Lynching redux

[Joanne M. Despres]

Excuse me for butting in, but it seems to me that Thomas' use of
"lynching" was more than just figurative -- it was allusive.  He was
intentionally comparing his experience to that of literal lynching
victims.  At least that was how I interpreted his words.

Joanne

On 2 Aug 2005, at 12:41, Mullins, Bill wrote:

> > Thomas called it a "high-tech lynching".  I wouldn't agree he
> > was justified in the usage, which I considered to be an
> > insult to the memory of all those who were actually lynched
> > in the usual low-tech way.
>
> Do you make the general assertion that if a figurative usage is of less
> significance than the literal usage, it demeans the literal usage?
>
> If I say, "Laurence, you're killing me with your posts," have I insulted
> people who have really been killed?
> If the Sierra Club says that the Bush administration is raping the
> environment, what about people who've really been raped?  Have they got
> a legitimate beef with the Sierra Club?
>
> I don't know exactly where I stand on this, I'm just asking you to
> expand on your opinion.