I grew up with a father and friends who were hunters. Hunting is a way of staying connected to the land and procuring food, at least that’s what it was when I was growing up. My father rented a meat locker, we ate venison, and Mom and I each got a leather coat, gloves and matching purses. Mine was a buckskin fringe jacket, the envy of my Minneapolis cousins. I wore it for five years, then my brother wore it for another five years. One thing we did not do: Joke about guns or shooting someone.
The first time I ever heard Sarah Palin say, “Take aim and fire,” I thought it was extremely inappropriate. Teasing about shooting someone just isn’t funny. Also I found the use of the phrase, “Don’t retreat, reload” inappropriate. Upon hearing of the shooting violence against Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and the others in Arizona yesterday I did an Internet search of her use of the words and commentary on it. The above image was on Palin’s Facebook page, but has now been removed.
Some say that Barack Obama had also used violent imagery and language with the phrase, “If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun.” (Wall Street Journal’s Washington Wire Blog, June 14 2008)
Is either use of those phrases appropriate. Do you see any similarities or differences in the use of these phrases?
