A Few Words on Blood Libel

On Twitter yesterday I ticked off quite a few vehement leftists for supporting Sarah Palin's decision to use the phrase "blood libel" in describing how blatantly biased media branded conservatives in general, the Tea Party in specific, and a handful of political figures in particular as somehow being responsible for inciting Jared Lee Loughner to go on his shooting spree in Tucson.

I can only ascribe their anger to the effectiveness of the comparison, which portrayed those pushing this dishonest meme in a very bad light, and lumped them in the corner of Russian thugs, medieval zealots, and murderous Muslim extremists that have used (and still use) the original blood libel against the Jewish people.

These leftists shrieked that using such a term was offensive to the Jewish people, and that it can only be used in referring to the original meaning.

Really?

Jim Geraghty isn't the first to notice that the term has been used repeatedly in common usage, and in that context is not dissimilar from the use of "witch hunt," though certainly infused with more power in our contemporary language.

The simple fact of the matter is that when someone is falsely accused of shedding blood, that is a blood libel.

Stop.

Period.

End of story.

Posted by: Confederate Yankee at 11:49 AM

Comments

1 "These leftists shrieked that using such a term was offensive to the Jewish people, and that it can only be used in referring to the original meaning."

That would have surprised the Jesuits who taught me the term.

Posted by: richard mcenroe at January 13, 2011 12:07 PM (9Htsj)

2 There's so much fuss about this expression because people only pretend to be religious and so on. If they truly were, they'd know that there's nothing so offensive about this expression. But it's much easier to start accusing other people than try to find out something new.

Posted by: Mendy@Israel at January 13, 2011 12:46 PM (fDN0i)

3 Take a step back ... if George W. Bush was still President of the US, he would have been blamed for this tragedy in Tucson ... based on the fact that he ultimately would have been the chief law enforcement officer in the US.

I wonder why Obama escaped such a fate.

We all know the answer to that ... they blamed it on some non-governmental civilian woman in Alaska.

Frankly, if this doesn't sound like "the dog ate my homework" .. nothing does.

Posted by: Neo at January 13, 2011 04:12 PM (tvs2p)

4 If someone fell for this, yet another manufactured false smear on Palin, they probably aren't in the best position to be questioning Palin's intelligence...

Posted by: Dr. Horrible at January 13, 2011 07:12 PM (ERq6D)

5 The sheer effrontery appalls me - after accusing Palin, and the rest of us, of murder, against all evidence, now and only now do they concern themselves with another's supposed "inflammatory" language.

To hell with them. They have crossed a line, and are worthy of no respect or dignity. They ar enot misguided, or wrong, or merely people with whom I disagree, they are evil fascists. They want blood in the streets, they yearn for political violence. Whether it is caused by, or directed at conservatives is of no import to them, they only want the blood to flow. Whatever they can do to usher in their revolution they will do.

Posted by: Steve Skubinna at January 14, 2011 01:39 AM (7YekA)

6 I think the left is going to realize with horror that this unending stream of perpetual invective against Palin is doing a magnificent job of tempering her for a potential run.

As Thomas Jefferson opined, The patriot, like the Christian, must learn to bear revilings and persecutions as a part of his duty; and in proportion as the trial is severe, firmness under it becomes more requisite and praiseworthy. It requires, indeed, self-command. But that will be fortified in proportion as the calls for its exercise are repeated.

Palin's firmness and self-command was abundantly in evidence in her short talk yesterday. Her speech was a quantum leap more "presidential" in content and delivery than Obama's later funeral/pep rally speech in Tucson. The MSM won't call it that way, of course, but fewer and fewer are paying much attention to them of late.

Posted by: Spartan79 at January 14, 2011 12:41 PM (CA3h8)

7 yeah lots of LIBERAL Jews upset about that one, go figga

Posted by: John ryan at January 14, 2011 08:43 PM (0YS61)

8 the muslim extremists are right wingers right?

Posted by: John ryan at January 14, 2011 08:44 PM (0YS61)






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