How is This Not "Hate Speech"?

Well, we can all rest easier now. Rage Against The Machine has reunited. Lead singer Zack de la Rocha apparently missed the Imus debacle:

Stomping, shouting into his microphone, grabbing his curly hair and inciting the audience to "keep fighting," de la Rocha powered through songs ranging from the bass heavy "Bulls on Parade" to the anthem "Killing in the Name."

He also railed against the war in Iraq and likened Bush administration officials to Nazi war criminals.

"This current administration is no exception. They should be tried and hung and shot," he said.

So, if you make an idiotic comment about some basketball players, you pay with your career. If you compare your President and his administration to Nazis, then call for their death... what, you're some kind of visionary? A hero? A role model?

If he had said it "on the public airwaves", would that been a problem? That's the excuse for the "Imus outrage". Somehow, I doubt it. After all, why would we care what a rapper/singer says when we let sitting members of Congress compare the administration and even our troops to Nazis & Commmunists and call them (in the case of the military) terrorists (Kerry) and cold-blooded murderers (Murtha). We obviously have higher expectations of our shock-jocks than our elected officials.

By the way, keep your ears open for the latest "if we repeat it often enough, people will believe it's official" term: "Hate Speech". It's been used somewhat in the past, but there's going to be a full-court press to shove it into the American lexicon as a catch-phrase, hopefully leading to sweeping unconstitutional legislation violating the 1st amendment. Just like "Separation of Church and State", or "Hate Crimes", it will be in so many sound bites that people will start parroting "Hey, that's hate speech" and assume that somehow it's illegal. Then will come the laws. Check out HR 1592. It's coming.

Of course, "hate speech" will only refer to white male conservatives saying things that any non-white, non-male, or non-conservative finds unpleasant. Calling the President a Nazi is Free Speech, saying he and his administration should be shot is Free Speech... but asking to be seated with English-speaking students in your elementary school is Hate Speech. See the difference?

Hey kids, open wide! Here comes another heapin' fork full of Double Standard Pie! Yum!