My wife is upset with me for my post on Brett Kimberlin last week. I understand why. Aaron Walker was arrested for blogging about Kimberlin. Stacy McCain and his family are in hiding for blogging about Kimberlin. Patterico had police with weapons drawn in his house looking for bodies, and all because he dared blog about Kimberlin. And now, blogger and tweeter who tweets under the handle @ali says his family has been threatened for the crime of supporting the people mentioned above.
So, you can understand why my wife might be upset with me for getting involved in this. I’m only semi-anonymous on this blog. It’s not that hard to find out my real name if you want to do a bit of research. I’ve given enough personal information on this blog that you could certainly find me and my family if you knew my name. She doesn’t want our family to go through what others are going through. And that’s a very reasonable viewpoint. And I don’t want my wife upset with me. The quote “happy wife, happy life” is a true one, after all. Nor do I want my wife and children to be in danger. Particularly over something that I use as more of an expressive outlet than anything else. I know I have very few daily readers, and that doesn’t bother me. That’s never been the point. The point is that I get all of this bottled up inside me, and this is my way of expunging it.
Despite that, I have no intention of lessening my support for Aaron Walker, Patterico, Stacy McCain, @ali, or any one else facing the wrath of Kimberlin and his lackeys.
Why? Am I just crazy?
No. Remember the name of this blog. It wasn’t chosen just to be cute. It’s not just happenstance. As I’ve mentioned numerous times, the Bill of Rights, particularly the First Amendment, are extremely important to me. This isn’t a left/right issue. It’s a right/wrong one. If the roles were reversed, and it was Kimberlin who was attempting to blog, and Patterico, for example, had sent police to his house on a fake 911 call, I would still be writing this, only in support of Kimberlin.
I believe in Free Speech. No matter whose speech it is. The left should be coming out in support of these bloggers as well. They need to be shamed into it, if necessary. Freedom of speech is, in my opinion, the most important of our God-given rights. If you let them take that away from you, then they can take anything away from you, including your life.
You need to understand. What’s going on here is beyond terrifying. I try to avoid comparisons to Nazi Germany. I think they’re overdone. And I think that hyperbole tends to weaken, rather than strengthen your argument. But here the comparisons to the Third Reich are warranted.
This is exactly how it started in the 1930s with the Jews. Jews were targeted, isolated, and attacked. And not just Jews, but the people who came out in support of them. Most of the general citizenry of Germany didn’t agree with this. But it was made clear to them early on what happened to people that spoke up in defense of Jews who were unfairly attacked. So, instead of standing up, they lived in fear that the eyes of oppression would turn next to them. And they did their best to hide from those eyes.
I can’t do that. I’m not trying to be macho here, or pretend that I’m displaying real courage. For me, it’s a decision that I can’t live in shame and in fear. I have to be able to look at myself in the mirror every morning and know that I’m a good person and a good father. I couldn’t do that if I didn’t stand up here.
Kimberlin and his associates are trying to destroy freedom of speech in America. The left, in their silence here, is complicit in this. We cannot allow this to continue.
I have one more link, and I want you to follow it, and read every word. It’s from Ace of Spades HQ. I support his decision, and will be participating in the National Day of Blogger Silence on Friday.
One quote, but do read the whole thing:
On Friday, this site will be absolutely dead-silent, which is what Brett Kimberlin and his stalker crew seeks, and what the media and our supposed Representatives in Congress would permit.
The only post on Friday will be a bold-faced Open Letter to Congress, urging them to act and not attempt to pass the buck to others.
They are our representatives; we would like some representation.
They vowed to defend and protect the Constitution; they can honor that vow now.
I will post links of Congressmen's and Senator's email addresses and offices and phone numbers, and urge every concerned American citizen to let them know, in no uncertain terms, that a crime in progress against the First Amendment (and people's safety) is occurring, and we humbly request they take this seriously.
They are literally going to get someone killed. That is their endgame here.
Will the media and Congress pretend "we didn't know" when this happens?
ABCNews knows.
The Weekly Standard knows.
The Daily Caller knows.
And many, but not yet all, Congressmen and Senators know.
I encourage all bloggers and twitterers to essentially strike that day, or write nothing except your desire that you expect your Congressmen to take threats to your First Amendment rights seriously.
