So in the future equality among the races will not be the operative principle, but payback against whites ?   Lovely.  

     "Hate" is now a politically loaded term that is applied selectively.   But as to being made the target of white guilt I can only say thanks for the heads up.  It's great to be an American.

 I'm mystified as to why over twenty people bothered to call Coldstone to complain about what one of their employees said on a Facebook page. Who cares if the person scooping your ice cream is an ignorant fucktard? It would never occur to me to call a person's employer to complain about anything their employee does that is not work related.

No place for hate? What do you call declaring people an "enemy of the state" because you consider them politically radical? I consider that to be pretty hateful. Calling a person's employer to bitch about what they said on their personal facebook account? However ignorant, racist or hateful what they said was, I would say that is pretty hateful. Should people sit around following her to every job she gets for the rest of her life and call the employers and complain about this post? Should employers start monitoring their employees facebook and twitter accounts 24/7 to make sure that nothing is being said that the company doesn't approve of? I don't think anyone should have their life destroyed over a stupid internet post.

And of course she is immature, what is she like 20? She is a fucking kid judging by the picture. I'm sure glad there aren't any records of what I was doing and saying when I was that age. 

Over the years I have had people threaten to beat me up, kill me, say I deserved to be thrown in jail, hope I died, promise revolution, bring back the guillotine (one of my personal favs), burn down my house, my business, businesses in general, and don't even get started on the things they said about GW before and after his reelection. Hate and stupidity is hardly confined to the right. 

Need more information - her page or her employer's?

Her page - she's a moron and no one should pay attention.

If she brought the business into it by putting it on their page - her firing is justified.

Other than that, hate is a regressive emotion but advocating vengeance is cool?

There is historical aspect to the eb and flow of bigotry. Lots of it has to do with lack of oportunity and a sense of helplessness. Psychologically speaking if one feels their resorces are threatend they look for someone, some party or some race to blame. The great depression gave rise to to the power of bigotry. And we are seeing a rise in it because of our current economic crissis.

And it most certainly did not help over the past 6 years since Obama in his last campaign and this one all the dog wistle code language from the right like "JIVE" and "Muslim" and "foodstamp" language fueled this bigotry. It has been a sick part of right wing punditry.

The truth of the economy is that the non business owner, in the middle class and working poor, weither in urban, suburban or rual are all suffering. Social issues and the slur of "wellfare state" have been used to divide the working class which has given rise to needless fear and bigotry. The only way to defuse this long term is to face everyone with the fact that our wallets, not our race, not our political party, and not our class status, are what is utlitmately important. The left has not had the upper hand on economic issues and for far too long has allowed the party of class and the party of bigotry to dictate the division our nation needlessly suffers.

A poor white person living in a trailer has as much in common economically as a poor black person living in the city. A middle class white person working in a factory or as a teacher has the same problems as a black person in the same job. Foster this understanding, you take away the divisive tool the cooporate class has in it's monopoly of the republican party.

The birthers, the food stamp slurs, the unpresidented attack on woman's reproductive rights, has all been a distraction away from the fact that only one class and one class alone wrecked the car. Once the divisive tactic of dog wistle bigotry gets exposed for what it is, the cooporate class will have to deal with the working class having a seat at the table.

The top will aways have a seat at the table and always have influance. But Tuesday taught me that we, the working class, are not helpless, and that money cannot buy everything. If our country iis going to minimize bigotry, and solve our economic problems, which IS in OUR best interest, then the top and the right needs to do the right thing and clean the their own of the fearmongers and slur factories.

But we do unfortunatly see bigotry most when it is on the uptick during times of economic stress. The more you make it a wallet issue instead of a party or race issue, the less power bigotry has and the less it can be used to divide allong race and class lines.

There are ethcial and honest people who dissagree as to how to move forward, and if those people were a majority of the right instead of the fearmongers who have hijacked that party, we might have today a workable government. I have always maintained and will always maintain that their is room for all of us of every political, race and class. But we are divided because of the attitude of winning at all costs, even if it means using vile dirty tactics of code.

This woman was not born a bigot, no one is. It is taught and sold and unfortunately has been used by cooporate America to distract us from the tripple wammy car wreck of the bank/car/housing bubble it created. Now, it is not a conspiracy, no one person started this, but the long term climate of fear and the unrestricted fleecing of our economy was a tinderbox to allow race and class scapegoating.

But the middle class and poor who vote republican say the same thing as liberals. They want jobs, and not just jobs, but decent paying jobs. They want to get health care too, without fear of losing their house or getting their electricity cut off. The incidious thing about how affective the right has been over the past 30 years is that it has used race and class to get people to vote against their own self interest. Race and class issues have been the tool that has dvided the middle class and working poor along racial and religious lines.

This woman is parcel to the affect of this distructive tactic. But both the republican and liberal voters if wallet issues are put in front, WE can force the top and government to focus on US, not them not their selfish self interests, but US.

Our economy is not religious or race or class based and if bigotry like this is to be taken out of political discourse, then WE on the left and the right need to force government to focus on us, not who has the most or the least. Not who is more important because all classes are needed.

A bunch of old people with a grudge?

No hate involved. I'm speaking from a strategic point of view. If a person wants to stop our democratic, for the people by the people, form of government, I would consider them enemies of the state.

True. I've have had the same said and done to me from people on the right and left.

When I was younger was the type of person to take a bumper sticker off a car if I didn't like it (or cover it with one I did like). But I never said I wished a person dead other than my older brother who was quite a dick to me at times and I was too small to defend myself.

Her getting fired from her job is a long time question from society. Does a company have the right to look at your webpage and judge you? Is the decision to fire her a local or corporate decision?

So when it comes down to the decision to let her go, maybe the owner or manager thought it would hurt their business? Maybe they don't support racist remarks? Either way it is their right to do so provided they do not trample her rights.

 (edit)

We also don't know if she was mouthing off at work about this stuff. Yeah it's immature, but I have an entire family of immature racists who hate Obama and none of them, even the younger ones, wish Obama dead publicly.

Personally, I think that it should be illegal for people to get fired for stuff they do off hours, unless it's criminal.

 So you're saying people who say hateful things, and people who wish for other people to die deserve to loose their jobs and be investigated.   If that is the case there are quite a number of people who aren't getting what they deserve.  

Here are some people who don't seem to be facing the same consequences as that stupid little girl.  

http://www.zombietime.com/zomblog/?p=621

http://www.examiner.com/article/new-black-panther-leader-kill-white-babies-by-bombing-nurseries

Outrageous isn't it.  Something needs to be done about this, or maybe not.   On the second page I linked to one commentator said.

"As long as this jackazz is just talking let him talk. Nobody is going to do anything. I just wish at this day and age people could stop the B.S. about race."

So, as long as no one is doing anything illegal maybe people should have the freedom to say whatever they want.   What a powerful idea.  We can call this new freedom the freedom of speech.  What do you guys and girls think? 

I have to say that I agree.

Granted, I don't post things about my employers and fellow co-workers on Facebook (but, I don't see no reason why a person should not be able to)

BUT. I have done plenty of ranting and raving on here about the idiots that I work with (particularly that conspiracy theory nut).

Now granted, I wouldn't use terms like "deserve to die" (only because we now live in a world where people end up in jail or investigated over stuff like that) but while she may have acted stupidly, but since when is it a crime to be stupid ?

If they could fire people and lock people up for being and acting stupid, 95% of the country would be in jail.

I am not condoning what she said or did, but free speech is supposed to be free speech.

Granted, that was a dumb thing for her to do.

I think they should be investigated.

While I agree with this, I believe that there is a line which should be drawn. If a person says that they hate gays and want to kill them on their facebook page, then HR finds out about it, and your company has a couple of gay people, shouldn't the company have the right to decide if you should continue being employeed at said company?

"Helm's supervisor, Turlock Cold Stone Creamery store director Chris Kegle, told The Bee that he was shocked to read about his employee's comments, which he said do not line up with his company's values.

"We found her comments to be very disgusting," Kegle said. "We made the decision [to fire her] because of her comments, but also the community feedback. We are very into working with the community and doing community service. So when your community does not like you because of an employee, that's bad. We have a business to run."

Cold Stone's Twitter feed was besieged by angry tweets, and the company has worked hard to disassociate itself with Helms."

www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/09/denise-helms-california-woman-hopes-obama-is-assassinated_n_2104184.html

 I don't think there is any question that the only reason Coldstone fired her was because of the complaints they received. Left to their own devices with no complaints they probably would have ignored it. This isn't a case of a company being overly intrusive in someones private life, it is a case of a company responding to a series of complaints made by people who apparently don't have lives. I would prefer that the company tell those lifeless people to go fuck themselves (they are probably a bunch of losers living in mommy's basement and can't afford Coldstone anyway) I can't really blame a company for distancing themselves from this kind of situation which could cost them hundreds of thousands in sales. I can understand why Coldstone doesn't want to be involved and from their perspective, firing a single low wage employee is much cheaper and easier than dealing with any potential fallout. They are in the business of selling ice cream, not political ideals. If I owned the company I would be willing to risk a few million for the pleasure I would get from telling all the left wing nuts out there to go fuck themselves (and unlike most large business owners I would do an interview where I would actually say "Those left wing nuts can go fuck themselves, I'm not firing a good employee for the content of her off work speech." and make them bleep the word "fuck&quot and if it cost me a few million in sales I would consider it money well spent for the sheer enjoyment of the moment.  Perhaps that is why I am not a large business owner...

At the risk of sounding like Brian37, the problem is the spineless, complaining, whiny, wanting to be offended CLIMATE! that we have in the US today. Seriously, these types of people seem to sit around looking for reasons to be offended and make a big deal out of what completely unimportant people say. Anyone who gets their nose out of joint over the comments made by a fucking ice cream scooper in some random town really needs to consider getting a life or perhaps taking up a hobby.

Re:: Self Editing is a wonderful thing Denise

OP    I had not noticed this thread until just now . .

 Wow, Next time try the Politically Incorrect cartoons.  Be advised only no snipers and none w/ any Lorraine Motel/hotel balcones (in Memphis). Threats! ..without self-control, brutal, not loving nor good, what a winner. See: Cartoon Image

        _      

I'm not sure most of those people are worth the cost of investigating.  While maybe some of the people I linked to really do need to be investigated most of them don't seem that likely to actually do anything.  I guess you could argue that they might incite someone else to do something, which is a concern.  Still, whether or not those people should be investigated they certainly don't deserve to lose their jobs for exercising their freedom of speech. 

The girl in the OP certainly didn't seem like someone who is likely to take any action.  Actually, while what she said was ambiguously worded it didn’t seem like a real threat at all.  It's just seemed like she was wishing he would die.  If everyone who wished for the death of other people on the internet was investigated, then it would take serious time and resources from other more important investigations.  Even if it was limited to only people who wished death on the president it would still be a huge waste.   I can understand if someone made a direct unambiguous threat, but the CIA can't possible have time and resources to waste on every idiot on the internet who just wishes him harm.

Really, I think all of this was just an act of revenge by a mob.  She made them mad so they banded together and punished her.  Kind of like a lynch mob without the death.  

This event makes me angry because it isn't justice.  She never got a trail.  Instead a random group of strangers acted like judge, jury and executioner.  I don't know why you are so accepting of what happened to her.    This could happen to anyone, even you.  Even if you don't say anything stupid like the girl, if someone labels you racist (or some other hated group), and riles up enough people they can get you fired or in some other way make your life miserable.   You won't get a trial, or even a chance to defend yourself because everything you say will come from the mouth of the evil racist and thus be ignored.

I don't feel comfortable with these kinds of mob actions.  Maybe you do, but just remember that the witch hunt is on and they will find witches.  If there are no witches to find then they will make witches, and maybe one of those witches will be you.

When I was very young and very immature I used to think about violent thoughts. If some one hurt me or some one I cared about I would think about ways to cause great physical pain to those people. I never lifted a finger to hurt them, never purchased any items, never wrote out any plans or confronted those people verbally. I kept it inside myself and soon it passed and I realized what an idiot I was being.

If a person, like this young lady, makes a statement that she wouldn't mind if the President was assassinated, is she subconsciously trying to provoke a crazy nut job will go out and carry out her violent thoughts? She knows she couldn't possibly carry out the treat, but by posting it publicly that she might get momentum and support for her wishes from through the public? Need we be reminded of the nut jobs out there?

I suggest that any one who makes the statement or even thinks it, "I want to kill..." or "I wish [insert name] was killed..." you are secretly really wanting those people dead. Even that girl said, "wouldn't mind a bit if someone assassinated Obama" which would signify she really wants his assassinated.

Yes, there are exceptions to this suggestion, a comedian who is on stage doing a routine or people can make these statements hypothetically. Still, if a comedian is making these statements on stage are they secretly wanting the assassination to actually take place?

I submit that people who actually make these statements are mentally disturbed, even if mildly. No sane person actually wants to go out or wish another person dead. Only insecure people who can't control their own thoughts or desires make statements like this; people so pissed off that a black man is the President of their country.

(some interesting items) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Threatening_the_President_of_the_United_States#Watts_v._United_States

So go forth an support these kinds of "free speech"; after all this stuff is protected by the 1st Amendment? but where does free speech start and where does it end?

I hope you are mugged.

I hope that the next person who you cut off in traffic pulls out a gun and starts shooting you.

I wish that the next time you fly in a plane, the seat you are sitting in comes loose during turbulence and you break your neck.

I hope that the you are attacked by a bear and stay alive through the entire mauling, only to die months later from a broken heart.

Maybe you will be shot to death, then burned, then stabbed, then poisoned, then raped and finally pissed on.

How about this one:

I wish that some fucking nut sack will show up at a random location and kill the one person you love more than any other person in the world. They didn't actually want to kill your loved one, but instead showed up to kill a Congress woman who was holding a "meet and greet" with the public.

Where does free speech end and stupidity start?

This form of speech is harmful to society, so stop hiding behind the 1st amendment.

This thread has branched out into a lot of different subjects so I'm going to break my reply up into several different parts.

Is she stupid?

I'd say that yes she is stupid.  Why else would she post something like that on face book, and risk making all her friends hater her?  Unless maybe you think it's just a ploy to get attention, but I don't see how she could have possible known she would have gotten the amount of attention she did.  Based on the amount of the time I've spent on the internet, and the types of things I've read various places on it, I’m guessing that there are many people who have said similar things without getting much of a reaction at all. 

Is she racist?  

She used the n word so yea she probably is.  

Is she disturbed?

It is difficult to say.  If wanting other people to come to harm makes you disturbed then a large percent of Americans are disturbed for wanting Osama Bin Laden dead.

Is what she said illegal?

 I'm not a lawyer and there are many laws in this country.  The link you posted above had this.  

"The statute does not penalize imagining, wishing, or hoping that the act of killing the President will be committed by someone else."

Based off this I'd say what she said isn't illegal, but as I said I'm not a lawyer.  I don't think the people who got her fired thought it was illegal, or they wouldn't have needed to go to the trouble.  They could have just waited for the law to take care of things for them. 

Should what she said be protected by the first amendment?  

You ask where does free speech start and where does it end?  Obviously you want it to end with her outside its protection.  So, where will that type of thinking end?  How far can you whittle down free speech until it's not free anymore?  You say I'm hiding behind free speech, but really I'm standing up for it.  Someone needs to before it's whittled away to nothing.    Just because she is stupid and racist doesn't mean she deserves to be singled out the way she was.  If we won’t stand up for the rights of people we don't like then some day we may wake up to find we no longer have any rights at all.

I don't think what she said was illegal. I think that if they thought her threat was serious then they would investigate. Remember, the Secret Service has offices all over the country so having some guys who are sitting behind a desk all the time would most likely want some action. They take this up just to keep their toes wet.

I agree with the previous court ruling in "Watts vs. United States". He didn't really mean "I want to kill the President" so he should go free. But what about this idiot, http://www.thesmokinggun.com/buster/obama-twitter-death-threats-486712

These are the people who should be locked up and examined. This guy, even when he isn't stoned, would like to see the President dead. This is crossing the line and the Secret Service is correct for investigating.

I believe EVERY one hides behind the 1st amendment; I never singled out you. The problem is when you aren't willing to step out from behind it to be challenged? If a person says, "I want to blow up the building" then says, "Wait, don't arrest me, I have the 1st amendment to protect me" is a douche. Step out and be accounted for, prove that you have that 1st amendment right to say, "I want to kill..."

Where does it start and where does it end? It starts will the right to speak you opinion such as, "I don't agree with the President" and "The policy of the President is fucking whacked out, we should impeach them".

It ends when you say "I want to kill or harm or damage..". It ends when you yell "FIRE" in a crowded room. It ends when you are emphatic about your opinions such as:

In 2010, a Dallas, Texas man was arrested for allegedly posting to Craigslist, "People, the time has come for revolution. It is time for Obama to die. I am dedicating my life to the death of Obama and every employee of the federal government. As I promised in a previous post, if the health care reform bill passed I would become a terrorist. Today I become a terrorist."

I totally disagree with any one who thinks there is no limit to free speech.

 Well said.

So when do you investigate? After the President has been shot at?