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While Bannon’s comments were unnecessary and overly graphic, I seriously question the idea that he meant them literally. The fact that many people seem to think

While Bannon’s comments were unnecessary and overly graphic, I seriously question the idea that he meant them literally. The fact that many people seem to think that an aging political media personality would call for the beheading of a government worker is absurd. Unfortunately the declining educational levels in this country mean that you’d best avoid any sort of nuance, metaphor, or figure of speech - because believe you me, if your words can be misinterpreted, they absolutely will be. Newspeak, here we come.

scandox 6y ago
I am surprised that you think what's important is whether he meant them literally. Isn't it a very bad thing to write down in black and white about another human being even as a figure of speech or whatever it qualifies as? I think it's reasonable to want people to be moderate in their public discourse. Do you think so?
- ceilingcorner 6y ago
  Sure, as I said, the comments were unnecessary, especially in this difficult political situation. Bannon is not dumb and should know better than to use graphic metaphors. I’m more concerned that people following this story think Steve Bannon literally called for Fauci to be beheaded. That’s how it is being reported and that’s how numerous comments in this thread are interpreting it. I don’t know if people genuinely believe this, or if they simply pretend to be offended because it’s politically expedient. I’m afraid the gap between the two is rapidly shrinking, and that worries me.
  - scandox 6y ago
    I think most people know he doesn't literally mean it, but many people fear that he uses language like this to create a world in which he could actually mean it. That I think is why violent language upsets people: he's floating a wild idea, of course it's just a metaphor and ten years later it's just business as usual at the guillotine.
    - ceilingcorner 6y ago
      I agree that the violent metaphors are bad, but the comments in this topic / the media at large is reporting his comments as literal. There are only two options here: they’re incapable of understanding nuanced figures of speech, or they are cynically opportunistic. Neither is a good thing. If Bannon was banned for using “unnecessarily graphic rhetoric”, that’d be one thing (and something I’d probably agree with) - But that isn’t what happened.
      - koolba 6y ago
        If you want "unnecessarily graphic" look no further than the left's paper of record, the New York Times. For a tweet linking to their 2017 review of late night hosts roasting Trump advisor Stephen Miller they created their own image of his severed head on a pike: Original: https://twitter.com/nytimes/status/831483401467265024 https://twitter.com/nytimes/status/831483401467265024 Archived: https://archive.is/tqfYU https://archive.is/tqfYU

scandox 6y ago

I am surprised that you think what's important is whether he meant them literally. Isn't it a very bad thing to write down in black and white about another human being even as a figure of speech or whatever it qualifies as? I think it's reasonable to want people to be moderate in their public discourse. Do you think so?

ceilingcorner 6y ago
Sure, as I said, the comments were unnecessary, especially in this difficult political situation. Bannon is not dumb and should know better than to use graphic metaphors. I’m more concerned that people following this story think Steve Bannon literally called for Fauci to be beheaded. That’s how it is being reported and that’s how numerous comments in this thread are interpreting it. I don’t know if people genuinely believe this, or if they simply pretend to be offended because it’s politically expedient. I’m afraid the gap between the two is rapidly shrinking, and that worries me.
- scandox 6y ago
  I think most people know he doesn't literally mean it, but many people fear that he uses language like this to create a world in which he could actually mean it. That I think is why violent language upsets people: he's floating a wild idea, of course it's just a metaphor and ten years later it's just business as usual at the guillotine.
  - ceilingcorner 6y ago
    I agree that the violent metaphors are bad, but the comments in this topic / the media at large is reporting his comments as literal. There are only two options here: they’re incapable of understanding nuanced figures of speech, or they are cynically opportunistic. Neither is a good thing. If Bannon was banned for using “unnecessarily graphic rhetoric”, that’d be one thing (and something I’d probably agree with) - But that isn’t what happened.
    - koolba 6y ago
      If you want "unnecessarily graphic" look no further than the left's paper of record, the New York Times. For a tweet linking to their 2017 review of late night hosts roasting Trump advisor Stephen Miller they created their own image of his severed head on a pike: Original: https://twitter.com/nytimes/status/831483401467265024 https://twitter.com/nytimes/status/831483401467265024 Archived: https://archive.is/tqfYU https://archive.is/tqfYU