It’s an all-too-common trope: Say something whose plain meaning is self-evidently embarrassing, then — when the poop hits the propeller – claim that your quote was taken out of context. But it’s not going to work for Greenpeace.

I go to a lot of baseball games. I’ve been known to express at high volume my dissatisfaction with the quality of the officiating. And if a particular umpire is particularly bad, sometimes that expressed dissatisfaction will rise to the level of threat. After a third blown call, “What are they payin’ ya, ya chiseler?” or “Whattayado in the offseason, burn down hospitals?” can sometimes become, “WE KNOW WHERE YOU’RE PARKED, PAL!”

Yes, that is a subtle threat. But is it a serious one? I may know where the umps are parked, but I don’t have access to that area. And even if I could finagle access, I wouldn’t actually go there to confront the man in blue. I never have before. So it’s safe to say that, in context, my threat is not to be taken seriously.

But, you see, Greenpeace has done before the very things its blogger threatens. They have gone out of their way to find out where climate skeptics live, and then sent their minions there to skulk around and steal trash, as Chris well knows. That is the inescapable context.