Opinion – OP-Ed
USA – -(AmmoLand.com)- I hate the media. I mean it, I really do, for lots of reasons. Over the ten years, I’ve been privileged to be on the nation’s airwaves on hundreds of radio stations and heard in hundreds of cities, I’ve made it clear that I believe the “mainstream media” poses the single, most significant threat to our right to bear arms over and above all others.
I stand by that and a recent Chicago Tribune piece by a one William Lee, proves me right, yet again.
First, some background on why I believe the mainstream media poses such a threat. Consisting of such outlets as the Los Angeles Times, NY Times, USA Today, Chicago Tribune, and many other local papers, along with all of the network news programming, ABC, NBC, CBS and cable news outlets such as CNN, MSNBC, and sometimes Fox, the media all lean left and make no bones about it as they push that agenda. Toss in the vitriolic social media platforms of Twitter and Facebook, etc., all of whom are censoring conservative voices like AmmoLand News, and you have a recipe for disaster. That recipe has baked a dish so full of hatred and division that I personally do not think it can ever be corrected.
OK, Mark but they’ve always leaned left, nothing new there, right?
Point taken, but in years past, what used to be a hidden and denied leftist tilt is now an outright, open, and blatant hatred for all things conservative, including our gun rights, and they no longer deny it. They make it clear they are coming after our way of life. When we combine that hatred for all things we hold dear with a 24-hour news cycle, the effects are incredibly damaging in ways we couldn’t have imagined 20 years ago. Unfortunately, it’s this combination of progressive media outlets pushing a socialist narrative – day in and day out, 24-hours a day, 7 days a week – that begins to take a toll on the psyche of the nation.
I’m sorry to say that it is never going to get better. The hatred and division are here to stay. With few exceptions, we’ve lost the battle of the media. They hate us and always will, so I hate them right back.
So there’s my brief overview of the origins of my hatred for the lying, biased, in the tank, leftist, progressive, socialist media. Now that I’ve gotten that off my chest, I want to get back to that Chicago Tribune piece I mentioned at the outset. Titled, Man Paralyzed by Concealed Carry Permit Holder in 2017 Dies from Injuries, Police Say, the article is a perfect and egregious example of the type of “reporting‘ that has me furious at the media. The headline itself screams hatred at concealed carry permit holders and seems to be written for those folks who simply headline surf without reading a story or doing their own research. If you went no further than the headline, you would think CCW holder is responsible for wrongfully harming an innocent “victim.”
Unfortunately, the writer of this piece allows his apparent disdain for CCW holders to cloud his objectivity if he had any in the first place. The story unfolds as a then 18-year-old Brian Ford pulled a gun on an older man who then drew his own firearm and shot Brian Ford. The older man had an Illinois CCW permit and was lawfully carrying his firearm when he shot Ford once in the neck leaving him paralyzed. Ford was initially charged with felony unlawful use of a weapon and aggravated assault, but those charged would later be dropped. Somehow, the bad guy Brian Ford, who was paralyzed by the CCW holder is the victim acording to police:
The older man, a concealed carry holder, pulled his own firearm and shot the victim, police said. Ford was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn for treatment and was later charged with felony aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, and misdemeanor aggravated assault. But the case against Ford was dropped by Cook County prosecutors nine days after his first court hearing.
Everything from the headline and naming the perpetrator as “the victim” screams what’s wrong with this garbage masquerading as “news.” As I’ve said for years when we see this crap, we have to make our voices heard. We do this by letting the writer, William Lee, ( [email protected] ) know we are aware of what he’s doing and make it clear to him that we’re paying attention. I did, and if and when he responds to me, I’ll post my email and his response here on these pages.
Mark Walters
About Mark Walters
Mark Walters is the host of two nationally syndicated radio broadcasts, Armed American Radio and Armed American Radio’s Daily Defense with Mark Walters. He is the Second Amendment Foundations 2015 Gun Rights Defender of the Year award recipient and co-author of two books, Lessons from Armed America with Kathy Jackson (Whitefeather Press) and Lessons from UnArmed America with Rob Pincus (Whitefeather Press)
You all need to understand that any communication with Lee will encourage his belief that he is/was correct and that you all are all a bunch of no-nothing crybabies. That is his mindset and it is not going to change. I have written reasoned, polite letters to many journalists over the decades to point out better ways of communication on firearm topics and I’ve never received a note back stating that I had a point. I did have one editorialist tell me that he didn’t need to pay attention to facts as he was just stating an opinion. I will… Read more »
Can’t speak to the bias of the reporting police agency, if there is a bias, but one thing to point out is that it seems to me that the use of the word “victim” is entirely appropriate when referring to somebody who has been struck by a round fired, regardless of the circumstances in which they got struck. It’s a technical term. While the deceased got injured during the commission of a crime, he nevertheless became a victim of a gunshot wound. The reason some folks find themselves at odds with the use of the term is purely emotional, a… Read more »
Phill, when the term is being used deliberately to garner sympathy then it’s not correct. The media should not be writing in this manner…when I studied journalism our job was to tell “the story” and leave personal deliberations out of it. Journalism today is slanted unbelievably to the left and so called reporters now do not report…they model the story to bring about the mental feeling that they want to create. It’s wrong but they feel that they are the future and therefore have to control the flow.
@Rebel VA S, Yep, PPhu says that victim is a technical term. It is not. It is a general term that is easily misused. PPhu also writes, “Somebody can only be a “victim” if they’ve had a wrongdoing done to them…” PPhu’s attempt to limit the definition to support PPhu’s assertion is a typical liberal technique. And I would like to point out that the conclusion that the perpetrator was a victim fails PPhu’s own definition. Specifically, self defense is not a wrong, and because no wrong was done to him the attacker can not be a victim pursuant to… Read more »
In addition to your fine comments, we must realize that the use of the word, “victim” is designed to elicit an emotional/psychological response in the reader/hearer that ANY shooting (by “civilians”) is bad and needs to be stopped. BTW, the constant use of the word “civilian” is intended to plant the seed in the minds of the public that government is of a superior class to the rest of us. ALL police (local, state, federal), all politicians and government employees ARE CIVILIANS. Only those conscripted into the military, who can face penalties up to death for “not doing their job”… Read more »
so a would-be rapist who is shot by a woman is really the “victim” in the process, eh.
In their feeble, reprobate minds, yes. “Gunns Baaaadd!!!”
Wasn’t this guy Ford trying to turn his life around and studying to become a doctor? Oh no wrong story! He was just another street scumbag who tried to rob the wrong guy and paid for his mistake with his life. I don ‘t see a problem with this story. Happy ending.
should have fired 2 more shots “center mass” 18-year-old Brian Ford wouldn’t had to suffer being paralyzed. just saying ammo’s cheap
The so ‘victim’ was the HERO in this story. Any pain and suffering Brian Ford felt was caused by his own actions and deserved. Thank GOD for him being taken off the street to rob no more!!!
Did anyone notice that the author of the article did NOT mention the “Older Man’s” name.
My Baby, My Baby, You shot my Baby!
Appropriate headline, “Perp Finally Dies of Injuries Received in 2017 Armed Robbery Attempt.”
The orc got shot.
The good guy prevailed.
I love a happy ending.
I think I’ll write a book. I’ll call it 1984…
Mark
Thanks for your great article! I also wrote Mr. Lee, and let him know that we are paying attention and are aware of what he is doing. I was civil, as well as cordial but firm. I wrote that he is entitled to his First Amendment rights, but with this right comes great responsibility, and he should be well aware of this. I also stated that he should be honest in his titles as well as his articles.
If I get a response, I will post it here.
Amerkan LameStream EneMedia have taken the best pages from Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels nd the USSR’s AgitProp (Committee For Agitation and Propaganda) machine. Marxism, disguised as “liberalism,” is preached from the pulpit, the classroom, the UN, minority ethnic groups, some labor unions and – of course – the press and electronic media.
Nothing short of a very bloody civil war will save America. Otherwise, by 2040, the former USA ill be a Third World Orwellian s#it-hole. populated by government-dependent, Spanglish-speaking MS-13 barbarians.
DULCE ET DECORUM EST PRO PATRIA MORI
When the Cook (Crook?) Co. prosecutors dropped or deferred prosecution he became the de facto “victim’. I’m just happy they didn’t go after the shooter. His death no doubt denies us collectively another great mind – he might’ve found the cure to cancer! Oh well, my advice is always stay out of bad areas – which would include the entire state of IL.
Well done. You have to understand that the clowns who are posing as journalists have dabbled in propaganda when taking Communications 101 at the local State U but they approach those studies with the same rigor they approach everything else. And the way this so-called reporting is an obvious example. The clumsy twisting of the finding of fact chain in to an opposing image is ham handed to say the least. Reversing the culpability roles from common street hood to CCW holder did not sit well when I first saw the headline. But the Progressive New Left, step children of… Read more »
But he was a good boy ….NOT!
That’s why you don’t wound a bad guy…
It appears that drug dealers and gang bangers buy people like Goldbloom and Soros do .
The reason the charges against the perp were dropped was because the State did not want to be on the hook for his ongoing medical care. And now we don’t have to shell out anymore for that piece of garbage either.
The “reporter” is doing nothing other than what I would expect him to do given the circumstances.
And,..Roy D. another reason the charges against the perp were dropped was because the State is controlled by communists hiding under the guise of “Progressivism” and their end goal is to DISARM EVERYONE, but themselves.
. . . . But NOW he’ll be able to vote Democrat at least a dozen times per election. So there IS a downside to the story.
criminal dies after armed assault – end of story
Your comment should have been the heading on the arrest report. “Criminal dies due to complications after he committed armed assault.
Or, criminal dies of lead poisoning, do to bad life choices.