Heavy Ink Comics Retailer Applauds the Shooting of Gabrielle Giffords

[bigworld]

Source: Comics Alliance

The tragic shooting in Tucson, Arizona over the weekend, which left Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in a coma and six others dead, has been universally condemned both by Democrats and Republicans, as you would expect in any civilized society where violence and assassination with semi-automatic weaponry are considered inappropriate responses to political differences. But while even Sarah Palin -- a forceful opponent of Giffords who once published an infographic targeting Giffords through gun sights -- was publicly calling for "peace and justice," at least one member of the retail comics community had a different message: "1 down, 534 to go."

The "1" is Gabrielle Giffords, and the "534" are the remaining members of Congress -- both Democrat and Republican -- who have not yet been shot in the head. The retailer who posted this was Travis Corcoran, the president of Heavy Ink, an online comic book retailer based in Arlington, Massachusetts.

In a post on his blog, Corcoran continued to comment on the shooting by taking the bold stance that while you are in the process of assassinating those 534 political leaders, it is important to aim very carefully so that you do not kill random people around them, as that would be wrong.

Read more: http://www.comicsalliance.com/2011/01/10/heavy-ink-arizona-shooting-corcoran/?a_dgi=aolshare_twitter

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Unbelievable. Given the chance to backpedal, he only refused to and re-asserted what he said. Just wow.

[mucifer]

1. you do realize the 534 includes many many republicans.

Just wanted to point that out. Some lunatics hate all politicians.

[bullwinkle428]

15. I honestly don't want to see physical harm done to even the worst

Republicans in Congress! (I live in the state where Steve King comes from, by the way, so I know all about pricks in Congress)

[fascisthunter]

2. But, the left does it too... oh wait, no they don't

[Statistical]

32. Can you really call him right wing if he is advocating the death of all Republicans in congress.

Are maybe he is too stupid to realize that is what he is saying?

[fascisthunter]

41. yes, actually I can and did

[madokie]

3. Maybe someone there will report him to the police

[tularetom]

4. Even though he looks like this they better take him seriously

[Ikonoklast]

You are correct, Sir!

[Tsiyu]

40. Nice guy

Keep ramping up that hate, Buddy.

That's how to run a country...just shoot everybody you don't like.

Might i suggest Somalia as a nation you might enjoy much more than the US?

[somone]

5. Whoever knowingly or willfully advocates, abets, advises, or teaches the duty, necessity,

desirability, or propriety of overthrowing or destroying the government of the United States or the government of any State, Territory, District or Possession thereof, or the government of any political subdivision therein, by force or violence, or by the assassination of any officer of any such government...
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/uscode18/usc_sec_18_00002385----000-.html

What the heck happened to this law?

[grahamhgreen]

18. Thank you!

[Xithras]

20. The Clear and Present Danger test severely limits its applicability.

The USSC has ruled that advocating for the overthrow of the U.S. government, and even the deaths of its members, was a protected First Amendment activity. The only exception is the narrowly defined "clear and present danger test". In essence, in order to prosecute you for violating that statute, the prosecutor must PROVE that you had the capability and intent to actually carry out the activity yourself, or a reasonable belief that your statements would lead someone else to commit the crime right away. There is also an exception for direct personal threats.

Saying "I want Senator X to die" in your own home, or even among the general public, somewhere in Nebraska, is legal because your statement by itself carries no direct threat, and no reasonable chance of being carried out. It might get you questioned, but that's about it.

Saying "I want Senator X to die" while standing on the steps of the Capitol building brandishing an SKS would be prosecutable, because you are now a present danger to that person (you'd probably be shot by the Capitol police anyway, so that example is a bit moot).

Saying "I want to kill Senator X" is a crime anywhere in the U.S., because that's a direct threat.

Saying "You should kill Senator X" to your drunk buddy over a campfire in the Rockies is legal because, again, there is no clear and present danger associated with the statement.

Saying "You should kill Senator X" to your mentally ill buddy who is already angry at the government is a crime, because there is an actual danger that it might be carried out.

Prosecuting people under that law is tricky. It's all about intent, and it is NOT illegal to simply advocate for the overthrow of the U.S. government, or to state that you wish for the death of its members. There has to be an actual threat involved.

[alp227]

22. Googled and found that case is Schenck v United States (1919)

That case established the "clear and present danger" test (coined by Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes)

[Xithras]

35. Actually, Schenck was overturned and replaced by Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969)

While we still commonly use the terminology from the "clear and present danger test", the actual test itself is now based on the "Imminent lawless action" test established by the USSC in that later case. Under the imminent lawless action test, speech is not protected by the First Amendment if the speaker intends to incite a violation of the law that is both imminent and likely.

This was further refined a few years later in Hess v. Indiana (1973), which is directly applicable today. In Hess, the court ruled that the defendants advocacy of an illegal action WAS protected speech, because that speech "amounted to nothing more than advocacy of illegal action at some indefinite future time." It didn't meet the "imminence" requirement, and was legal.

Many people charged with threatening members of Congress or the President could actually escape conviction under Hess v. Indiana, but most people just plead it out for a slap on the wrist sentence rather than fighting their cases. In most cases, they would spend more time in prison fighting it out through the appeals process than they would actually spend in prison if they just took their lumps, plead out, and served their several months.

[Lucinda]

6. Wow. Nice to see the creators asking him not to carry their work.

Doubt he will comply though.
His view is horrible, but I still find the Westboro people the worst of the lot. They make my skin crawl.

[DeSwiss]

7. All the scum is rising to the top. - K&R n/t

[Name removed]

11. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[DeSwiss]

13. Only when Repukes win. n/t

[fascisthunter]

14. no... that's what happens when right wingers are involved in politics

historically speaking.

[SaveAmerica]

8. How does inciting violence/crimes against Federal Employees not get you arrested?

"Don't retreat, reload" then go to my Facebook page (where a map with gun sights and a list of names is found).

That's a threat to 20 Federal Employees, Congressmen. That's outside your freedom of speech, doesn't that get you jail time?

"We have to find 2nd Amendment Solutions...take Harry Reid out". Isn't that inciting violence toward an elected official? Shouldn't she have been charged?

This guy has incited violence toward 534 Federal Employees, elected officials. Doesn't this action deserve charges against this fool?

How is it possible that you can threaten people's lives and not get charged with anything?

[justiceischeap]

10. 'Cause it's just rhetoric

Since he doesn't really mean it, it doesn't count! :sarcasm:

Could you imagine what some conservative ReThugs would say if you tried arresting people for "speaking their minds?" (i.e. threatening people). Then they too could be held accountable.

[nyc 4 Biden]

9. who cares. random people say hateful things every day. he just wants attention. n/t

[Bigmack]

12. Guy like this must think they are immune to the ....

violence they advocate.

Do these people imagine that liberals are not capable of harming him or his business? Does he imagine that liberals are incapable of doing him economic damage? Does he imagine that the authorities will just give this a pass?

Perhaps he's far more "into" his comics than is healthy.

http://heavyink.com/contact_us

[grahamhgreen]

16. Can he really advocate for assisination without consequence?

[Courtesy Flush]

17. He will profit from the negative publicity.

Maybe Google has fixed this already. I know they're working on it.

When an online business gets a lot of buzz, even very negative attention, it causes their website to be treated favorably by Google. If a Google search for "comic books" doesn't have Heavy Ink as the #1 result, stories like this will change that. And the kids who are shopping for comics won't research the political views of the owner. They'll just click and buy.

So spreading the word about this will only profit Heavy Ink.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/28/business/28borker.html?pagewanted=all

It’s all part of a sales strategy, he said. Online chatter about (website name), even furious online chatter, pushed the site higher in Google search results, which led to greater sales. He closed with a sardonic expression of gratitude: “I never had the amount of traffic I have now since my 1st complaint. I am in heaven.”

I removed the name of the business to avoid contributing to their fame.

[alfredo]

19. People are leaving Heavy Ink because of his hate

http://heavyink.com/forum/forums/1/topics/2043


I just cancelled all of my subscriptions and outstanding orders. It wasn’t an easy decision; I’ve been a weekly customer for well over a year and HeavyInk’s service has always been outstanding. (I know people on the forum might not believe that, as this is my first forum post, but the Heavy crew will be able to see that it’s true if they look at my account). There’s a huge difference between “political views I disagree with” and “the advocacy of politically motivated murder”. So long as Travis is a part if this business, I can no longer be a customer.


I’m also going to be cancelling all of my outstanding orders. There is a vast difference between expressing political views and condoning murder. There is no place whatsoever for the rhetoric of violence in a civil society and I am not going to associate myself with a company that employs/was founded by an individual that fails to understand that premise. I will take my business elsewhere.


This is the first time I’ve posted on this forum. I’m afraid you can add me to the long list of people who no longer want to be affiliated with Heavy Ink. Which sucks. You guys offer a truly great service. I just can’t financially support a company with such a hate-monger for an employee.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

21. That looks like a DU thread. Wow.

The flailings of the RW apologists are quite familiar.

"Wah wah politically correct wah wah freedom of speech blah blah the courage of his convictions yargle blargle blargh."

[alfredo]

36. It is nice having the Republicans on the defensive.

[TornadoTN]

24. Not only that, but big-name artists and writers are wanting their stuff pulled

Not that they have much say over it, since it is up to the publisher where the material is sent once it is submitted to them by the artists, but these big-names speaking up and telling people "Don't buy my stuff there - please" is the kind of statement that collectors and enthusiasts listen to. If you thought we have a thing for Democratic/Progressive politicians, you haven't seen the love and admiration thrown at these artists from their fans for their work.

This will produce results. He will see a moderate uptick in business from the crazy fringe in the industry, but it won't be enough to offset the droves leaving over this statement. Live by the free market and all that.

[alfredo]

25. The invisible hand of the marketplace is slapping that site.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

37. You can glimpse, behind all the whitewashing and damage control, that the other partner ("Andy")

must be real real pissed.

[alfredo]

38. I've been in a "my business partner is an idiot" situation myself.

[alp227]

23. does he look like the Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comic_Book_Guy

Gosh, there are always assholes ready to drop shit upon tragedies. For example, after the January 2010 Haiti earthquake, former NBA player Paul Shirley told the people of Haiti "use a condom once in a while" and blamed Haitian people for being poor.

[gatorboy]

26. The man considers himself a "Patriot"

Sound familiar?

[DisgustipatedinCA]

27. Dumbass, meet the Internet. Internet, meet dumbass.

I get the feeling this guy is going to learn in a hurry that it's a bad idea to focus the rage of a hundred thousand people upon oneself.

[Zoeisright]

28. I reported him to the FBI, and encourage others to do so too.

https://tips.fbi.gov/

[nadinbrzezinski]

29. Apoart of the disgusting and offensive theme

folks we do not have 535 members of congress...

Basic civics here, 432...

But overall, this guy is nuts.

[onenote]

31. Presumably he was including the Senate

435 members of the House of Representatives
100 members of the Senate

"Congress", while often used to refer to the House alone, actually is a term that encompasses both the House and Senate, as in, the United States Congress is a bicameral legislature consisting of the House of Representatives and the Senate.

[nadinbrzezinski]

33. I tend to refer them by house

silly me

[Last_Stand]

30. Another turd...

another opportunistic pustule.

[reformist2]

34. These libertarian types are dangerously prone to crazytown thinking.

I think it stems from their obsession with individualism. Their need to have a unique point of view leads them to hold increasingly extreme points of view. Until one day, they go too far.

[Confusious]

39. Letter to DC comics.

It has come to my attention that the president of Heavyink.com has made a remark inciting violence against members of congress. This in the few days after the shooting of my Representative, Gabriel Giffords.

http://tjic.com/?p=19638

Going to Heavyink.com, I noticed that DC comics are among those that are sold there.

I am a fan of comics, Green Lantern in particular.

If you do not remove your brand from this website, I will have to assume you support his comments, which I cannot tolerate. I will be sure to never buy any DC comics in the future, and also alert my friends, who also buy comics, to your choice in retailers.