Court Martial and Death Penalty Sought in Iraq Murder Case

[Drolefille]

Originally Posted by centaur532

Can I just get a definition on character assassination? Please? That makes no sense.

It's basically Slander/libel. If I said you were a no good dirty rat to all your friends, family, coworkers, boss, etc... that'd be character assassination.

Telling people on a message board to shut up is NOT character assassination.

Wiki No one here is assassinating anyone. Disliking someone and sharing that opinion with others is not the same thing.

[AlexMack]

Originally Posted by Drolefille

It's basically Slander/libel. If I said you were a no good dirty rat to all your friends, family, coworkers, boss, etc... that'd be character assassination.

Telling people on a message board to shut up is NOT character assassination.

Wiki No one here is assassinating anyone. Disliking someone and sharing that opinion with others is not the same thing.

I think character assassination is the dumbest phrase I've ever heard. Assassination is the murder of an important person, a figurehead, a national or international leader.

Why can't people just say defamation of character? And for that matter, nothing in my signature or thread is defaming anyone.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by centaur532

I think character assassination is the dumbest phrase I've ever heard. Assassination is the murder of an important person, a figurehead, a national or international leader.

Well, actually if you check out the dictionary ("assasinate"), you'll find:

1. to kill suddenly or secretively, esp. a politically prominent person; murder premeditatedly and treacherously.
2. to destroy or harm treacherously and viciously: to assassinate a person's character.

(Emphasis original to dictionary.com. My 1966 Random House unabridged has the same definitions.)

Why can't people just say defamation of character?

Because they're not necessarily the same thing. Character assassination is form of defamation with the particular purpose of ending someone's political or business career or a similar effect. As the Wiki article that Drolefille linked says: Such acts are typically very difficult to reverse or rectify, therefore the process is correctly likened to a literal assassination of a human life. The damage sustained can be life-long and more, or for historical personages, last for many centuries after their death.

[AlexMack]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

Well, actually if you check out the dictionary ("assasinate"), you'll find:

1. to kill suddenly or secretively, esp. a politically prominent person; murder premeditatedly and treacherously.
2. to destroy or harm treacherously and viciously: to assassinate a person's character.

(Emphasis original to dictionary.com. My 1966 Random House unabridged has the same definitions.)

Because they're not necessarily the same thing. Character assassination is form of defamation with the particular purpose of ending someone's political or business career or a similar effect. As the Wiki article that Drolefille linked says: Such acts are typically very difficult to reverse or rectify, therefore the process is correctly likened to a literal assassination of a human life. The damage sustained can be life-long and more, or for historical personages, last for many centuries after their death.

I tip my proverbial cap to you then Mysticcat though Earp completely misused the expression. I had never heard the phrase before yesterday. I suppose you could refer to Mary Magdelene as a famous victim of character assassination.

Originally Posted by shinerbock

I meant to say civilians, but yeah.

Shinerbock, I believe the outrage here is that these soldiers were part of an invasion into another country where they then preyed on the civilians of that country. It's like walking into someone else's house, taking off your shoes and shooting their dog.
I am no less outraged by the kidnappings and murders of Americans, Brits, etc. Jill Carroll, for instance, was a UMASS alum and someone we never forgot during her entire ordeal.
The outrage is similar to the emotions on 9/11. Someone came into our country and killed our people.
When you're in the military, you do your damn job and nothing but your job. This murder was pre-meditated and appalling.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by centaur532

I suppose you could refer to Mary Magdelene as a famous victim of character assassination.

Bingo! She wasn't just defamed, her character was assassinated, and it took centuries to get past that. (Although I could make the argument that the current Da Vinci Code-esque treatments of her have started a new dafamation of her.)

But you got it exactly.

[RU OX Alum]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

Bingo! She wasn't just defamed, her character was assassinated, and it took centuries to get past that. (Although I could make the argument that the current Da Vinci Code-esque treatments of her have started a new dafamation of her.)

But you got it exactly.

I thought that those were pro-Magdelene

[Drolefille]

Originally Posted by RU OX Alum

I thought that those were pro-Magdelene

There's still no historical evidence for it.

[shinerbock]

I'm sure you're outraged by American death, I'm referring to people who will gleefully jump on soldiers, yet remain silent when Americans are killed. As for the soldiers, I don't believe they've been convicted yet.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by RU OX Alum

I thought that those were pro-Magdelene

They indeed purport to be pro-Magdelene. But if they portray her as something she was not (and there is no evidence to back up the Holy Blood, Holy Grail and Da Vinci Code-type claims about her), then they defame her. My guess is that she would be equally horrified by her portrayal over many centuries as a former harlot and by her portrayal as the wife of Jesus, mother of his children and "Holy Grail." (Of course, that presumes she would have any idea what a '"holy grail" is, given that she was from Judea and the "holy grail" is rooted in Celtic myth.)