS during the 8 years of Bush, and now they want to neuter dissent! As if Barry didn’t just talk about getting in people’s faces, bringing a gun if they bring a knife, saying it’s time for his opposition to be quiet, get in the back of the bus, punish the enemy… Maybe we’re mentally ill as evidenced by our dissent, and we need to be sent to the gulags?



  5. Dimsdale on January 24, 2011 at 5:32 am

    They really hit the bulls eye with this one!  Right on target!  They have the facts in their crosshairs, and are pull the trigger on the topic!



Michael Hirsh

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