“Obama smokes crack” (Now even our vandals are getting politicised…!)
Here’s a strange story for you:
Police on Sunday were investigating vandals‘ spray-painting of dozens of city vehicles here, some with disparaging messages about the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama. Authorities think the vandalism to about 60 vehicles, estimated at $10,000 in damage, was done Saturday afternoon. The vehicles were parked across from City Hall and investigators said culprits tagged messages including “Obama smokes crack” and a racial epithet.
Don’t you love it when they say ‘racial epithet‘…? Leaving all of us to wonder: ‘Darn, now what could THAT word have been?!”
Anyway, though I applaud the political engagement of today’s vandals, I have to say that their campaigning methods leave something to be desired.
Not that there is anything wrong with negative campaigning – or to avoid euphemistic epithets: nothing wrong with lying. Politicians do it all the time. “Read my lips, no new taxes,” was a good one. As was: “I did not have sex with that woman.”
Mind you, that’s just the politicians themselves: the real dirty work is done by the ‘Swift boating’ people on both sides. So, vandalising some 60 vehicles to get over a political message is quite alright. Laudable even.
Still, one bit of advice: People don’t like it when others spray-paint their cars with slogans. So, chances are that when you spray the message ‘Eat at McDonalds’ on somebody’s car, that person will become an instant KFC convert.
In other words, if you want to campaign against mister ‘racial epithet’ and you have all those lovely spray-painting cans lying around, better make that message ‘Vote Obama!’, if you want those car owners to vote for McCain.
(Of course, if these spray-painting campaigners belong to the Obama camp, I take back all I’ve said above. Then they are, to quote the incumbent president, already doing a heck of a job – but in the spirit of Karl Rove, of course, and not of that clueless ‘Brownie’ guy.)
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