Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro struck back at The Huffington Post on Monday for labeling him a “Survivor Smearer” over his comments on the pro-gun control activism of many students following last week’s mass shooting.
Shapiro, who argued in a National Review column that the left is using traumatized teenagers to further a political agenda, called HuffPost’s characterization of him “deeply irresponsible and absurd.”
This, from @HuffPost is deeply irresponsible and absurd. I have never — in any way — smeared the survivors of the shooting. That's a disgusting accusation. I've simply said that experiencing horror doesn't confer expertise. pic.twitter.com/c6EtJqo7QE
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) February 21, 2018
I’d expect no less from a trash publication like @HuffPost.
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) February 21, 2018
The conservative also brought the HuffPost headline to the attention of the article’s author, Igor Bobic.
Seriously, @igorbobic, I assume you didn’t write that headline. But if you did, shame on you.
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) February 21, 2018
Bobic replied that he wasn’t responsible for the headline.
I didn’t.
— Igor Bobic (@igorbobic) February 21, 2018
The Daily Wire founder then requested that the left-wing publication revise the headline.
If you think the headline is unfair, please let your editors know. Because that’s pretty damned egregious.
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) February 21, 2018
In response to Shapiro’s complaint, HuffPost removed the phrase “Survivor Smearers” from its article, reheadlining it “Some Conservatives Are Trying To Discredit Outspoken Florida Shooting Survivors.”
Shapiro’s original article at National Review accused the pro-gun control left of giving fragile teenage shooting survivors a platform merely to promote a political agenda.
“What, pray tell, did these students do to earn their claim to expertise?” Shapiro wrote. “They were present during a mass shooting, and they have the right point of view, according to the Left.
“There’s a reason that producers at CNN are eager to put junior Cameron Kasky in front of the cameras: He says things like ‘You’re either with us or against us.’ It seems a stretch to think that if Kasky were instead advocating for more armed school security, CNN would be breaking into its primetime lineup to air his views.”
The conservative asserted that the emotional appeals being used by gun control advocates are “smart politics,” but would create “rotten policy.”
“But perhaps that’s the point,” Shapiro concluded. “If we can turn children into our decision-makers, we can infantilize our politics down to simplistic statements like you’re either with us or against us’ on preventing school shootings. And that infantalization certainly helps come election time.”
Shapiro’s remarks alluded to widespread activism among the nation’s youth related to the shooting at Parkland, Fla.’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, which left 17 dead.
A number of students, such as Stoneman Douglas’ Emma Gonzalez and David Hogg, have spoken out in favor new gun legislation, calling the NRA “child murderers.”
On Tuesday, about 100 Florida students traveled by bus to demand stricter gun laws at the state capitol in Tallahassee, NBC News reported.
According to Michigan Live, a GoFundMe titled “March for our lives,” which will finance a gun control rally in Washington, D.C. later this year, has already received $1.2 million in donations.
The Stoneman Douglas shooter, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, is being held in Broward County Jail without bond.
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