A Small Victory

Michele, I think you are probably right--but I still think it would be hilarious if the SS summoned him to a field office for a little explanation of just how seriously they take these matters. If an ordinary citizen wrote something like the sentiments expressed in those lyrics, and mailed them to the White House, you can be sure that citizen would recieve a little "response" from the T-men.

meh.

Eminem has "killed" tons of people in his lyrics. Go listen to Kim. Eminem goes through her fictional assault, kidnapping, murder and roadside burial explicitly. She's still alive, right?

Definitely not a big deal.

Jeez... over a line that was clearly meaning "Money"? Has anyone in the movie "Dead Presidents" get a visit from the secret Service?

I suspect Eminem will find a way to work this to his advantage. He always does.

Look, put yourself in the Secret Service's shoes. They have a known thug (or at least wanna-be thug) who hangs out with a lot of other thugs, with easy access to weaponry and piles of money, saying :

"I'd rather see the president dead. It's never been said, but I set precedents and the standards and they can't stand it.... We as Americans. Us as a citizen. We've got to protect ourselves

Yes, there's a 99.999% chance that this is just more macho Eminem bullshit. Enimem's a public figure, not some crazy... we think. On the other hand, Abraham Lincoln was shot by a well-known actor; his era's equivalent of an Alec Baldwin or a Colin Firth. So it isn't like there's no precident for well-to-do famous folks offing people.

Eminem explicitly threatened the President's life. It is the Secret Service's JOB to investigate threats to the President's life. Did they arrest Eminem? Seize his assets? No. They just investigated to see whether it was a real threat. God knows if I had published those remarks, they'd be investigating me. Why the heck should Eminem get a pass just because he's rich and famous?

I chalk it up to the continuing downward spiral of Eminem. He'll never make "The Slim Shady LP" again, no matter how many times he tries.

I don't think the SS (heh) will do anything. In the article you link, it sounds like they are not going to make a big deal out of it.

I wonder if that fake turkey had to get looked over closely though.

I felt the same way about some of the "look down the nose" comments about certain bloggers' language and spiel post. Isn't and wasn't a huge deal to me, but, sometimes certain bloggers express themselves in ways that imply the same Eminem sort of spirited expression and I just see IT ALL as a means of emotional commentary that is one's personal way of artistic outlet.....
If we're to look at it all that way.
But then again, I always look to the source and read between the lines and discern intent first before I make my own personal judgement. It's usually pretty obvious.

Sounds like a publicity stunt on the behalf of M&M. He probably knew the Secret Service was going to respond thus turning it into a big issue. More album sales.

I think we shouldn't be taking ANY of his lyrics literally.

He's just blowing off steam and cussing and talking smack sells records.

It's not like he's actually going to kill his mom or the President or rape girls....for G-d's sake people.

And yes, SondraK has a very valid point. Some of the bloggers who are chastising ol' Marshall do the very same thing he did.

You could probably issue a DDoS attack against the Secret Service if enough people started writing things that could possibly, maybe, be thought of as a threat against the president of the US. They can only investigate so many people right?

"Helter Skelter! Helter Skelter!"

And that does nto even say 'kill'.

How about the uy who thought he could become John Lennon if he killed John Lennon?

Some people kill abortion doctors because web sites encourage it.

Some people do not need much encouragement to do really stupid things...

M&M is just really irresponsible here... But it IS too late to take it back.

Dennis Miller had it right: Eminem must score up controversy in order to sell albums because of his unfortunate dearth of talent.

What about the group, Dead Kennedy's? Do they get nailed by the Secret Service for their name just because Teddy is still alive? Is it a plot to kill him?

(Does anyone care?)

I think Cody and Ricky hit the nail on the head. This is a ploy to sell albums.
The only problem is.. how will the fans use the lyrics? How many times have you heard a song, and missheard the lyrics?
How many "fans" will make the lyrics thier battle-cry?
I don't think it's just about what the lyrics are supposed to mean these days. It's also about what the fans interpret from the songs.

I don't think Eminem meant anything serious, nor do I think the Secret Service are overreacting.

The record says you can attribute some of the lyrics of rappers to the actions they write and perform about, but the vast majority is just whhat you call it, fiction.

That said, I can't tell you how depressing it is to see lyrics about mysogyny, assault, murder, rape, drugs and crime appreciated as an art form.

Nothing new here. In the early 80's, the Secret Service investigated Suicidal Tendencies for saying "I shot Reagan" in a song.

That said, I can't tell you how depressing it is to see lyrics about mysogyny, assault, murder, rape, drugs and crime appreciated as an art form.

Ever read or seen a staging of Titus Andronicus? Why does anyone think any of this stuff is new?

Didn't say it was new Phil. Said it was depressing. Hatred, killing, violence against women, drugs and crime are nothing new under the sun.

I just blow off Eminem, and I think that's the best approach. He's rude and he's cude, but he's not going to do anything to the President.

for f*ck sake, anyone who b*tches and moans about what he rhymes about needs to think very hard about themselves...

it's people like them who make EMINEM just sit back and laugh... presidant, go start another war!! and than see who needs investigating...

The Secret Service investigating Eminem's lyrics is completely insane and uncalled for. They need to understand Eminem but they can't, because he's hip-hop, and that would be untraditional. I am not saying they shouldn't have noticed the lyrics, but they shouldn't have taken it any further than bumpin the song when they're crusin' in their limo-tinted SUV's in their whoop-de-doo suits and ear-peices.

I Myself see Eminem as a bigger idle to look up to than Any god damn president, especially President Bush. Eminem speaks truth in his flows, he expresses things on a much realer level than Bush, eminem just don't have the power to start wars.. which is probably a good thing.

I've heard the title "We As American's" and would dub it one of my favorite Eminem songs of all time just by the lyrics. The only kids and even adults, that have acted in violence from listening to Eminem are those who misinturpuete it, and are acting on themselves as dumbasses, not eminem. Our government is outragiously ridiculous, stupid even. And this whole thing over Em's new song makes me laugh at the "Secret Service", and I give prop's to Em cuz he in fact is exposing how stupid the government is by saying this... See how much he can do with words, he can stir up the Secret Service. He didn't have to run around with a gun or kill someone. All about anger management. ;)

My understanding of the Secret Service policy is that they investigate EVERY threat to the President that is called to their attention. If they didn't, they would be in the position of picking and choosing which threats to take seriously and investigate. Once you're down the road in discretion-land, charges of racism, religious persecution, political persecution, etc. follow. I believe this is a scenario in which zero-tolerance actually makes sense.

People, I'm pretty sure the Secret Service investigation is standard procedure. I'm surprised by the reaction that seems to be getting. The Secret Service always investigates anything remotely resembling a threat to the President.

And I hate to pick on "Andrew Glover" but I'm 50-50 on whether or not his post is supposed to be sarcasm: "Eminem speaks truth in his flows, he expresses things on a much realer level than Bush". Well yo yo yo! If that's sarcasm, let me be the first to give you "prop's", dawg!

yo stop hating on my man. Marshall Mathers LP was the best album ever made. Eminem is the best artist alive and all you jealous clowns need to get better things to do with your lives.