Tragedy sometimes brings out the worst in us. Nowhere is this more true than on the digital hellhole known as Twitter, especially in the aftermath of heartbreaking mass shootings.
Former National Rifle Association spokeswoman Dana Loesch knows this all too well. She has experienced the hellishness of post-shooting digital discourse firsthand.
If you pay close attention and look past the easy storylines, you’ll notice an insane amount of vitriolic hate poured out at the same few right-wing figures every time a tragedy occurs. Loesch is the Left’s favorite pro-gun pundit to hate, and the unhinged attacks she receives online are deeply disturbing. Yet the graceful way Loesch handles such vicious personal attacks is the epitome of class.
Critics claim Loesch and the NRA are “terrorists” with “blood on their hands.” Left-wingers directly attribute responsibility for vicious acts of violence to Loesch and her peers, rather than the monsters who actually carry them out. Her critics do this in bad faith, smearing their political opponents as pro-murder for daring to disagree with them on complicated matters of gun policy and public safety. Unhinged critics do this despite the fact these shootings are not carried out by NRA members, that such acts of violence are condemned in no uncertain terms by all mainstream pro-gun activists, and that guns are used 500,000 to 3 million times a year in self-defense.
Not a single bit of this is true. God bless. https://t.co/38u3XBJb83
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) August 4, 2019
I disagree. God bless. https://t.co/HzkOM78xR9
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) August 4, 2019
No, I’m not. The murdering bigots are. Put the blame where it belongs. God bless. https://t.co/8hnq302uU8
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) August 4, 2019
It would be easy, in the face of endless and unrelenting hatred, to lash out. But Loesch doesn’t sink to their level and spit back at those who lash out in blind rage: Instead, she responds to unhinged haters with reasonable explanations, offering a “God Bless” and wishing them well.
This dignity was on full display during an infamous post-Parkland CNN town hall on gun violence, where Loesch was tapped to represent a pro-gun viewpoint in an event that more closely resembled activism than journalism. She was booed and called a murderer.
A woman even stormed the stage and tried to assault Loesch. Meanwhile, guests on CNN pushed, unchallenged, the false narrative that Loesch bribed congressmen and was a mass murderer.
For this journalistic malpractice, CNN actually won an award.
In the face of such absurdity, Loesch could have been forgiven for feeling bitter and lashing out. But she didn’t. As always, she remained calm and respectful, and represented the views of millions of law-abiding NRA members with dignity. In a time when our political discourse is exponentially growing in toxicity, we can all learn something from Loesch’s poise and class.
