A Loaded Gun
August 21, 2009 in Rants

A loaded gun is a rich and dazzling metaphor in the poetry of Emily Dickinson. However, a real loaded gun brought into public, such as a crowd of protesters outside of a town hall meeting with the the President of the United States is not a metaphor. It is not a symbol. It is a serious threat to public safety. This is a matter of basic commonsense: bringing a weapon to a political rally is a provocation to violence.