There’s an op-ed in Monday’s New York Times titled, “I Wanted to Be a Good Mom. So I Got a Gun.” Obviously, that headline alone was enough to trigger Moms Demand founder Shannon Watts, but it’s her particular complaints that are so ridiculous as to be dumbfounding.
The piece was written by Twitter phenom Bethany Mandel (@bethanyshondark), and she recounts a childhood memory of her mother driving off a home intruder with a rifle.
So what’s the problem? Well, that home intruder story is just another paranoid anecdote, apparently, and second, The New York Times used as a photo to accompany the piece a woman of color at a gun show.
Interesting that the New York Times paired this op-ed by a white woman based on her anecdotes of fear and paranoia – instead of actual gun safety data – with a photo of a woman of color… https://t.co/gDayS7DcsX
— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) March 5, 2018
Mary Katharine Ham was on hand to set things straight.
Her “paranoid” “anecdote” was a story about being threatened in her home & her single mom protecting them both. I get that you think only 1 kind of victim w 1 position is worthy of speaking, but do us the courtesy of making it less obvious you just look at pics & don’t read. https://t.co/FpYeK4Kt4n
— Mary Katharine Ham (@mkhammer) March 6, 2018
No, but Mandel’s just being paranoid, see?
Over the Republican primary season, I was an outspoken conservative critic of then-candidate Donald Trump, and a torrent of hate rolled my way. I would later learn just how much: The Anti-Defamation League named me one of the top 10 Jewish journalists to be attacked by the alt-right during the election season. After years of receiving death threats for my conservative views, months of being attacked by the alt-right and then having our address published online by the neo-Nazi Daily Stormer, I pushed myself to finally go through the process of asking friends for letters attesting to my character, obtaining fingerprints and submitting to background checks.
I was given a reason to feel that I needed to defend myself and my family. And I acted on it.
A gratuitous racial reference en route to sneering at a woman exercising her rights & making informed choices for her family, based on lived experience — all while ignoring @bethanyshondark’s support for a new regulatory measure, stated in the piece. Winning hearts & minds! https://t.co/iCcOg1t3GE
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) March 6, 2018
That Shannon Watts really is a treasure.
Hi Shannon – my address was published by the Daily Stormer with a target literally put on my back. My local police department still drive by my house several times a day. Not exactly tinfoil hat paranoid over here.
— Bethany S. Mandel (@bethanyshondark) March 6, 2018
And no, op-ed writers don’t get to pick and approve the photos or graphics that accompany their pieces; they’re lucky if they get any input into the headline at all.
Last I checked I'm not an editor at the New York Times. It's a woman and a baby in a gun store; not sure why race is relevant.
— Bethany S. Mandel (@bethanyshondark) March 6, 2018
Because your privilege in feeling that a gun will make you safer is in part because you are white. CDC data actually shows the opposite about gun ownership.
— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) March 6, 2018
Ah, “white privilege” and “common sense gun control” — two great tastes that taste great together.
Here’s where we’d post more tweets, but since Watts has blocked everyone on Twitter, pickings are slim, but this caps it off nicely.
"A white woman based on her anecdotes of fear and paranoia"@bethanyshondark and her family were a major target of the alt-right during the election, but apparently that doesn't count and is just paranoia because of her skin color.
Watts & her crew really are deplorable people. https://t.co/59acj6ERfT
— (((AG))) (@AG_Conservative) March 6, 2018
* * *
Update:
What was that about Watts and her crew being deplorable people?
Holy mother of god. I've done it. I have actually managed to find the worst tweet I've ever seen. I am actually shocked by what she said here. pic.twitter.com/dPe9EuZwwW
— neontaster ? (@neontaster) March 6, 2018
"My dad hung himself when I was 19."
"Yeah, yeah, your rough-and-tumble childhood doesn't excuse your white privilege."
Shannon Watts is a vile monster.
— neontaster ? (@neontaster) March 6, 2018
When I hear the word "offensive," this is what I think about. Not an off color joke or some stereotypical accent. I think of acts of interpersonal behavior that are so utterly repugnant that they make you mad even if they have nothing to do with you.
— neontaster ? (@neontaster) March 6, 2018
Shannon Watts is a vile woman. Good luck with her on your team #MarchForOurLives pic.twitter.com/pFsNNELP4R
— NormalDawn (@noprezzie2012) March 6, 2018
Some good has come of the whole affair — an updated Twitter bio!
Thank you @neontaster and @shannonrwatts for this latest addition to my bio. #blessed pic.twitter.com/mZ89sA29Og
— Bethany S. Mandel (@bethanyshondark) March 6, 2018
Related:
LOL! Shannon Watts sounds alarm about this SCARY looking gun, self-beclowning ensues https://t.co/6wKeEtBUg2
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) March 3, 2018
