In a profoundly unnecessary article entitled, “Bigoted Homophobe Steve Scalise’s Life Was Saved by a Queer Black Woman,” Fusion writer Anne Branigan claimed the heroic actions of Capitol Police office Crystal Griner were ironic given Scalise’s record on matters related to race and sexual orientation.
Griner, an African-American lesbian, was on Scalise’s security detail when a gunman opened fire at a GOP baseball practice Wednesday morning, helping fight the gunman off to prevent further bloodshed. Branigan, whose smear of Scalise as a “bigoted homophobe” comes as he sits in critical condition at a Washington hospital, sees Griner’s role in acting to protect the congressman as “a point of especially delicious irony.”
“So it is a point of especially delicious irony,” she wrote, “that Scalise, who survived the attack (and is reportedly in critical condition), may owe his life to a queer black woman.” In fact, there is less irony in that situation than in any of the verses of Alanis Morissette’s infamously non-ironic song, “Ironic.” For the situation to truly be ironic, Scalise would have to believe people of black or queer backgrounds are not capable protectors or are just plain bad people, neither of which is true.
If Branigan insisted upon calling attention to this angle of the story at all, wouldn’t it have been more productive to discuss it as a positive example of cooperation? Why not frame it as a celebration that Griner, who is also recovering from her wounds, put her life on the line to protect someone with whom she may have disagreed on key political issues?
That’s worth writing about. Snarking about irony in an article that devotes significant space to smearing Scalise is not.
Emily Jashinsky is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
