Saturday - May 29, 2004

Hate Art

Freedom of speech and the freedom to express one's self is the greatest freedom we Americans possess. That is why it is explicitly defined in the First Amendment to the Constitution. You are entitled to say anything or express any opinion you wish .... without intervention by the government.

However, with that freedom comes the responsibility to be held accountable for your words by your fellow citizens. If you are going to create what you think is a "work of art" then you have to contend with the inevitable critic. Works of art are intended to appeal to the emotions of the viewer. If the emotions the artist sets out to stir up are hateful emotions then the artist should not be surprised when that is the reaction he or she gets.

Today's modern artists seem to me to be pushing the envelope of "hate art" to extreme limits. Paintings of Christ covered in feces do not strike me as art. To me, that is nothing less than an expression of the artist's hatred of Christianity and I am strongly offended by it. So why are "hate speech" and "hate crimes" declared illegal and condemned by society but "hate art" is allowed to not only exist but to spread?

More importantly, where does "hate art" cross the line and generate a blacklash? It seems that happened in San Francisco yesterday. No, the government did not censor the artist and neither was he arrested for a "hate crime". The community responded and the shopowner who was exhibiting the painting was spat upon and beaten.

When I first read the story I was shocked and felt sorry for the woman who was beaten.

Then I saw the painting.

After seeing the painting, I wanted to beat not only her but the artist who painted it. Guy Colwell's painting, titled "Abuse," depicts three U.S. soldiers leering at a group of naked men in hoods with wires connected to their bodies. The one in the foreground has a blood-spattered American flag patch on his uniform. In the background, a soldier in sunglasses guards a blindfolded woman.

This is disgusting. The Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal was abhorrent to us all and the guilty few have been identified and tried. To see the national media concentrate on this single incident has been troublesome enough. For an artist to depict the incident in this manner goes beyond bad taste and, by all appearances, is nothing more than "hate art". This is the same kind of art that was produced by the Nazis in World War II depicting leering, ugly Jews killing babies. Its sole intention is to generate hatred.

There are over 130,000 American soldiers, sailors and airmen in Iraq who are fighting and dying to free a country and make the world a safer place. They are living in miserable conditions, contending with an insane enemy and getting paid less than the cook at your local McDonalds. Would you like to tell them that they are sacrificing and dying so that this artist and shopowner can express their hatred of them? I sure wouldn't.

This "hate art" is just not acceptable and you know it.

My final thought on this incident in San Francisco is that it is a shame the artist wasn't beaten to a bloody pulp. Mr. Colwell deserves no less than to receive a little taste of the hatred he espouses.

The liberal Left in America has only hatred and anger on its mind these days. Hatred of America, hatred of the current administration, hatred of the military. They are shouting, screaming, finger-pointing, accusing, name-calling and infecting us all with their vitriolic behavior. Take a look around. Every day they escalate their radical behavior.

Sooner or later there will come a reckoning. Their hatred will eventually generate a blackash. This incident in San Francisco is only a small taste of what is to come unless the Liberal Leftist Moonbats find something better to do than preach hatred.

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Not that very many people ever read this far down, but this blog was the creation of Allan Kelly and his friend Vilmar. Vilmar moved on to his own blog some time ago, and Allan ran this place alone until his sudden and unexpected death partway through 2006. We all miss him. A lot. Even though he is gone this site will always still be more than a little bit his. We who are left to carry on the BMEWS tradition owe him a great debt of gratitude, and we hope to be able to pay that back by following his last advice to us all:

1. Keep a firm grasp of Right and Wrong
2. Stay involved with government on every level and don't let those bastards get away with a thing
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4. Keep talking to each other, whether here or elsewhere

It's been a long strange trip without you Skipper, but thanks for pointing us in the right direction and giving us a swift kick in the behind to get us going. Keep lookin' down on us, will ya? Thanks.

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