Conservative author/commentator/blogger Michelle Malkin has a new post out as part of an ongoing series about persecuted straight people in the aftermath of Prop. 8. From what I can tell, her modus operandi is to blog about as many hyped-up, isolated instances of anti-Prop. 8 violence, vandalism or harassment as she can. She does this in order to sell the broader narrative that the good, normal, straight people who supported Prop. 8 are under threat of attack by a vicious mob of crazed queers, who evidently roam the streets looking for church-going grandmothers to kick (and/or sodomize, probably).
Let me be clear: I deplore individual and mob violence, and categorically condemn the few instances of vandalism to church and/or personal property that has occurred in the aftermath of Prop. 8’s passage. I have written here and here about our need to maintain respectful dialogue and avoid scapegoating the Mormon Church in particular as we move forward. But to those on the right who are shocked – shocked! by the huge groups of protesters who are inexplicably pissed that gay people have been relegated to second-class citizenship, get over yourselves. You made that bed, now we all must sleep in it.
At any rate, Michelle Malkin’s persecuted-majority complex can be ignored easily enough, but she is apparently influential enough to inspire actual violent rage amongst some of her readers. Check out these comments on just one recent thread of hers:
These comments, coming from just this one post (I’m not sure I have the stomach to comb through looking for more), belie a shocking anti-gay sentiment that is murderous at its core. It’s amazing what people will say under the guise of Internet anonymity.
Here’s a “note from Michelle” at the onset of the comments section (emphasis mine):
Note from Michelle: This section is for comments from michellemalkin.com’s community of registered readers. Please don’t assume that I agree with or endorse any particular comment just because I let it stand. A reminder: Anyone who fails to comply with my terms of use may lose his or her posting privilege.
Okay, that’s worth noting. Nobody should be held directly responsible for comments that others make on your blog, unless you fail to deal with them in an appropriate and timely fashion. Yet, her aforementioned terms of use clearly state the following (in part, emphasis mine):
…I reserve the right to delete your comments or revoke your registration for any reason whatsoever. Rarely will I do so simply because I disagree with you. I will, however, usually do so if you post something that is, in my opinion, (a) off-topic; (b) libelous, defamatory, abusive, harassing, threatening, profane, pornographic, offensive, false, misleading, or which otherwise violates or encourages others to violate these terms of use or any law, including intellectual property laws; or (c) “spam,” i.e., an attempt to advertise, solicit, or otherwise promote goods and services…
Well, lookit that – Malkin “usually” purges her blog of such sentiments. Okay, well, it’s been four six ten 549 days since the above comments have sat on her site. Let’s see how long they remain. [Update on 6/15/10: after eighteen months, I think we can safely assume that Malkin has no intention of removing the hate speech.]
Finally, a note to Michelle, from a fellow Oberlin grad: it seems to me that if your main thesis is about how out-of-control, violent and crazy those people are out there, then perhaps you should think take care that your words don’t engender out-of-control, violent, crazed people in your own backyard. And if that happens anyway, then perhaps you should use the means you have already given yourself to purge those sentiments from the website in your name.
Reflections of Ryberg 
Michelle Malkin whips up violent, anti-gay frenzy
December 12, 2008 — Tom RybergConservative author/commentator/blogger Michelle Malkin has a new post out as part of an ongoing series about persecuted straight people in the aftermath of Prop. 8. From what I can tell, her modus operandi is to blog about as many hyped-up, isolated instances of anti-Prop. 8 violence, vandalism or harassment as she can. She does this in order to sell the broader narrative that the good, normal, straight people who supported Prop. 8 are under threat of attack by a vicious mob of crazed queers, who evidently roam the streets looking for church-going grandmothers to kick (and/or sodomize, probably).
Let me be clear: I deplore individual and mob violence, and categorically condemn the few instances of vandalism to church and/or personal property that has occurred in the aftermath of Prop. 8’s passage. I have written here and here about our need to maintain respectful dialogue and avoid scapegoating the Mormon Church in particular as we move forward. But to those on the right who are shocked – shocked! by the huge groups of protesters who are inexplicably pissed that gay people have been relegated to second-class citizenship, get over yourselves. You made that bed, now we all must sleep in it.
At any rate, Michelle Malkin’s persecuted-majority complex can be ignored easily enough, but she is apparently influential enough to inspire actual violent rage amongst some of her readers. Check out these comments on just one recent thread of hers:
These comments, coming from just this one post (I’m not sure I have the stomach to comb through looking for more), belie a shocking anti-gay sentiment that is murderous at its core. It’s amazing what people will say under the guise of Internet anonymity.
Here’s a “note from Michelle” at the onset of the comments section (emphasis mine):
Okay, that’s worth noting. Nobody should be held directly responsible for comments that others make on your blog, unless you fail to deal with them in an appropriate and timely fashion. Yet, her aforementioned terms of use clearly state the following (in part, emphasis mine):
Well, lookit that – Malkin “usually” purges her blog of such sentiments. Okay, well, it’s been four six ten 549 days since the above comments have sat on her site. Let’s see how long they remain. [Update on 6/15/10: after eighteen months, I think we can safely assume that Malkin has no intention of removing the hate speech.]
Finally, a note to Michelle, from a fellow Oberlin grad: it seems to me that if your main thesis is about how out-of-control, violent and crazy those people are out there, then perhaps you should think take care that your words don’t engender out-of-control, violent, crazed people in your own backyard. And if that happens anyway, then perhaps you should use the means you have already given yourself to purge those sentiments from the website in your name.