Fauci says Fox News host Jesse Watters should be fired for ‘ambush’ and ‘kill shot’ comments

I'm clutching my pearls.

 

What Watters said probably reads on paper a lot worse than it feels in real time.

Language policing is really obnoxious, but we all might benefit from perhaps choosing our words a bit more carefully when treading on volatile ground.

 

you work in a movie theatre?

or a you're place of work has been receiving death threats recently?

 

Using violent words that can easily spread in tweet-like format to people that aren't that stable (such as those that have already made death threats to this very person he targeted). People that weren't directed with messages of violence but picked them up anyway and have acted with death threats.

 

It’s less an issue of language policing as it is awareness of a certain figure that is at high risk of being sought out to attack violently (if we can’t agree that’s the case we aren’t living on the same planet) and using a public platform to further stoke that flame.

Whether you respect Fauci as a doctor or not or like him shouldn’t matter because you should respect him as a person and realize there are nuts out there threatening him and his family daily because they believe the conspiracy theories that people at FoxNews help further along. If these nuts would beat up cops because of this right wing propaganda, do you not think that they’d attack or kill Fauci??

The right just needs to tone it the F down and stop playing games with their base who is showing us pretty clearly that they’ll believe anything and act as though their lives depend on it.

 

That's what encourages people on the right to push the envelop as to what is acceptable... those on the right applauding while enough in the middle giving it a pass... "well, it really wasn't that offensively violent". All the while thinking it would be great if people just got along better.

 

I have mixed feelings about it. While the optics look bad, it seems like this language is common for journalists. Watching the video, the context seems clear that Watters used it in a journalistic way. I can see how it'd make Fauci uneasy since he's received death threats.

This one isn't as silly as renaming the UT-OU game to Red River Rivalry from Red River Shootout.

 

Either OP is charmin soft or these words would drive him to shoot someone.

 

I think it’s just more of the violent rhetoric that the right loves to hear. He wasn’t telling people to kill him but ambush him with nonsense questions. Also we are getting more information on Fox News’ role in the Jan 6th attack on the capitol. Right wing media is making folks grabs their guns and engage in domestic terrorism.

I think if you ambush your boss or co worker and start berating them with conspiracy theories then it’s very likely you maybe fired.

 

Fauci already gets death threats…. Just like GOP legislators that voted for Biden’s agenda.

At some point you just have to accept these are the true colors of conservatives.

 

This language is not common for respectful journalists. I don't think it's even common for Fox.

 

"ambushed" at least is used in journalism all the time, just google Manchin or Sinema ambushed for recent examples

 

and apparently CNN has used "kill shot" on numerous occasions

https://thefederalist.com/2021/12/2...fox-news-jesse-watters-used-it-against-fauci/

 

I am sure these bleach drinkers have the mental capacity to discern metaphors.

 

there u go again, cutting n pasting "intellectually dishonest" article

Watter used that rhetoric and "amush" against an individual who is under protection, as has been targeted for violence


as for CNN, it was used in these contexts

• “kill shot to the entire House exercise.” relates to a bill
  
• “Ted Cruz is going for the kill shot,” relates to Cancun's 2016 strategy to try to secure the GOP presidential nomination
  
• “Hillary Clinton [is] doubling down on the state her advisers see as the kill shot to Donald Trump’s campaign relates to an immigration bill
  
• “Give me an example of something. Like the linguistic kill shot, whether calling Jeb Bush low energy or something else?”

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context matters, but not for the author of that intellectually dishonest article

 

my statement was "apparently CNN has used 'kill shot' on numerous occasions" and you have repeated four "occasions" where CNN used the term "kill shot"

thanks for reading

 

"Language policing" wouldn't be as necessary if a disconcertingly large portion of Republican/Authoritarian voters weren't, and Fox News and conservative media wasn't explicitly designed to incite and celebrate - violent, armed sociopaths.

 

Trump's words compelled many people to storm the Capitol even though he didn't specifically say to do that.

Pedophilia pizza restaurant "words" compelled a man to arm himself to go 'rescue' the kids.

Words are powerful tools to the ****ing morons who are too stupid to think for themselves and blindly follow other morons.

 

No doubt words are powerful and Trump has crossed the lines on several occasions.

But in this example, in this specific video - it's beyond a stretch to say he is inciting violence. He clearly is using natural metaphors to him and not looking to cause violence. He even states the importance of being respectful for god's sake.

I just don't see how people are picking on this example. It's a bad one at best. But I think we have to be careful not to try to control the use of specific words without context here.

 

Before watching: "woah this guy must be nuts!"

After watching: "woah people are way too sensitive!"