We’ll be honest: we think comedian Michael Ian Black’s heart is in the right place with this next tweet. However, tweeting it the night after the Parkland survivors gave their speeches at the #MarchForOurLives in Washington, D.C. blanketed by wall-to-wall global media coverage might be a bit late:
It occurs to me these Parkland kids are now in a media glare they can not possibly be ready for – they might fuck up at some point, and when they do, I hope people are kind.
— Michael Ian Black (@michaelianblack) March 24, 2018
Some of us have been saying that for a while, genius https://t.co/YqK65MsLRm
— The H2 (@TheH2) March 24, 2018
Funny, a lot of conservatives were saying that high school kids who’d just experienced a massacre first-hand might be better suited staying private and getting some counseling rather than signing up for CNN’s gun safety town hall — but no, then the charge was that conservatives always want to put off the hard conversation about gun control when it’s needed most.
So now we’ve had Parkland kids in the media glare — let’s see, CNN’s “Stand Up: The Students of Stoneman Douglas Demand Action” town hall, Twitter’s live Q&A, “Real Time with Bill Maher,” “Ellen,” People TV, “Anderson Cooper 360,” The Outline, CBS This Morning, and “Morning Joe” all come to mind off the tops of our heads — “I hope people are kind”?
You know what? People — particularly innocent NRA members who’ve been called terrorists and child murderers — have been more than kind and patient during this circus and deserve some credit.
https://twitter.com/RoscoenOtis/status/977698911883284482
They'll get the same kindness they give to those they disagree with. https://t.co/3br4h8iDCp
— Fusilli Spock (@awstar11) March 25, 2018
https://twitter.com/Mellecon/status/977702040402120704
Yeah, think I’ll treat the kids who’ve been calling me a child murderer with blood on my hands with all the kindness I’ve been given by them. https://t.co/RqinGjE34g
— Matthew Dempster (@dempstermd) March 25, 2018
https://twitter.com/Ornery_Opinions/status/977701656434417664
https://twitter.com/gjnmedia/status/977698140718555136
https://twitter.com/KingKurmvdgeon/status/977697830163943426
— Jeff Wayman (@PetsandPucks) March 25, 2018
I wouldn't count on it.
They've shit on a lot of people already. Defending them by saying, "they're just kids" undercuts the whole point of putting them out there as serious people to be listened to.
We shall see. https://t.co/TW25LDwz3W
— Drew McCoy (@_Drew_McCoy_) March 24, 2018
https://twitter.com/family4christ/status/977697576647446528
https://twitter.com/UnrealElijah/status/977697745556398087
Remember, it’s kind of how the “clown nose on, clown nose off” routine worked for Jon Stewart (and not as well for Jimmy Kimmel). After marching on Washington, it’s going to be tough to fall back on the “Oh, they’re just kids” excuse.
That said, there’s a deep well of kindness on the right — if some of these kids would take off the blinders and stop screaming, they might catch a glimpse.
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