Cartoonist Ted Rall says he has received numerous death threats over a cartoon he did this week that satirized the media’s response to the death of Pat Tillman, the former pro-football player killed in Afghanistan.
First of all, I in no way condone death threats toward Ted Rall. I do not want to see him killed. Those who threaten him with death, and especially anyone who may act to carry out such a threat, are no better than the criminals and killers he believes our soldiers and current political leaders to be.
Having said that, it would surprise me if Rall were exaggerating, if not outright fabricating, these threats against him. I would not put anything past him if it furthers his agenda. I think he's delusional, but he's not stupid.
Some 300 of the messages threatened Rall with “death or bodily harm,” he said, and he also said he had received several death threats by phone.
In my opinion, it's unlikely that he's answering his phone these days. He might be but I'm willing to bet the volume of calls he would actually be receiving is so high that he'd be spending the whole day on the phone.
The truth is, I want to see Rall's voice silent. Note the careful choice of words there. I did not say "silenced." I don't want him unable to speak, I just want him not to have any way of disseminating what he says unless he has to do it all himself. What I really want is for him to come to understand his error and apologize. However, I don't hold out much hope. Instead, I recommend that those who consider Rall's comics and writings to be offensive to write to Universal Press Syndicate, the company that syndicates Rall's cartoons, and tell them how you feel. Andrew Sullivan tells you how.
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