Comedy or not, depicting violence is unacceptable

Alhi Leconte/ Staff Writer

Kathy Griffin made international news when she tweeted a disturbing picture of herself holding a fake, bloody severed head that resembled the unfortunate Cheeto-in-Chief, President Donald Trump.

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Griffin said she wasn’t promoting violence and was just mocking Trump. She tweeted “OBVIOUSLY, I do not condone ANY violence by my fans or others to anyone, ever!” Tyler Shields, the photographer, tried to justify it by calling it art. Apparently, a comedian trying to reclaim relevancy by being unintelligent is considered art.

She may be a comedian, but there wasn’t anything funny about her stunt. Just because President Trump is running our country like it’s a reality TV show, doesn’t mean that threatening his life is acceptable.

Many public figures, including some friends of Griffin, spoke out against her actions and the photoshoot. Even Hillary Clinton’s daughter, Chelsea, spoke out against Griffin’s act in a tweet that said “This is vile and wrong. It is never funny to joke about killing a president.”

Kathy later deleted the images and tweets and posted an apology video on Twitter. She said “I’m a comic. I crossed the line. I moved the line, then I crossed it. I went too far.”

She probably apologized because CNN severed ties with her and she’s hoping that it doesn’t affect her career and other opportunities. She’s being commended by some for apologizing, which is a concept that Trump himself hasn’t learned to do. Others, however, want her to be punished.

Her apology doesn’t mean much though behind-the-scenes video footage from the photoshoot shows her and the photographer making jokes about the backlash they knew they’d receive.

Many public figures strongly oppose Trump, but this is not a good way to go about it. A situation like this only helps Trump gain undeserved sympathy from the public.

Barack Obama opposers had riots after he was elected and they used mannequins intended to represent him being lynched. Many arrests of people who threatened his life were made throughout his time as president.The difference is that the incidents against Obama were by people who weren’t well known or famed. That wasn’t right and neither is this.

Both instances are hateful and wrong because violence doesn’t do any favors for either side of the political division. It not only brings more media coverage, but it also gives Trump supporters even more of a reason to hit back and attack at liberals and those who are anti-Trump.

 

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The opinions presented within this page do not represent the views of Panther Press Editorial Board. These views are separate from editorials and reflect individual perspectives of contributing writers and/or members of the University community.

 

Photo taken from Flickr.