In the wake of several shootings over the past week, MSNBC host Stephanie Ruhle asked former Republican strategist and Lincoln Project senior advisor Stuart Stevens for his reaction.
Rather than recognize the real cause of these tragedies, Stevens decided to blame social conservatives for the violence. He posited that people who felt threatened by a Bud Light commercial featuring a transgender person were to blame.
Stevens was specifically addressing the recent shooting in Kansas City where an 84-year-old White man was accused of shooting a Black teenager who rang his doorbell at 10 pm.
Given the skin color of both parties, of course, the media is going to jump to conclusions—That’s what they do, isn’t it?
This outrageous suggestion completely ignored the fact that these shootings had nothing to do with conservative protests over a beer commercial.
Yet, MSNBC was happy to air this baseless accusation without any pushback. Instead of taking a closer look at the real causes of these acts of violence, they chose to demonize conservative voters and distract from the real issue.
It’s worth noting that gun violence in the United States is a complex problem with a wide range of causes: access to firearms, mental health issues, poverty, and racism. Yet, MSNBC chose to focus on a Bud Light commercial that had nothing to do with any of these issues.
That’s not to say that there isn’t a problem with gun violence in this country. We need to have a serious conversation about how to reduce it and keep our communities safe.
But we won’t get anywhere if we continue to demonize conservatives and blame them for every problem.
It’s also important to remember that there are still many responsible gun owners in this country. The vast majority of these people are law-abiding citizens who use firearms safely and responsibly.
By placing the blame on conservative outrage, MSNBC is doing a disservice to these people and to the cause of gun safety.
We need to have an honest conversation about gun violence and its causes. We need to talk about access to firearms, mental health, poverty, and racism. We need to talk about gun safety and responsible gun ownership. And we need to do all this without demonizing conservative voters.
Unfortunately, MSNBC’s segment on the recent shootings wasn’t about having an open and honest conversation. It was about pushing a biased liberal agenda and demonizing conservative voters. It was about pushing the narrative that conservative outrage is to blame for gun violence and ignoring the real causes.
MSNBC needs to do better. We need to have an honest and open dialogue about gun violence if we want to make any progress. Blaming conservative outrage for shootings and demonizing conservative voters isn’t going to get us anywhere. We all need to come together to address this issue and find real solutions.
Erica Carlin is an independent journalist, opinion writer and contributor to several news and opinion sources. She is based in Georgia.
