On Wednesday night, we told you about The 19th’s Orion Rummler, a trans reporter who wrote a piece about the Covenant School shooting without ever using Audrey Hale’s first name, preferring to wait until it was clear which name the child-killer preferred: Audrey or Austin. No, really:
Chief John Drake of the Nashville Police said the authorities currently believe that the shooter is transgender. However, local authorities and news media reports have varied on how they refer to Hale’s gender identity, as well as what pronouns they have used. The 19th is waiting on further information related to Hale’s identity before publishing a first name.
As disgusting as it is not to want to misgender a mass shooter in death, NBC News’ Ben Collins has taken a similar tack, contributing to a story that refers to the shooter as Hale exclusively, avoiding any use of “she,” “her” “he,” or “him.” Seriously, check for pronouns:
Hale was assigned female at birth, according to public records. Bill Campbell, the former headmaster of The Covenant School, who knew Hale as a child, said Hale was a female student in 2005 and 2006, when Hale would have been about 10 or 11 years old.
…
However, later in life, it’s unclear if Hale identified as female. Hale’s LinkedIn account, which has since been removed, said Hale used the pronouns “he” and “him.” A friend of Hale’s, Averianna Patton, said Hale messaged her shortly before the shooting and signed the message “Audrey (Aiden).” Hale’s website, which has since been taken down, linked to an Instagram account where Hale used the name Aiden. That said, using different pronouns and a different name doesn’t necessarily mean someone is transgender, and some trans people’s identities are fluid or change over time.
…
So far, police have not released any information connecting Hale’s gender identity to a motive for the shooting, though they continue to investigate. Still, Hale’s gender has become a central focus of political discussion and public conversation.
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Hey Ben Collins finally found his angle pic.twitter.com/1mjFD5Kr68
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) March 30, 2023
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) March 30, 2023
Take another bow I guess.
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) March 30, 2023
you nailed it
— Ultraspicybae (@Buffyinnyc) March 30, 2023
if only there was some sort of manifesto that could reveal the shooter's motives.
— Wirra (@wirraone) March 30, 2023
Imagine having a subtitle to your article being “what one right wing activist has called…” and thinking you are a journalist
— Tom Bob Anderson (@_derekj__) March 30, 2023
Wait until he finds out what happened when people started claiming men could get pregnant and women have prostates.
— 🇺🇸Night "Pudding Fingers” Wood ✞⚭⚓ (@Shteina_Gott) March 30, 2023
Does a monster need a gender? Who cares what gender this person was! God is the creator and judge and Audrey will spend eternity under the wrath of a just God. A tragedy any way you look at it.
— magnoliamom30 (@missmagnoliamom) March 30, 2023
They do not even pause for a second on wondering if a murderer (let alone of children) deserves any grace.
— Michael Watson (@watsonmd) March 30, 2023
@NBCNews Why is your reporter lying?
— Haruyama Koichi (@raijin_koichi) March 30, 2023
@redsteeze did you ever imagine a time where the media & White House press secretary would side with the subject of a hate crime rather than the innocent Christian’s mowed down in cold blood; 3 being children. That was something I never had on my bingo card regardless of the year
— AC (@Strongarm55LBC) March 30, 2023
Just like The 19th, NBC News doesn’t want to misgender Hale in death. So compassionate. And Collins believes he’s helping sort out the confusion and disinformation with this story. Check the death certificate: Audrey Hale was a 28-year-old woman.
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Related:
News outlet waiting to learn Nashville school shooter’s preferred first name before publishing it https://t.co/o6z5kTxdup
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) March 30, 2023
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