Friday, February 25, 2011

Dropkick Murphys Releases Union Battle Song For Wisconsin Protesters: "Take 'Em Down"

Hat-tip to Jim Treacher over at our favorite wingnut rag, the Daily 'Puker', for this:


Thanks for the lyrics (below), Treach. Gee, I didn't figure you to be so sensitive about such innocuous lyrics: "take 'em down" and "gotta stand your ground, don't believe their lies, he'll take his toll, don't you sell your soul, we gotta organize, take the bastards down, smash 'em to the ground, take the bastards down" ... YEAH!
 Don't you get the language of metaphor? Did you really think Sarah Palin literally meant to accuse her critics of killing Christian children and baking their blood into matzoh bread in some weird ritual when she whined they manufactured a "blood libel" against her? Typically for wingnuts, she simply didn't know what the hell she was talking about.

Pretty good lyrics, though. Treach goes into a whole riff about MSNBC going on "red alert" and Paul Krugman's keyboard melting if the Tea Party put out a song about "taking the bastards down"... Hmm ... maybe from sheer incredulity, if someone over there was creative enough to write a tune like Dropkick Murphys's, on the fly. Instead, the best they can do is Ted Nugent fondling his guns and THIS. Yeow... Like fingernails on Beck's blackboard!

Speaking of "blood" our bud Treach was apparently horrified by this statement from MA Congressman Michael Capuano at a union rally: “Every once and awhile you need to get out on the streets and get a little bloody when necessary”. I didn’t see a problem with that. Considering (a) the history of state violence against workers in Wisconsin alone (not to speak of the thousands who gave their lives fighting for workers' rights in America), re: "Revisiting the Bay View Massacre: Where a Wisconsin Governor Ordered the National Guard to Open Fire on Protesting Union Members" —
"Guardsmen had positioned themselves on the hill above the entrance to the plant as the crowd moved through the Kinnickinnic Valley. Major George P. Traeumur, the commander, called the governor, who had set up a temporary headquarters in a Milwaukee hotel. He gave the order to fire. According to the Milwaukee Daily Journal's report of the shooting, an officer told the troops: "When you are ordered to shoot, pick out a man and shoot to kill." The marchers were warned to stop their advance. When they did not, the troops fired. When the shooting was over, at least seven people were dead, including one young boy."
As Gov. Walker has also called out the National Guard for a possible repeat performance, the Congressman was simply trying to steel the protesters on what to expect from the extremist in the State House who admits he "thought about" inserting "troublemakers" into the peaceful protests. But in deference to the "new civility" and sensitivities of folks like Treach, Congressman Capuano immediately apologized:
"I strongly believe in standing up for worker rights and my passion for preserving those rights may have gotten the best of me yesterday in an unscripted speech.... I wish I had used different language to express my passion and I regret my choice of words."
It's ironic that the Tea Party and other extremists on the right incessantly use bellicose gun language and signs declaring their government — whose scariest symbol to them is our black President — "tyrannical," using terms like "2nd Amendment remedies" and misquoting Jefferson: "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." The right's reaction to all this violent language: *crickets*. No, they dig around for any false equivalence they can find in the wingnut echo chamber. And now, barely weeks after the attempted assassination of a Democratic Congresswoman and the multiple massacre of innocents, this:


Keep digging, Treach.

PS - Enjoy your vacation and best wishes on a continuing recovery from your terrible knee injury. I mean it. (Despite your TMI updates and grisly pics.)

PPS - BTW, "Obamacare" is a pejorative for the same reason that Medicare would be if it were called "LBJCare" by its detractors. Don't insult our intelligence with disingenuous questions. Whatever happened to the "new civility" in the chamber that actually has rules of decorum against such things, hmm? Rep. Wasserman Schultz simply reminded the GOP of those rules since they constantly violate them, e.g., yelling "you lie!" at our President.

It's puzzling that you would show little empathy for the 50 million uninsured Americans who might be in a similar predicament without your access to adequate, (let alone) quality health care. Been there, done that. And it's no joke.

This one's for Treach from all those "60s liberals" in Madison the Governor spoke of (so contemptuously) who would like to "take you down"... PEACE, bro.

2 comments:

Jim Treacher said...

Okay, I'll bite. After skimming your rambling screed, I got curious and looked up your previous rants about Palin's Magic Voodoo Map of Death and "the right wing's incendiary rhetoric." Yes, putting crosshairs on a map is hate speech, but singing "take the bastards down, smash 'em to the ground" is just metaphor.

See, this is why I need a break from the Internet. Although considering the size of your audience, which appears to consist of me, this blog barely qualifies. Good luck with the boring lies.

Carlos said...

I understand how you feel. I can hardly stand reading most of the right wing blogosphere except for your pub, and a few others.

The incendiary rhetoric I have a problem with is gun rhetoric. And combinations, like "lock and load" with the crosshairs graphic. That's because of our history of political assassinations (and attempted ones) and the prevalence of unregulated guns in the hands of disturbed individuals. But I don't have a problem with military or fighting metaphors like "target", "draw blood", "slam 'em to the ground", "crush them", any of this stuff. As long as it's not specific gun language, e.g., Beck's "shoot them in the head." I always lean on the side of free speech; I just think we need to be a bit more careful, and responsible, with the *gun* rhetoric.

Thanks for your support. As I've said, it's not the quantity but the quality of the audience that counts. For me.