Rhode Island prof demands NRA chief’s “head on a stick” (Update – deletes Twitter account)
Then declares himself a Twitter martyr because people quoted what he said
Erik Loomis is an assistant professor of American history at the University of Rhode Island. He also blogs at “Lawyers Guns and Money” blog.
In reaction to the murders in Connecticut, Loomis tweeted that he had never been so angry except maybe for the invasion of Iraq (I guess 9/11 was chopped liver to him), and that he wanted the NRA chief’s “head on a stick”:
I honestly cannot remember a day I was as angry as I am today. Maybe the day we invaded Iraq. Maybe.
— Erik Loomis (@ErikLoomis) December 15, 2012
@rmccrory I was heartbroken in the first 20 mass murders. Now I want Wayne LaPierre’s head on a stick.
— Erik Loomis (@ErikLoomis) December 15, 2012
As reported by Oliver Darcy at Campus Reform, that tweet was just one in a long series of rants by Loomis on Twitter:
A professor of history turned to Twitter over the weekend to call for the death of National Rifle Association (NRA) CEO Wayne LaPierre, branding the gun rights group he heads as a terrorist organization.
A professor used twitter over the weekend to call for the death of the NRA’s CEO.
“[I] want Wayne LaPierre’s head on a stick,” Erik Loomis, a professor at the University of Rhode Island (URI), tweeted.
It “looks like the National Rifle Association has murdered some more children,” he added.”
Can [we] define NRA membership as dues contributing to a terrorist organization?” he asked in a separate tweet.
Loomis’ comments come on the heels of the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School, which left 20 young children and six faculty members dead.
The professor contended Democratic lawmakers should exploit the tragedy to force more restrictive gun control measures into law.
“You are goddamn right we should politicize this tragedy,” Loomis tweeted. “[F]uck the NRA.”
“Dear Republicans, do you know the definition of family values?” he continued. “It’s not having our kids FUCKING SHOT AT SCHOOL! Fuck the NRA.” ….
The story has been picked up at The College Fix and Red Alert Politics, among other places.
Loomis is not happy with all the attention.
Read the Twitter feed for Loomis — he fancies himself a Twitter martyr of such huge proportions he may even write a magazine article about his ordeal of having people quote what he said:
Dear right-wing morons, saying you “want someone’s head on a stick” is a metaphor. I know metaphor is hard for you to understand.
— Erik Loomis (@ErikLoomis) December 18, 2012
Dear rightwingers, to be clear, I don’t want to see Wayne LaPierre dead. I want to see him in prison for the rest of his life. #nraterrorism
— Erik Loomis (@ErikLoomis) December 18, 2012
The right-wing intimidation campaign against me for saying the NRA was a terrorist organization continues. Will not succeed.
— Erik Loomis (@ErikLoomis) December 18, 2012
@neilanalien Indeed they will not. In fact, I’d like to write up my story of right-wing intimidation for a magazine.
— Erik Loomis (@ErikLoomis) December 18, 2012
Update — Via Twitchy, Loomis has deleted his Twitter account. The past day’s tweets are saved in Google Cache.
Comments
Since I don’t Tweet, would someone tell Mr. Loomis that metaphor was explained to us very clearly when Sarah Palin was guilty of shooting Gabby Gifford because of the crosshairs on a campaign map. We’ve learned that lesson, why is he so upset we’re applying it?
[…] Demanding Wayne LaPierre’s head on a stick […]
Hey Erik- Can we define OFA donations as contributing to a terrorist organization that uses drones to bomb innocent civilians?
I don’t believe for one second that this Loomis character gives a tinker’s damn about the actual victims of the shooting. He is angry that his twisted prescription for how society should be run is rejected by the majority of people. The ideology to which he adheres has killed a thousand times more people than all the mass shootings in history. The dead children in Newtown are nothing more than props.
I’d pay money to see Loomis try.
Clowns like Loomis are only one of the many reasons Americans Carry.
IT’S SIMPLE, REALLY: Obscure professor Erik Loomis — Instapundit’s self-styled arch-enemy — craves attention.
Having never heard of Loomis until half an hour ago, when I read Glenn Reynolds’ post on Instapundit mentioning William Jacobson’s coverage of Loomis calling for the execution of the head of the NRA, I wondered why in the world a university professor would conduct himself in such a manner.
Then I headed over to Loomis’s Twitter feed (@ErikLoomis), where he remarked on “[h]ow exciting” it was to have become Instapundit’s arch-enemy: https://twitter.com/ErikLoomis/status/281032500661338112.
Then I headed over to Loomis’s blog where he posted (about an hour ago): “Being attacked by a David Horowitz wannabe [Jacobson] for saying I wanted to see Wayne LaPierre’s head on a stick has led to a world of fun . . . .” http://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2012/12/on-metaphors-and-violence.
Then I did a bit of Google-ing to see if Loomis had ever in the past said anything else remotely interesting that anyone bothered to mention, and what his reaction was to it. On the website of a school he used to teach at, Southwestern University, I found a short article on a little speech he delivered at a sorority in which he parroted some liberal talking points about anti-modernism and environmentalism: http://southwestern.edu/su_blogs/megaphone/2009/10/23/tri-deltas-last-lecture-spotlights-erik-loomis.
The article was a puff piece (which is fine for a campus publication spotlighting an assistant professor), talking about Loomis’s presentation of “his deepest and integral philosophy,” etc.
Then I headed over to Loomis’s Facebook page to see whether he’d hyped this silly little article, and whether there was any indication of a deep craving for attention. Sure enough, he posted a link (and a photo of the cover of the magazine; it was the cover article): http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=164395195958&set=pb.668470958.-2207520000.1355854999.
From the comments of his friend, and his comments, you’d think Loomis had delivered a speech ranking with the “Gettysburg Address” or the “I Have a Dream” speech!:
Erik Loomis: Let’s get back to the important things — me. Here’s the full article
Colin Snider My favorite part of that is the final bit, about “shortly after Loomis closed, applause erupted.” I know what they meant, but that “pause” leads to some hilarious open-endedness (did they applaud because you were finished? Was there some other announcement made right after you finished that led to the applause?) And it’s really, really weird seeing you in a jacket like that.
Erik Loomis: I’ve received a lot of comments about the jacket. And who knows why they applauded….
Virginia Scharff: “provocative, foreboding, funny and inspirational”– what a very sweet and thoughtful article. Congratulations to you. Sounds like a huge hit.
B Erin Cole: Wow, that’s a great article! It sounds like it was a fantastic lecture . . . .
Yann Kerevel: I can’t wait to brag about knowing Erik Lommis. Awesome!
Karthika Muthukumaraswamy: This is awesome! Congrats! Sounds like it was one amazing lecture….
Melissa Byrnes: I think you need to hire a company to manage your “brand.”
From this admittedly quick look into the fellow, the conclusion seems pretty obvious: Erik Loomis is an attention whore who isn’t satisfied with getting insipid comments on his Facebook page and blog, so he’s turned to calling for the execution of his enemies on Twitter so as to garner a bit more attention. A bit sad?
From his bio, which lists him as an assistant professor, it’s unclear to me whether he has tenure: http://www.uri.edu/artsci/his/Erik_Loomis.html.
If not, Erik, good luck with that.
“David Horowitz wannabe” — I think he was referring to the writer at Campus Reform who broke the story.
Thanks. On rereading my comment I, too, caught an error — I described Loomis as calling for the “execution” of the head of the NRA. But “execution” implies the use of legal process to bring about his death, and I don’t believe cutting off someone’s head and putting it on a stick is authorized by law in the United States.
The headline of the original Campus Reform article said Loomis was calling for the “assassination” of the head of the NRA, which seems like more accurate wording.
[…] seems to consider colorful language acceptable in political discourse, so that proclaiming that the National Rifle Association is a “terrorist organization” and that he wants NRA chief Wayne LaPierre’s “head on a stick,” among other […]
[…] political argument, using the excuse “metaphor” to claim that it’s OK to say that the National Rifle Association is a “terrorist organization” and that he wants NRA chief Wayne LaPierre’s “head on a stick,” prior to deleting his […]
[…] oh I don’t know, maybe US history. He likes to tweet, he especially likes to tweet angry. http://collegeinsurrection.com/2012/12/rhode-island-prof-demands-nra-chiefs-head-on-a-stick/ […]
[…] at URI, was widely criticized for messages he posted on his Twitter social-networking account, calling the NRA a “terrorist organization” and saying he wanted the gun-right group’s CEO’s “head on a stick.” Loomis’s […]
[…] “Head on a Stick” Loomis has established a new precedent in Online Civil Discourse: Any epithet-strewn obscene rant full of violent language against political opponents is acceptable, as long as you explain that it is a Metaphor Right-Wing […]
[…] Erik Loomis, the University of Rhode Island assistant professor of history who launched an almost psychotic, foul-mouthed Twitter tirade against the NRA, accusing it of being a terrorist organization, of complicity in and criminal […]
[…] Read it. […]
[…] blood from all the violent tweets and retweets he’d been sending out.” Unless you consider Tweeting “Fuck the NRA” and re-Tweeting messages about “fuckers” deserving to be “beaten to death” […]
[…] Might as well get your news from Erik Loomis. (“Metaphor“!) […]
[…] Dishonest academic defenders of University of Rhode Island assistant history professor Erik Loomis have repeated the professor’s false assertion that he was criticized merely for using “metaphor” in his unhinged Dec. 14 attacks on National Rifle Association’s Wayne LaPierre. […]
[…] partially, regarding Erik Loomis, the University of Rhode Island assistant history professor who tweeted a crazy tirade of invective against the NRA culminating in his wish for Wayne LaPierre’s head on a stick. When people […]
[…] Dishonest academic defenders of University of Rhode Island assistant history professor Erik Loomis have repeated the professor’s false assertion that he was criticized merely for using “metaphor” in hisunhinged Dec. 14 attacks on the NRA’s Wayne LaPierre. […]
[…] Thus any critique particularly public critique of Professor Erik Loomas is beyond the pale but Professor Loomas’ connecting Sarah Palin with the Giffords shooting calling for the hunting down of Dick Morris to be skinned like a pig declaring for the world to see we need the heads on sticks of those who disagree is perfectly acceptable no matter what language he may employ or colorful metaphors used. […]