Tit for Tat

[Update (2008.11.1.18:49): It appears that “the Stranger” took down the offending page and redirected the link to “The Drudge Report”. I can’t find a cached version of the page. This is a blog entry at the paper apparently written by the guy who wrote the original offending article.]

 

“the Stranger” a leftist rag in Seattle, Wa. decided it would be funny to [update: the original page has been removed]  write a supposed review of local haunted houses in which the scariest houses where those that had Republican campaign posters in their yards. [h/t Instapundit] Presumably trying to be thorough, they displayed the addresses of the houses prominently in the article.

I figure that turnabout is fair play, so I did some Internet research and found the address of the paper’s editorial director. 

Daniel K. Savage

1146 16TH AVE E
SEATTLE, WA 98112

Here’s a map.

His Wikipedia entry is a hoot, especially the part about licking doorknobs.

The paper’s business number:
(206) 323-7101

is registered to:

Catherine Darkenwald
121 WOOD AVE SW
BAINBRIDGE ISLAND, WA 98110

The paper itself is at:

1535 11th Ave. 3rd Floor
Seattle, WA 98122

If a reader in the Seattle area would like to swing by and take pictures, we could post those, you know, just to be thorough.

[Update (2008.11.1.19:07): Just to be clear, the problem here arose from the ability of a media outlet to focus the attention of an entire community (tens of thousands of individuals in the case of this paper in Seattle) onto one or two people and then to single those people out as evil. They neglected to take into account that some unstable person might decide to act out the hatred in the article. The media demands special privileges but with those privileges come responsibilities.]

[Update (2008.11.1.19:07): Hey look scary photos:

Here’s the building at 1535 11th Ave. 3rd Floor Seattle, WA 98122 where “the Stranger” offices are located.

Here’s close up of their door (it looks kind of seedy).

 

Here’s the house at Daniel K. Savage 1146 16TH AVE E SEATTLE, WA 98112 where Dan Savage, the paper’s editorial director lives:

Lastly let me just reprint these thoughts about the morality of putting up these addresses and photos of the houses of people you disagree with politically:

And for anyone who thinks we secretly want somebody to go vandalize those houses—seriously, don’t. It was just a joke.

I could not have put it better myself.

9 thoughts on “Tit for Tat”

  1. When I was young people placed lawn signs on their lawns in front of their homes. In those days signs were free. Everybody knew you had a sign because it was right there in front of your house.

    But this list controversy suggests that having a lawn sign is something kept secret. Where do people put them? In a drawer under their underwear next to their copy of Cosmo?

  2. There’s a house that I bike by everyday in Minneapolis that has an Al Frankenstein lawn sign. I swear it makes me do a doubletake everytime because they somehow made it look exactly like the real Al Franken sign. They also have about 15 skulls on polls and a full-sized brass bed with a mummy in it. Spooooooky.

    I swear Minnesotans are more into Halloween then people in any other part of the country.

  3. Sol Vason,

    But this list controversy suggests that having a lawn sign is something kept secret.

    It’s one thing to have a sign in your yard, its another to have a large news organ in your locality single you out, call you evil and then print your address.

    Traditionally, media producers have recognized that if they have thousands to millions of readers/viewers some of them may be mentally unstable and/or impulsive. Putting the focus on someone can make them a target for people that might act out. To that end, newspapers et al have traditionally removed information that could point a disturbed/extremist reader directly at the object of the story.

  4. These are the same folks who thought it was okay to hack into Sarah Palin’s private email accounts and publicize her daughter’s medical records. To them, the end justifies the means.

  5. Ellen K,

    Actually, I think its the same psychological dynamic that lets people accept that the hero cop in cop stories can fast and loose with procedures/civil rights without appearing the villain. When you think that you have right on your side, it seems okay to bend the rules. When the hero cop beats a confession out of someone, thats okay. When a Nazi does it, its evil.

    They think its okay to harass people they consider evil because evil people deserve everything they get.

  6. “They think its okay to harass people they consider evil because evil people deserve everything they get.”

    And isn’t it interesting and instructive to notice that these liberals see a mere conservative as evil and deserving harassment and assault, and yet we never hear of liberals doing anything nasty to a communist. Wear a McCain t-shirt and you’ll get your share of abuse, but wear a Che shirt and you’ll be welcome in every coffee shop and campus in America.

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