Metaphorically Speaking

Progressive:  Your military metaphors break civility and encourage violence.
Conservative:  Your side uses them all the time.
Progressive:  We are fighting in a revolution to break the power of our capitalist oppressors. So, we're justified.

MEMO

From:  Right-Wing Cabal Central
To:  You know who you are

The forces discussion groups of the Left are leading their most effective attack advance pressure ever. Our military language, metaphors, and symbols are under attack respectful pressure. Soon they will be removed from us. Without them, we will be unable to create any enthusiasm, and will be swept before the Leftist Progressive advance insistent argument.

Without "target", we will only be able to "direct our attention to". Without "attack", we will be left with "raise our concerns in respectful ways". We will sink below the waves of hyper-civil discourse, while our opposition friends of differing viewpoint use these same weapons symbols against us with devastating more than a bit of uncomfortable effect.

We have prepared for this eventuality. We now implement Contingency Plan 36.

Turn your official word processor to mode "P36". All uses of "target", "attack", "oppose", "crush", "eliminate" and numerous other military metaphors will automatically be replaced with "bunny". This will seem awkward and ungrammatical at first, but you will quickly adapt.

Instead of crosshairs, circles, pointers, or sharp angles, use the supplied cute bunnies for graphic emphasis.

Remember also that one of the allowed meanings of bunny is "to love and be best friends with", according to context. Report this meaning if you are captured and questioned.

Thus rhetorically prepared, we will go forth to bunny those who disagree with us politically.

Remember the words of Winston Churchill at a time of great challenge (as converted by P36):  "We shall respectfully hinder the invasion of our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall bunny on the beaches, we shall bunny on the landing grounds, we shall bunny in the fields and in the streets, we shall bunny in the hills; we shall never surrender."

- -
Another False Narrative About the Tucson Shooting

01/16/11 - Legal Insurrection gives the context for my post above.

[edited]  The first false narrative was that Sarah Palin, Tea Parties, and conservatives were directly or indirectly responsible for the shooting. That narrative has been thoroughly debunked in the past week, although writers such as Paul Krugman and political figures such as Clarence Dupnik cling to the fantasy.

- -
Mobilizing the Jobless
01/23/11 - The Nation by Frances Fox Piven
- Via The PJ Tatler and Instapundit

Piven is an intellectual beacon for the Progressive movement. Her call for violence is Progressive, unless there is widespread condemnation of her advice.

There is widespread Progressive and liberal criticism that metaphors and symbols used by conservative speakers must be stopped, because such metaphors supposedly, might encourage violence. In contrast, direct calls for violence by Progressive leaders are acceptable, even when the call is to repeat violence which has already happened.

Piven [edited]:  Local protests have to accumulate, spread, and become more disruptive, to create serious pressures on national politicians.

An effective movement of the unemployed will have to look something like the strikes and riots that have spread across Greece in response to the austerity measures forced on the Greek government by the European Union. Or, they will have to look like the student protests that recently spread with lightning speed across England in response to the prospect of greatly increased school fees.

The British and Greek protests were violent, and riots are violent by definition.

Three Reported Killed in Greek Protests
05/06/10 - New York Times

[edited]  ATHENS — Swarms of violent groups in the city center overtook a general protest against austerity measures. Police report that demonstrators hurled gasoline bombs, setting fire to a bank building and killing three bank workers.

British protests over increased tuition turn violent
11/10/10 - Deseret News

[edited]  LONDON — Demonstrators protested government proposals to cut education spending and steeply increase tuition for university students. The demonstration turned violent when protesters attempted to storm the building that houses the Conservative Party.

The protesters scuffled with police officers, set off flares, burned placards, threw eggs, bottles, and other projectiles, and shattered windows at the building. A small group of demonstrators, some wearing ski masks, climbed to the roof of a nearby building, waved anarchist flags, and chanted "Tory scum."