In case you missed it, yesterday, NBC News “dystopia beat” “senior reporter” Ben Collins went on TV to discuss the importance of all-ages drag shows in raising children.
NBC's Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__): "An all ages drag brunch..that a child might go to meet a drag queen, just to show them they're human beings & people. They go there and they read Dr. Seuss..It is not some hypersexual event, but that's what it's viewed as on the far right." pic.twitter.com/n4pZhSQYy4
— Washington Free Beacon (@FreeBeacon) November 21, 2022
Collins got some pushback for that, but for what it’s worth, he took it like a champ. Like a hero, even:
Thank you, Free Beacon, for tweeting this clip of me saying "these people should be able to live their lives without fear of being murdered." https://t.co/7BZOGQ7XGE
— Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) November 21, 2022
We’re not sure who out there would disagree with the idea that “people should be able to live their lives without fear of being murdered” (that’s a pretty popular pro-life refrain, actually), but, well, if Ben says they’re out there, who are we to question his credibility?
Ben Collins falsely accuses people of attempted murder; puts clown nose on to mock people who point out that he did that. https://t.co/PX79sPTp4C
— max (@MaxNordau) November 22, 2022
Ben is still stewing in his self-righteous indignation this morning, as evidenced by his appearance earlier today on MSNBC, where he talked about how the deadly Club Q shooting signifies “an inflection point in this country right now, specifically for reporters”:
I talked this morning about an inflection point in this country right now, specifically for reporters:
What are you more afraid of? Being on Breitbart for saying that trans people deserve to be alive?
Or are you more afraid of waking up to the news of more dead people? pic.twitter.com/1B4FqNrZSQ
— Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) November 22, 2022
I know what I'm more afraid of. And it ain't the first thing.
— Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) November 22, 2022
Well, it definitely ain’t the second thing, either. Because waking up to the news of more dead people is what fuels journalists like Ben Collins. It’s what gives them a reason to get up in the morning. It’s what pays the bills and lets them eat out at fancy restaurants.
You aren't a reporter.
You've always been an activist. https://t.co/2wxOFnlfdp
— Pradheep J. Shanker (@Neoavatara) November 22, 2022
“Reporter.” Ben keeps using that word. We do not think it means what he thinks it means.
“Activist” is definitely a more fitting term for what Ben is.
NBC's Collins (@oneunderscore__): "I’m wondering, what could I have done different? … We have to have a come-to-Jesus moment here as reporters. Are we more afraid of being on Breitbart for saying that trans people deserve to be alive or are we more afraid of the dead people?" pic.twitter.com/X7k41kZ7vr
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) November 22, 2022
We do agree that Ben Collins needs to have a “come-to-Jesus” moment, because the wiring in his conscience is clearly faulty.
"What am I doing wrong?"
Making sweeping assumptions about recent tragedy. Systematically eschewing nuance + promoting hysteria. Promulgating ridiculous binaries that have virtually no relationship w/ reality. Doing all that in an echo chamber, making correction far less likely. https://t.co/5S5bIDpFtr
— Kmele 🖐 (@kmele) November 22, 2022
Should we go on? OK, we’ve got at least one more thing to add to the list: desperately seeking a way to make himself a victim of the shooting.
It takes a truly sick person to see a tragedy like the Club Q shooting and come up with a takeaway like Ben’s.
Watch this performance from Collins & ask yourself if he cares more about the victims of this tragedy or being celebrated among his progressive friends. Such exploitative, soulless narcissism. https://t.co/VhY2QgHEw1
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) November 22, 2022
That's exactly what it is. A performance. https://t.co/OuamJ0SqiA
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) November 22, 2022
A particularly shameless and awful one.
Loud and clear. You are allowed to protect your children from exposure to sexually provocative content and that in no way makes you responsible for a mass shooting. Saying otherwise is emotional exploitation by people who want to shut you up. https://t.co/In4sHE5HPd
— Just Mindy 🐊 (@just_mindy) November 22, 2022
Collins is, in essence, a bully. And an instigator.
There's not yet a single fact available showing this was a "hate crime," but that isn't stopping @oneunderscore__ from trying to exploit this tragedy to elicit as much anti-conservative backlash as he can possibly manage #Journalism https://t.co/VhY2QgHEw1
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) November 22, 2022
Sorry but I'm struggling to stop attacking him because it's hard for me to comprehend how shameless his behavior is. He's using these deaths to celebrate himself & his supposed important work attacking conservatives — even as there's no connection https://t.co/eVzxGHNrbN
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) November 22, 2022
The struggle to stop attacking Ben Collins for this is real. So just stop fighting the urge and embrace it, because Ben thoroughly deserves it.
Well, at least he found a way to make the tragedy about himself.
— EM (@Elumin_8) November 22, 2022
All in a day’s work for Ben.
Seriously, this is what he lives for.
There is no one anywhere saying Trans people don't deserve to be alive. You're a terminally online smear merchant using 5 dead bodies you know nothing about to grandstand for your career. https://t.co/VbKBGGWw1K
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) November 22, 2022
And we do mean grandstand. Because what is this, if it’s not grandstanding?
My first thought: Good on Ben for calling this out.
My second thought: Now he’s going to get even more shit from right-wing media for calling this out. https://t.co/VTQgk1QqWp
— Robert Swartwood (@RobertSwartwood) November 22, 2022
I don't care. https://t.co/gygyCTlwZJ
— Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) November 22, 2022
“I don’t care.” Have you ever seen such stunning bravery in all your life?
Not in this tweet: Any examples of Breitbart criticizing people for saying that trans people "should be alive."
Clown nose on, always. https://t.co/Rf6b1YMrNx
— max (@MaxNordau) November 22, 2022
Ben clings to that clown nose as hard as one can cling to anything. It’s like a life preserver for him.
And there are people who love him for it:
what Ben said. https://t.co/nLco1leaRB
— Michael Londra (@michaellondra) November 22, 2022
Thank you, @oneunderscore__
It’d be nice if the rest of the folks on TV, in the @nytimes, at the @TheAtlantic, were less afraid of Breitbart & more afraid of staying so quiet that other humans get killed in response to Tucker or Twitter without anyone in the press standing up. https://t.co/tOObTeFnKH
— Threnody (@fluorescentgray) November 22, 2022
.@oneunderscore__’s reporting this year has been so incredibly valuable and a model for journalists covering the rise in hate against the LGBTQ community. https://t.co/FRMTpMHtPT
— Jeremy Moss (@JeremyAllenMoss) November 22, 2022
Hope it makes Ben’s supporters feel good, to know that they’re inflating a flaming narcissist’s ego. They’ll bravely go to war against straw men if it means they don’t have to look within themselves and recognize their own intellectual dishonesty. They could all use some come-to-Jesus moments of their own.
There is no political constituency in America advocating for mass shootings. We do ourselves no favors by promoting simplistic, politically satisfying narratives RE why mass casualty violence occurs.
Placing blame is EASY. Thoughtfully navigating these difficult issues is hard.
— Kmele 🖐 (@kmele) November 22, 2022
And Ben will always choose the easy path, the truth — and his integrity — be damned.
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Related:
NBC News’ Ben Collins not a bit triggered by middle school’s pride display
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