TAKING SEMIOTICS TOO SERIOUSLY. Tom McMahon, whose eponymous weblog is a friendly connection, rearranged a lame bumper sticker to suggest that the recommended action might not always be so easy. Milwaukee radio talker (and critic of higher education) Charlie Sykes liked the effort so much he posted it to his higher traffic site. The folks behind the original bumper sticker took offense. A full-scale weblog spat has broken out. Shark and Shepherd have a good summary of the first few days of skirmishing. Marquette Warrior, another friendly connection, suggests that the folks taking offense themselves give offense. Paul Noonan at The Electric Commentary, yet another friendly connection, suggests (via a tu quoque argument) that Mr Sykes is selective in his defense of freedom of expression. The spat has continued through the long weekend. There's a continuing discussion on Sykes Writes, and longtime Madison and Milwaukee policy maven Jim Rowen has been raising numerous counterarguments.

I do think, and I repeat, that he's in a hypocritical position because of his earlier battle with Miller Brewing over its participation in a tasteless and offensive advertisement.

If you're going to get offended about someone misusing religious symbolism (a Last Supper image), then don't praise and defend others who are doing the same thing (tampering with the Islamic Crescent and playing with the Star of David).

So be consistent, or risk being labeled a hyprocrite.

Maybe.

This is a classic Red Herring since whether the accuser is guilty of the same, or a similar, wrong is irrelevant to the truth of the original charge. However, as a diversionary tactic, Tu Quoque can be very effective, since the accuser is put on the defensive, and frequently feels compelled to defend against the accusation.

I'll let others work out whether both rearrangements rise to the same level of sacrilege, or whether we have yet another case study in Free Speech for Me -- But Not for Thee. The good news is that the spat has, so far, been confined to bytes and pixels, rather than bites and pistols.