A Note from the Writer: We originally posted this piece on Dec. 1, but we felt the inherent message was apropos after today’s events with Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.  We may not always like each other, but life is a sacred gift.  If nothing else, treating and speaking about each other with a little dignity can only make the world a better place.  Don’t retreat, respect.

We’re blogging nerds, there’s no doubt about that.  And we have no problem when activists and organizers call elected leaders and activists to the floor when they disagree.  Heck, we do it almost every week with Wimp Wednesday.  But where we draw the line is physical violence.

That’s why this week, we’re calling out an online blog for calling out politicians in the wrong way. Grassroots in Nebraska (GiN), come on down to the carpet.

We obviously have a philosophical beef with GiN because it’s a conservative blog.  But we respect their right to share their ideas online.  It’s their specific column “Deserving of Darts” that we find appalling.

Exactly one week ago, GiN published a piece calling out State Senator Amanda McGill for her positions on our state’s child welfare system (we totally agree with her that’s it’s shameful).  But the suggestion of throwing darts at an individual, even in effigy, makes us cringe.

GiN crossed a line from acceptable dissent to physical violence.  Even if their title “Deserving of Darts” is meant to conjure only the image of throwing darts at a picture, we think it’s wrong.

Conservative and tea party activists are fully in their right to disagree with us.  But when they suggest physical violence, it doesn’t take long for that mentality to manifest itself in situations like the one in Kentucky when a Rand Paul supporter stomped on the face of a Media Matters worker.

Violence only begets violence.  As Ghandi said, “An eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind.”  So GiN, let’s agree to disagree but leave it as a war of the words, not a physical fisticuffs.