Donald Rumsfeld passed away earlier this week at 88. Predictably, his death came as music to many ghouls’ ears. The media in particular have been celebrating, and we honestly could’ve very easily spent the past several days just collecting examples of their demented revelry.
But as it turns out, that wasn’t at all necessary. Because Thread King Drew Holden was already on it:
🧵Thread🧵
Vilifying people in their obituaries is, simply put, a bad, inhumane development. There’s also a lot of hypocrisy in how it’s done.
If you don’t believe me, look at how yesterday’s passing of former Secretary Donald Rumsfeld compares to Cuban butcher Fidel Castro.⤵️.
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) July 2, 2021
While you may not be shocked by so many media outlets’ animosity toward Donald Rumsfeld, you will be utterly disgusted:
I’ll be honest. I think a lot of these don’t need much of an introduction; I trust all of you can read.
Here’s @AP. Notice anything different between the obits of a former military leader and a brutal tyrant?
Can you tell which is which? pic.twitter.com/KFV7AtdJQy
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) July 2, 2021
@NPR found the space to take a dig at Rumsfeld in the headline of his obit.
For some reason, they couldn’t do the same for Fidel Castro. pic.twitter.com/v0z0lrHpwH
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) July 2, 2021
We had something similar for @washingtonpost. Once again, Rumsfeld is billed as controversial.
For Castro, he was a “revolutionary leader who remade Cuba” pic.twitter.com/z13mbp8tpf
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) July 2, 2021
I mean. Cmon. @TheAtlantic pic.twitter.com/TWAsezt3Sx
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) July 2, 2021
I’m fine if @thedailybeast doesn’t want to pull punches. That’s their brand.
But what about the victims of Castro? Are they less deserving of mourning? How come they don’t get a shoutout in the tweet? pic.twitter.com/ll4do0JHAS
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) July 2, 2021
This from @Reuters was also a common thing.
For an easy partisan target, focus on the controversy around their death. For someone who doesn’t fall into that category – even if they’re far more deserving of scorn – keep it just to a straight news obit. pic.twitter.com/wQVrM6AHM5
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) July 2, 2021
Same thing here from @BusinessInsider pic.twitter.com/VJnp86WS7O
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) July 2, 2021
I know it doesn’t quite fit but really what are we doing here @Slate? pic.twitter.com/RnB1JzVKk7
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) July 2, 2021
Pretty hard to pretend these from @guardian each provide the same, fair level of commentary. pic.twitter.com/Ju8ZjiaenH
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) July 2, 2021
Maybe it’s just me, but I feel like “The Hell Fidel Castro Built” would make a little more sense, @intelligencer. pic.twitter.com/zGExlt8nJf
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) July 2, 2021
Less than subtle, @TeenVogue pic.twitter.com/XXYvxIlJCK
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) July 2, 2021
Obviously I didn’t have high expectations from @ajplus but I mean, this is bad. pic.twitter.com/Y97X3E13hQ
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) July 2, 2021
This from @thenation presented without comment. pic.twitter.com/Hltfwn28Ry
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) July 2, 2021
Not a media outlet but honorable mention goes to @cmclymer pic.twitter.com/V7S0isQNAx
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) July 2, 2021
Also honorable mention to @JohnSimpsonNews, who couldn’t find anything good to say about Rumsfeld but found a lot good to say about Castro. pic.twitter.com/tkgYXSAZlY
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) July 2, 2021
Sick. These people are sick.
Anyone who follows me knows that I don’t exactly share former Secretary Rumsfeld’s view of the world.
But why – why – is it necessary to excoriate the recently deceased the moment their passing is announced? And if it’s so important, why isn’t it applied across the board?
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) July 2, 2021
Anyway, I wish people would save their Twitter dunks until a family has at least had a funeral. And I hope you’ll pray for the repose of the soul of Donald Rumsfeld and all others who leave this world.
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) July 2, 2021
Last thought: I think part (maybe a lot?) of this is a result of the coarsening of the discourse over the last couple years.
Many like to blame that on President Trump. But I can’t imagine any of these outlets/people count themselves as fans of his, which begs a question.
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) July 2, 2021
The media built this. They made this happen.