So there are no pet owners who watch Fox News’ Laura Ingraham?
I told you earlier today about Parkland survivor/self-styled movement leader, David Hogg’s call to boycott sponsors of Ingraham’s show, after which Ingraham appeared to take a swipe at Hogg’s rejection by several California colleges.
I didn’t really feel he’d have much success, but I was wrong. There are at least the signs of some of those companies on Hogg’s list who are responding.
One of those would be Rachel Ray’s dog food brand, Nutrish.
“We are in the process of removing our ads from Laura Ingraham’s program,” Nutrish, a dog- and cat-food company, tweeted in response to a tweet from the student, David Hogg, who called out Ingraham’s top advertisers after she mocked his reported rejection from several colleges.
Seriously? Over something that minor?
She didn’t say he deserved it. She didn’t say she hoped he’d be shut down at every turn.
She said he was whining, and said that for somebody applying to UCLA and the acceptance rate, that it was predictable.
Nutrish are not alone. TripAdvisor, an online travel website, also issued a statement, saying they did not condone the statements by Ingraham.
“In our view, these statements focused on a high school student, cross the line of decency. As such, we have made a decision to stop advertising on that program,” the spokesperson said.
No. Seriously.
It wasn’t that bad.
The danger here is twofold.
First of all, it suggests that if you disagree with someone, particularly politically, you can weaponize social media to harmfully affect their livelihood.
This isn’t a new thing, actually, but it is no more acceptable. It’s a form of bullying.
Second of all – and possibly most important – a horrible lesson is being taught to kids like Hogg. They’re not being taught to face criticism or opposition head-on.
Not everything is an offense that requires you lash out. Nor do you always get the results you expect.
We’re in a post-maturity era, where perceived slights are taken so seriously that it becomes a national outrage.
Speaking as someone who has issues with Ingraham’s slavish Trump defense, I can say I’m no fan, but she shouldn’t lose all her sponsors over tweeting out a story about Hogg’s stunted college ambitions.
Ingraham has tweeted out an apology, in response.
Any student should be proud of a 4.2 GPA —incl. @DavidHogg111. On reflection, in the spirit of Holy Week, I apologize for any upset or hurt my tweet caused him or any of the brave victims of Parkland. For the record, I believe my show was the first to feature David…(1/2)
— Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) March 29, 2018
… immediately after that horrific shooting and even noted how "poised" he was given the tragedy. As always, he’s welcome to return to the show anytime for a productive discussion. WATCH: https://t.co/5wcd00wWpd (2/2)
— Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) March 29, 2018
You can tell from the responses that she’s not going to be given a lot of mercy, on this.
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