Three Cheers for Charles Blow

As one who has delivered some harsh -- one might say blistering -- condemnations against New York Times columnist Charles Blow, I feel compelled to proffer unqualified commendation of his recent column on the California cop killer. In the interest of consistent truthfulness, sometimes it's necessary to admit that someone normally considered an adversary -- even an enemy -- has gotten it right... even while my jaw is dropping.

Contra the denizens of lefty-loon bloggers, commenters, tweeters, letter-to-the-editor writers, Blow's response is unambiguous: "[M]ake no mistake: Christopher Dorner is no hero." After quoting several of the wackier blurts in Dorner's "manifesto," Blow concludes: "Through his own words, Dorner forfeits any aspiration to the title of hero."

But Blow doesn't stop there. He proceeds to take on one no less than the prestigious professor at Columbia University and occasional cable news provocateur, Marc Lamont Hill. By now Hill's comments -- which he subsequently walked back on Bill O'Reilly's Fox News show... kinda sorta -- have gone viral: "They [the Dorner hero worshippers] are rooting for somebody who was wronged to get a kind of revenge against the system. It's almost like watching Django Unchained in real life. It's kind of exciting." Blow: "I do not see a need to explain why people -- particularly many on social media -- are mythologizing Dorner. Rooting for a suspected killer who makes threats against even more innocent people and their families is just horrendous. It's not exciting; it's revolting."

So, from one curmudgeonly conservatarian, three cheers for you today, Charles Blow. May there be more such days in the future.

Paul Jacobson is a freelance writer on political/cultural topics. He blogs at Flyoverpen.com.

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