In a lengthy story posted Thursday night, CNN shared the concerns of several people who believe the language President Donald Trump and NRA spokesperson Dana Loesch have used to describe the Parkland, Fla., school shooter could be harmful.
President Trump described someone who would shoot up a school as a "savage sicko." NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch called the Florida gunman "an insane monster" — "nuts" and crazy." This kind of language about mental health could be harmful, experts say. https://t.co/cq5aedYQQW pic.twitter.com/UISK4fwSY3
— CNN (@CNN) February 23, 2018
At issue were Loesch’s use of the words “nuts” and “crazy” during CNN’s town hall on the school shooting, as well as Trump’s tweet calling Nikolas Cruz a “savage sicko.”
….immediately fire back if a savage sicko came to a school with bad intentions. Highly trained teachers would also serve as a deterrent to the cowards that do this. Far more assets at much less cost than guards. A “gun free” school is a magnet for bad people. ATTACKS WOULD END!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 22, 2018
The American Psychological Association cautions that it is important to keep gun policy and mental health policy in distinct categories.
“Science shows the most consistent and powerful predictor of future violence is a history of violent behavior, not a diagnosable — or diagnosed — mental illness. The mental health needs of the country are separate from the issue of mass shootings,” association CEO Arthur C. Evans Jr. said.
Actually, Cruz did have a history of violent — even savage — behavior, so we’re still not sold that “savage sicko” is that far off the mark. We’re also fairly sure that Trump and Loesch aren’t alone in their assessments.
Behold: This is why calling out CNN is so important. They think it's okay to publish garbage like this.https://t.co/TNX45GugBj
— Jordan Schachtel (@JordanSchachtel) February 23, 2018
https://twitter.com/BigRMV/status/966843457896554497
This is AFTER CNN employees pushed the whole "Trump-may-be-mentally-ill" narrative for months. ? https://t.co/k0v3OlX2mW
— S.E. Johnny ? (@Johnny5024) February 23, 2018
https://twitter.com/JGParks/status/966850322516840448
This is parody right? https://t.co/SFBY8dmltD
— rdunham98 (@rdunham98) February 23, 2018
In the case of a mass murderer, I'm not particularly upset by either description. https://t.co/mZlhCXIoCA
— Persnickety (@Dawnsfire) February 23, 2018
He was savage. He was sick. He was insane. He was a monster.
Those are the facts. https://t.co/KiCpjqlVS5— Intoxicating Fried Turkey ? (@thepocketgeek) February 23, 2018
Hey @jaketapper, @brianstelter, @acosta, @chriscuomo!
Looks like your network found the REAL problem in all this. https://t.co/nisJob66EM
— Heimish Conservative (@HeimishCon) February 23, 2018
"Don't hurt the feelings of the guy who murdered 17 innocent people! That's mean!" https://t.co/6yuMEHIKqe
— A Stand Up Girl (@AStandUpGirl) February 23, 2018
https://twitter.com/seanmdav/status/966847143024775169
Sick, sick, sick.@CNN is *literally* making the gun the bad guy here. https://t.co/izRmMS4JVq
— BlazeTV (@BlazeTV) February 23, 2018
Please keep the heat up on POTUS for poor word choice! Don’t look over at the total failure of @browardsheriff to use the law enforcement tools at his disposal to stop this massacre. </sarcasm> https://t.co/fk67CqUnJm
— Dan Taylor (@simplydan) February 23, 2018
https://twitter.com/Annsnyder3350/status/966842925677133824
Yes, let's be careful what words we use to describe people who just murdered 17 people. Wouldn't want to be judgmental. https://t.co/HfYHqOWU3C
— Joseph Backholm (@josephbackholm) February 23, 2018
Those "experts" are the reason that psychopath was walking the streets instead of being locked up. https://t.co/JBZvpOdI9a
— CTM??? (@ctm800) February 23, 2018
Um…what else are we supposed to call someone who shot up a school? https://t.co/QB01x3124Q
— Angry Pack Fan (@TheBrewCrewFeed) February 23, 2018
https://twitter.com/Mad_Max235/status/966843816476135424
https://twitter.com/tonybeard/status/966852221492252677
Remember when CNN had a fit when Michael Moore insensitively released a film called “Sicko”? No, we don’t either.
Or when they did a similar report after a congressman called President Trump “a crazy”?
"We've got a crazy leading the North Korea and we've got a crazy in the White House." Democratic Rep. John Garamendi says there are Republicans in Congress who agree with him that President Trump is mentally unfit to hold office https://t.co/NwR11YQEBN pic.twitter.com/gWMp6hjItk
— CNN (@CNN) January 8, 2018
P.S. Tell Chris Cillizza to stop using “insane,” OK? It’s harmful:
An absolutely insane exchange between Jake Tapper and a Roy Moore spokesman | Analysis by CNN's Chris Cillizza https://t.co/jhHMkEN3pJ pic.twitter.com/cPkFFAgXhY
— CNN (@CNN) December 12, 2017
Thank goodness this guy’s out of office.
Obama: It's insane that people on the "no-fly" list can buy guns https://t.co/wk0lF0J1Hj pic.twitter.com/7iifIRTYJY
— CNN (@CNN) December 5, 2015
Join the conversation as a VIP Member