The same kind of animus
has been directed at CNN's Piers Morgan, an outspoken advocate of gun
control. For no other reason than that they don't like his views, more
than 90,000 people have signed a petition calling for the British
journalist to be deported.
The petition is
meaningless, except in this respect: as a demonstration that so many
people would support kicking someone out of the country for purely
political reasons, without even the fig leaf of a technical offense.
Can Morgan be
overbearing? It was not his finest hour when he questioned during an
interview whether gun rights advocate Larry Pratt is an "unbelievably
stupid man." He's fair game for equally strong criticism in return. But
deportation is way out there as a remedy for media advocacy.
Morgan has handled the
situation with humor, tweeting: "Still only 90,000 Americans have signed
the White House petition to deport me. That leaves 310,910,000 who
presumably want me to stay."
Emotions are obviously raw in the aftermath of the Connecticut tragedy, which saw 20 young and defenseless children gunned down.
Those who believe that
guns are being unfairly blamed, led by the NRA, are lashing out at
politicians, video game makers, entertainment conglomerates and, of
course, the media. To the extent that leading journalists are in the
forefront of this debate, they are feeling the sting of that anger. The
uproar against the Journal-News newspaper for printing a map
of gun permit owners in two suburban New York counties, which I view as
violating their privacy without a good reason, can attest to that.
It's hardly surprising
that things are getting heated, given the emotional intensity of the gun
issue. But proclamations about locking up and banishing journalists
deserve to be seen as little more than outlandish chatter.
-culled from CNN (Howard
Kurtz is the host of CNN's "Reliable Sources" and is Newsweek's
Washington bureau chief. He is also a contributor to the website Daily Download.)
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