We're pretty sure that all corporate, legacy media journalists are all issued a Buzzword Bingo card each week. For every time they use phrases like 'white supremacy,' 'Christian nationalism,' or 'threat to democracy,' they get issued a few social credit points. And the winner each week gets a brand new Klaus Schwab or George Soros plush doll.
If you think we're making this up, check out the latest column from Washington Post 'reporter' Maura Judkis, who claims that the crime waves causing products to be locked down, store shelves to be empty, and many stores to shutter their doors completely is just, you know, 'late stage capitalism,' guys. (One bingo square checked off.)
Washington Post reporter says shoplifting not a big deal because US built on ‘stolen land’ https://t.co/cpsTg1gGwd pic.twitter.com/UnV9TlfNQX
— New York Post (@nypost) March 2, 2024
Judkis noted how a Columbia Heights, D.C. CVS had been looted and shoplifted from so much that there was hardly anything of value on store shelves until it was shut down this week.
She wrote, 'Everything else that remains in the store in Northwest D.C., which is not much, is under plexiglass: Dawn dish soap, L’Oreal shampoo, MiraLax, a handful of Clairol root touch-up hair dye kits, flu season combo packs of DayQuil and NyQuil. The diapers are behind the counter. The Cetaphil and Neutrogena face washes are under lock and key.'
This is a problem for Judkis not because of the crime wave itself, but of course, because conservatives are noticing it. ('Republicans pounce' = second bingo square checked off.)
'It became a horror story of Late Capitalism,' she wrote, adding that 'the empty CVS had somehow become a stand-in for all that is wrong with American cities — and liberals (and liberal democracy?) — in 2024.'
Judkis wrote, 'America is a sticky-fingered nation built on stolen land, and its current moral panic is about shoplifting. It’s not just a worry in Columbia Heights. All over the country, from sea to shining CVS, there are concerns about petty theft.'She said it has become a 'political talking point' even though the data behind this crime spree is 'murky,' as she described.
She provided her evidence, stating, 'Theft has gotten worse in some cities but better in others; it’s either underreported or overexaggerated, depending on whether you’re asking a corporation or a bureaucracy.'
She later added, 'While it’s true that the Columbia Heights CVS, as well as parts of the surrounding neighborhood, are experiencing crime and theft, it’s hardly the dystopian nightmare that outsiders make it out to be.'
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Wow. Look at all those buzzwords. 'Stolen land,' another bingo square. 'Moral panic,' one more. Add to that Judkis denying the data of crime while providing no countering data of her own, and concluding by telling D.C. residents to believe HER about the conditions in the city, not their own eyes and ears, and we're pretty sure that Judkis won Buzzword Bingo for the past week in just one column. Enjoy the plush doll.
By the way, we should mention that Judkis is a lifestyle reporter for the Post, covering food and the arts, so she is TOTALLY an expert on crime and its causes, everyone.
Legal expert Jonathan Turley understandably ripped Judkis and the Post for the column.
A Washington Post reporter is mocking shoplifting as “a horror story of Late Capitalism.” It follows calls to downplay such stories. It is all part of advocacy journalism. Just call it “a late-journalism horror story.” https://t.co/dmQt7zkUin
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) March 2, 2024
The real story, [Judkis] suggests, is the economic conditions leading to shoplifting.
Other journalists have made similar objections. New York Times writer (and now Howard University Journalism Professor) Nikole Hannah-Jones, has called upon journalists to stop covering shoplifting crimes, even criticizing MSNBC’s Al Sharpton for his discussion of a viral video of a man who recently stole steaks from a New York City Trader Joe’s.
Writers like Hannah-Jones believe that reporters should actively suppress or dismiss stories on such crime to frame public opinion. It is all part of advocacy journalism. You can almost attribute the denial of reality to 'a late-journalism horror story.'
Crime is simply not happening the way you see it happening and you are a racist and right-wing extremist for even mentioning it.
We're only a couple of news cycles away from the media turning to, 'OK, crime is running wild, but here's why that's a GOOD thing.'
Judkis wasn't finding much support for her position from anyone on Twitter.
The Washington Post is a garbage publication and everybody knows it
— NotYourJewishMom (@CaffMomREDACTED) March 3, 2024
Washington Post reporter says shoplifting not a big deal because US built on 'stolen land' https://t.co/8xGarfhsxv
This is the same rational Antifa use to loot and burn buildings, homes and businesses. They say the U.S. must be destroyed so any means is legitimate, including threatening, maiming and killing people who get in the way. Many in Antifa are true believers but their movement also… https://t.co/03bfIUiZsa
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) March 3, 2024
Ngô's tweet is cut off here, but it ends with, '... but their movement also attracts psychopaths who just want to be violent.'
If anyone has first-hand knowledge of Antifa psychopaths, it would be Andy Ngô.
Cool, what’s her address. I need some stuff. https://t.co/XRKW6N235N
— The Dank Knight 🦇 (@capeandcowell) March 3, 2024
That's dangerous 'colonizer' talk, friend.
So I guess she wouldn't have a problem with a gang breaking into her house and stealing everything from it... because her house is built on "stolen land". https://t.co/DEG7tFpHb6
— Sean The Producer (@SeanTheProducr) March 3, 2024
She would probably write about her 'white guilt' throughout the robbery (one more buzzword checked off).
It’s almost always privileged white ladies with these ridiculous hot takes. https://t.co/X5TmKS3TCl
— Jason Rantz on KTTH Radio (@jasonrantz) March 3, 2024
Yep, we don't call them 'AWFLs' for nothing.
How ever much you hate the media, you don’t hate them enough. https://t.co/lGqmeLiM38
— Jeremy Carl (@realJeremyCarl) March 3, 2024
So @MauraJudkis you sound like a moron, but then again, it doesn’t surprise me that some of you at WaPo would create the dumbest reason re: WHY there are no items on shelves (always anti-capitalism w/ you guys, gotta push that woke BS narrative). God forbid you use your brain. https://t.co/yuzmZwps7L
— Sarah Johnson (@SarahJohnsonPR) March 3, 2024
It reminds us of the old anti-drug commercial, 'This is your brain. This is your brain on drugs.' Well, this is Judkis' brain on the woke mind virus.
Washington Post reporters aren't known for being the brightest lights in the candelabra these days.#JournalismIsDead
— M D Campbell 🇺🇸🏴 (@MCampbell1041) March 2, 2024
They aren't attending any Mensa conventions, that's for sure.
They're just trying to feed their families! - AOC https://t.co/GIgWDkdX4w
— Jesse Oppenheimer (@JesseOppie) March 2, 2024
Even the media isn't trying to claim that one anymore. They've moved on to, 'It's all your fault, capitalists.'
It’s not late capitalism It’s Early Marxism. https://t.co/4iFOswGOFq
— JNGbunny🇺🇸 (@hidden56246) March 2, 2024
Yes, it is. And it is VERY scary.
It's also a "luxury beliefs" issue, in that people are more likely to be okay with shoplifting if they're from a rich background and never had to see the other side of the shoplifting coin...business owners making not that much money...either that, or they're on the side of lower… https://t.co/lHJnuLjrfZ
— John Madziarczyk (@MadziJ) March 2, 2024
We won't transcribe the rest of that tweet because it has some NSFW language, but the first part of it is dead on. The crime doesn't affect people like Judkis. So, it doesn't matter, regardless of how many small business owners and low-income communities it destroys.
Can we stop allowing complete morons to become reporters? Media, please Stop putting idiocy out into the universe. Set some standards, good grief! https://t.co/yT1UMGKwpy
— TN Perspective (@SpeakinFromTN) March 3, 2024
Hey, who are you going to believe? Maura Judkis or your lying eyes?
But we have an idea (we're all about solutions at Twitchy). This writer lives in Virginia, but very close to D.C. We know what Columbia Heights -- the neighborhood Judkis was referring to in her column -- is really like.
So, we challenge Judkis to walk alone in Columbia Heights at night for a week. Heck, do it in the daytime if you want. Then report back on how you feel about crime in D.C. and whether the city has become a 'hellhole' or not. (Or just have your next of kin report back for you if needed.)
Somehow, we doubt she will accept the challenge. After all, she's really good at staying far away from the crime and just playing Buzzword Bingo for The Washington Post.
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