November 18, 2007

Your morning hypocrite

There is a bumper sticker one sees occasionally spelling out the word “coexist,” using a variety of religious and other symbols. For example, the 'c' is the crescent moon of Islam, the 'x' a Star of David, and the 't' a Christian cross:



Apparently some of the deep and influential thinkers on the local political right find this plea for tolerance and ecumenicism offensive, in particular the suggestion that they are being asked to “coexist” with Muslims. God forbid.

In response, one of these clever fellows revised the bumper sticker, putting a hammer and sickle where the 'e' was, and replacing the Star of David with a Nazi Swastika, a decidedly unfortunate decision, to say the least.

Graphically it wouldn't have worked to replace the crescent moon with the swastika, which was presumably the intent, but nobody should expect intellectual coherence from the local wingnuts.

Furthermore, in addressing bearers of the original sticker, the clever fellow remarks, “Coexist With The Commies And The Nazis, You Smug Little Twerp!”

The irony, of course, is the revised sticker shows Christians coexisting with Communists and Nazis, and neither Nazi Germany nor any Latin American socialist regime were exactly what you might call nations of atheists.

But the best part of this little episode concerns the triumphalist ravings of a Milwaukee radio blatherer who, I have been told, recently delivered an extended harangue condemning the lack of civility among his political opponents.

This same blatherer, amazingly, reproduced all of the above — and more — at his official internet site, which is hosted by the largest media conglomerate in Wisconsin. And, even more amazingly, the blatherer labeled his entry, “PURE GENIUS” in 24-point bold font, and bestowed the revisor of the bumper sticker with the congratulatory adjective, “brilliant.”

I have no desire to link to any of this laughable hypocrisy, but AQM's got it all here. Très amusant. And, to be sure, pathetic.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

At the risk of being too self-promotional, which is the wont of Sykes, et al., Whallah! also points out the hypocrisy of said right-wing brigade and their reaction to the Folsom Street Festival.

Anonymous said...

Let's not forget also the charming equivalence between the gay/transgendered population, with that stylized "e", and the Soviet regime with its hammer and sickle.

That the USSR was a right wingnut's dream society, as far as its persecution of homosexual behaviour, is far too blunt a fact to cut through the tough, fibrous coating surrounding any tender sense of irony hidden in the conservative psyche.