DC Trawler

Charming anti-Tea Party protester fights for his right to say what he wants (and keep it off the Internet)

Font Size:

Last week Rebel Pundit put up the following clip from the Chicago Tax Day Tea Party. (WARNING: New Tone)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNXkefJ26aU

Well, that’s certainly an interesting perspective. As examples of the New Civility go, this is actually somewhat mild.

Now Rebel Pundit is reporting the following threat:

Concerning one of your videos
You have a video of a gentleman at the tea party rally in Chicago this past tax day (Monday). I am requesting that you please remove it from Youtube as well as your website “rebelpundit.com“. If nothing is to be done on your side to remove this material from the internet, actions will be taken to make sure this video is removed and negative repercussions may follow. It is quite evident that you were harassing this man, and there is no evidence of a video/photo release statement. If this video is not taken down in a timely manner, please be aware that you will be contacted again quite soon. If you have any questions or concerns, please send them to my email account: StephaniePinta@gmail.com.‬

The reply:

At Rebel Pundit we do not appreciate threats against our First Amendment rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution or our right to publish freely under section 4 of the Illinois Constitution. Perhaps the “gentleman” in the interview should have thought a little bit harder about his own personal choice to show up at a public protest on public property with a large sign publicly voicing his opposition to the event. Perhaps that “gentleman” also should have considered a different method or approach to contacting us, such as a friendly note, explaining his embarrassment and sincere regrets over his comments toward us, and the way the interview went. Rather than have “someone” send such a threatening letter. Had that been the case, we would have given very serious consideration to that request.

However, due to the nature of this threatening letter, Rebel Pundit has no intention of removing the video from YouTube.com or our site www.rebelpundit.com.

Not sure who Stephanie Pinta is or what her relationship with this gentleman is. But it seems to me that if you go to a public place and hold up a sign and yell profanities at people, there’s a chance that someone will shoot video of it and put it on the Internet. If you don’t want that to happen, you can either stay home or behave civilly. It’s nobody’s fault but your own.

As usual, it’s amusing to play “What If a Tea Partier Did It?” This clip would’ve knocked the Royal Wedding out of the headlines. Rachel Maddow would need a drool cup. And of course, it would all be Andrew Breitbart’s fault.

(Hat tip: Dana Loesch)

P.S. Elsewhere in the New Civility: University of Missouri union violence lectures grab attention.