Mark Kleiman’s passion for justice carries him away in this post discussing Bill O’Reilly’s cameo appearance in An American Carol, in which he slaps the Michael Moore character.

Waiting for the debate and watching the post-debate spin, I saw four ads for the anti-Michael Moore film. I liked it better when thugs like Bill O’Reilly concealed their commitment to political violence. O’Reilly should be blackballed from any setting that wants to retain self-respect. No one should voluntarily offer a forum to a speaker who endorses physical attack as a means of carrying on a controversy. Nor can anyone who thinks a slap constitutes an argument reasonably lay claim to any moral right to participate in the marketplace of ideas.

And no, pretending that you’re just joking about wanting to slap your ideological opponents in the face doesn’t cut it. Everyone who participated in this mess should be ostracized, mocked, and spat on.

Unfortunately, legally and morally, slapping and spitting are both violence, both intended as demeaning acts establishing the victim’s inferiority, and both equally weak as a form of argument.

I agree that O’Reilly long ago forfeited any right to be considered a serious participant in political discourse, but descending to his level is not the answer. Better is some form of the psycho-spiritual ju-jitsu recommended by the rabbi from Nazareth: turning the other cheek to break the spiral of violence by making your opponent choose between demeaning themselves or acknowledging your equality.

Update: Because I’ve many times felt the impulse to spit on people like Bill O’Reilly, I assumed that Mark was using the term “spat” in a more than metaphorical sense. Still, in extenuation, I’d note that it’s important that people of good will make very clear their commitment to reasoned discourse, if only to distinguish themselves from the barbarians.