Radio Host Tells Gay Caller He Should Kill Himself, Shouldn't Be Allowed to Vote
- Thread starter William Haskins
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It's illegal to encourage someone to commit suicide. Most states in the U.S. have laws against aiding, advising and encouraging suicide. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Francis_Melchert-Dinkel
Hope he gets prosecuted.
Why does it matter (as emphasized in the thread title and the vid title) that the caller is gay? Signorile is openly gay, and his rather hyperbolic, ill-advised metaphor didn't have any anti-gay bigotry in it at all toward the caller.
It's clear he was speaking figuratively, though it was a poorly chosen thing to say. It's also clear that this was a repeat troll caller who seems to either be intentionally trolling Signorile or is incredibly stupid.
It's not like the caller was speaking up to Congress for women's rights and Signorile then repeatedly called her a "slut" and "prostitutue" and then demanded that the caller film himself having sex and post it online so that Signorile could watch.
This is much ado about nothing. Just some trolls on the right posting a vid trying to trot out that tired old "see, they do it, too!" meme in a situation where it doesn't even come close to qualifying.
It's clear he was speaking figuratively, though it was a poorly chosen thing to say. It's also clear that this was a repeat troll caller who seems to either be intentionally trolling Signorile or is incredibly stupid.
It's not like the caller was speaking up to Congress for women's rights and Signorile then repeatedly called her a "slut" and "prostitutue" and then demanded that the caller film himself having sex and post it online so that Signorile could watch.
This is much ado about nothing. Just some trolls on the right posting a vid trying to trot out that tired old "see, they do it, too!" meme in a situation where it doesn't even come close to qualifying.
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Even taken out of context, it's pretty obvious that this is the type of rude potshot taken, probably after the called has been disconnected, often in political talk radio by both ends of the spectrum.
There may be a remote chance that the openly gay caller, having dealt with worse intercourse, would take this suggestion to heart and head for the nearest drug store.
In today's world, with the need to dumb down any conversation to where there is no possiblity of offending anyone or causing an adverse reaction, the talk show host should be crusified.
There may be a remote chance that the openly gay caller, having dealt with worse intercourse, would take this suggestion to heart and head for the nearest drug store.
In today's world, with the need to dumb down any conversation to where there is no possiblity of offending anyone or causing an adverse reaction, the talk show host should be crusified.
That statement alone proves you didn't even click on the link and bother to listen before commenting. Go listen to it. His language is over the top but totally figurative and the caller is a repeat troll he's dealt with before, and was not disconnected before Signorile said any of it.
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Good point.
I knew nothing about this Signorile guy.
I didn't watch the video.
But when I read the thread title, my first reaction was, "Is this yet another right winger being mean to gay people, again?" Now it seems like I was misled.
After I read the quote, my reaction was that it sounded like another shock jock trying create some fake drama for ratings. I just assumed he wasn't serious.
i like the way the veins bulge in your forehead when you go into a full-court press.
your preemptive "big whoop" spin aside, i saw this posted on andrew sullivan's site this morning (in a far more provocative way than i approached it***) and thought it would be funzies for the AW crowd.
you didn't disappoint.
***
http://andrewsullivan.thedailybeast...io-host-tells-gay-caller-to-kill-himself.html
That quote under the video is misleading. If you actually listen to the whole YouTube video, you will see Michelangelo Signorile wasn't actually encouraging the man to commit suicide, but was comparing the man's vote for Romney to committing suicide.
What the talk show host said was (2:16 thru 2:37): "Now, you went and voted for him, and it would have been much easier to go to the store and buy some arsenic and make a potion and take it. Cause that would've been much easier than waiting for the slow painful death that Mitt Romney will bring."
He also told the gay man he was stabbing himself in the back by voting for Romney.
He did tell the man he shouldn't be allowed to vote. Not because he was gay, but because he was "the epitome of a low information voter." If low information voters were not allowed to vote, that probably would take out a good chunk of the Nation, imo.
What the talk show host said was (2:16 thru 2:37): "Now, you went and voted for him, and it would have been much easier to go to the store and buy some arsenic and make a potion and take it. Cause that would've been much easier than waiting for the slow painful death that Mitt Romney will bring."
He also told the gay man he was stabbing himself in the back by voting for Romney.
He did tell the man he shouldn't be allowed to vote. Not because he was gay, but because he was "the epitome of a low information voter." If low information voters were not allowed to vote, that probably would take out a good chunk of the Nation, imo.
I am the cup of joe that wakes you in the morning. Your day does not truly start without a ray from the sunlight of my righteous indignation shining warmly on your face.
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Surely, William, there are enough people making genuinely abhorrent comments in the world.
It is all too easy to find outrageous statements that all people of good will will agree are wrong. They do not need to be fabricated out of thin air.
There is no need for you to twist out of all recognition the comments of a left wing gay man against an obvious, persistent trollish hater and baiter.
It is all too easy to find outrageous statements that all people of good will will agree are wrong. They do not need to be fabricated out of thin air.
There is no need for you to twist out of all recognition the comments of a left wing gay man against an obvious, persistent trollish hater and baiter.
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"go kill yourself" is such a common online retort, it has its own acronym. As someone who often tells especially horrible people to "go play in traffic" I can't say I support prosecuting anyone based on what amounts to a rather darkly funny insult.
There are degrees of "encouraging suicide." This registers on the harmless end, given the obvious hyperbole and the relationship between the two people.
ETA: I also always have this feeling that I'm overstepping when I try to police how minority/oppressed groups chastise each other? Like when old white politicians feel the need to speak at length about why black people shouldn't call each other Uncle Tom. Kind of like "mind your business" ya know? Probably not a popular opinion, but few of mine are.
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While I completely disapprove of a person making light about suicide(and I know he's not just joking around, but throwing out a comparison like this is making light IMO), and he's being something of a douchebag just in the way he's talking to someone who disagrees, it's also obvious that he's not actually being prejudiced or actually encouraging the guy to commit suicide. He's obviously not telling him that he's a horrible person for being gay. He's saying he's a horrible person for voting for Romney, but not because he's gay. The title definitely made it sound as if this was a prejudicial statement, and not giving the entire quotes doesn't help that matter. Reads to me like snippets provided to inflame.
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Topical ointment: Apply regularly to eruptions of stupidity and obnoxiousness.
It was a massively jerky thing to say, and he shouldn't have said it.
Warnings:
1. Presumption that eruptions occur equally on all sides may lead to abrasions caused by treating non-blemishes as blemishes.
2. Disregard of eruptions on one side may lead to long term infection requiring more serious treatment.
3. Do not apply to eruptions from the rear end. Use our extra-strength suppositories (Preparation OMG-WTF) for that scale of foolishness.
It was a massively jerky thing to say, and he shouldn't have said it.
Warnings:
1. Presumption that eruptions occur equally on all sides may lead to abrasions caused by treating non-blemishes as blemishes.
2. Disregard of eruptions on one side may lead to long term infection requiring more serious treatment.
3. Do not apply to eruptions from the rear end. Use our extra-strength suppositories (Preparation OMG-WTF) for that scale of foolishness.
With dial-up, clicking on video or audio is not all that practical so I pretty much react to what is presented, assuming th OP includes all of the important facts.
I agree. When I listen to it, it strikes me as a particularly nasty thing to say, but the Signorile was clearly reacting to the guys unbelievable stupidity. To be honest, I have a hard time believing a gay voter would be so uninformed about DADT.
No. I don't think Signorile believes it, either. He just said it because the guy was so freaking annoying.
I just had a hard time believing that guy was really gay. I think he was trolling.
hardly, dear.
it was an exercise in witnessing the dexterous capacity for finding nuance when someone on the left does things that folks would be screaming from the rafters about if it originated from someone on the right.
and in that regard, it has been a resounding success.
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