San Francisco...not as liberal or tolerant as you thought....Abu Ghirab

Last straw for art gallery
Threats and attacks over Iraq painting force owner out.
By J.K. Dineen | Staff Writer
Published on Wednesday, May 26, 2004
A North Beach art gallery owner who has been attacked and threatened for showing a controversial painting of American soldiers torturing Iraqi prisoners has decided to call it quits.

After having her life repeatedly threatened, her business egged and her face spat upon, Lori Haigh papered up the windows of her Powell Street gallery, Capobianco, on Tuesday.

"I'm totally disheartened by this -- this was my dream," Haigh said. "I felt like this was a legacy I could leave my children; that we had a gallery in North Beach."

The painting, titled "The Abuse" by East Bay artist Guy Colwell, shows Pfc. Lynndie England and another soldier smiling gleefully as they look upon a trio of naked, hooded Iraqi prisoners who are hooked up to electrical wires. In the background, a third American soldier is escorting a Muslim woman in a dress into the torture chamber.

A week ago, Haigh realized the nerve the painting had struck when she arrived at work to find the place egged and heaps of trash dumped at the gallery entrance. On her computer and voice mail were stinging messages calling her anti-American for showing the artwork.

Even after she took the painting out of the front window, she received six threats against her life. The last straw was when a man spat at her.

"He came walking in with a fisherman's cap and a fatigue jacket on and slowly made his way along the wall, looking at the pictures," she said. "Then he put his fists on my desk, put his face close to mine and spat. It was a real big loogie spit -- it was not a tiny spit."

As Haigh ran to the back of the gallery for some napkins, the man fled. Haigh has filed a police report on the incident.

Among the messages left on the gallery answering machine were, "You f---ing coward, you're dead" and "I think you need to get your gallery out of this neighborhood before you get hurt."




http://www.sfexaminer.com/article/index.cfm/i/052604n_gallery

So, even in liberal and tolerant SF, this is too much, huh?

Nor is it the most liberal part of town.

I don't know anybody who isn't shocked and appalled. There are tons of bars so we attract the bridge and tunnel crowd, though. I have to believe this outrage wasn't perpetrated by anybody who actually lives here, although I suppose you never know.

done by out-of-towners of some ilk.

Not that there aren't a few crazies in every neighborhood ...

for a handful of wingnuts. :shrug:

I live 1,000 miles away in the middle of Ohio....heck, for me, SF would be the LAST place I would expect this!

...Since the "torture" was nothing more than a fraternity prank.

Electrocution or threat thereof is simply good, clean fun. The guy that spat in her face would probably have gotten a chuckle out of it and set his differences with her aside.

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:wtf: :wtf: :wtf:

:grr: :grr: :grr: :grr:

Among the MANY reasons I HATE THOSE FREEPER FUCKS is their penchant for BULLYING THE WEAK!

The Freeper (w)ussy who spat in this small peacful woman's face wouldn't have the BALLS to do it to someone who could fight back.

I hate Freepers like the Jews hated the Nazis for almost identical reasons!

Try that shit on someone who can fight back next time, you Gutless Freeper (W)USSIES!

volunteered to watch her place during the night!

I wish I lived there so I could do the same!

PICK ON SOMEONE YOUR OWN SIZE YOU COWARDLY BUSHEVIK BOOTLICKERS!

:grr: :grr: :grr: :grr:

Bush is a Hitler waiting to happen!

is what I call l it.

And, yes, I WILL be watching to see if this "kider and gentler" Farenheit 451-style Totalitarianism (Orwellian, too) comes to pass.

You, I, and MILLIONS of others will be watching very closely indeed.

:mad:

Possibly even from some other part of the area, to become obsessed over something like this. One or two people who feel their indignation is righteous can really ruin somebody's life -- it's a shame.

But the paper for some reason extrapolated it out. The art isn't very good, sort of looks like a Jaffee "fold in" from Mad Magazine, hardly anything to get worked up about. The guy is probably crazy.

with the boards and everything.

Or, we could just give Bush* and Ahh-nuld the boot and take OUR country back. Hey, there's a thought!

When the torture story broke you were one of the big apologists around her.

Per DU copyright rules
please post only four
paragraphs from the
news source.


Thank you.

DU Moderator

..could you edit it for me?

Thanks

(ps..im sorry!)

Controversial Gallery Owner Attacked



She got death threats after she displayed controversial paintings of US forces in Iraq at her San Francisco shop. Now, some believe, someone's anger over an artist's work has led to an attack on both a gallery owner and free speech.

The attack on the gallery owner is frightening enough, but she says trying to silence freedom of expression is even more dangerous. ...

Capobianco Gallery owner Lori Haigh says she's got a black eye and a broken nose from a man who was standing outside her door. "Didn't have it open a crack," she says. "His hand came through and punched me... "

... Sergeant Neville Gittens of the SFPD says that the crime hasn't been classified as a hate crime but they are concerned. ...

More:
http://www.kron4.com/Global/story.asp?S=1905001&nav=5D7lNWGe

Then the terrorists have won. Big time.

...of San Francisco for this? You do realize don't you that the idiots who caused this are most likely from other parts of the city, which are repuke neighbourhoods, or from other parts of the country?

Sheesh, mate. I lived in SF for 15 months, and that city is so welcoming and inviting. When you are there, you know damn well you are in a liberal haven.

Smear the people who did it, but not a city that is near by.

On edit: Typo

confined to the south. They are everywhere. And enlightened people are not born of the north...they are everywhere as well. If we could all just get together.....

No matter where you are, the truth is still painful. To be forced to confront what we as a nation have become is highly damiging to the world view of those in denial.

The Republican in the SF Mayor's race last year received 2% of the vote. Pelosi's Republican opponent received a scant 12% of the vote. Of SF votes, Lantos' Republican opponent received a scant 18% of the vote.

In fact, there is not a Republican plurality city within 15 miles of SF.