Taylor Lorenz is a child.

The person who calls herself a reporter has – yet again – publicly demanded that people be nice to her.  And, sadly, it seems that some other people are taking her demands seriously, or at least some "news" humans on MSNBC — here she is explaining how "horrifying" the experience of being a reporter is.

NEW: Taylor Lorenz says she has "severe PTSD" from being a journalist and breaks down in MSNBC interview pic.twitter.com/G9FymoSdH8

— Jon Levine (@LevineJonathan) April 1, 2022

Being mean-tweeted at is a far cry from good old-fashioned reporter-threatening.  For example, after a story I wrote (I was an actual newspaper reporter when actual newspapers were still a thing) appeared concerning a local businessman, he left a message on my voicemail in which he, after disparaging my mother's character and questioning her choice of personal associations, threatened to kill me.  And he unquestionably had the temperament and means to do so.

Another story involved a messy mob divorce that, seriously, involved voodoo.  Astonishingly, the, um, man of distinction in question agreed to discuss the matter on the record.  But at the end of the conversation, he said, "And I hope to never hear from you again."  And then "click." 

While his tone was not overtly menacing, the implication was quite clear.

These are the kind of stories that reporters used to laughingly tell one another over too many drinks at the local bar.  Of course you mention the incidents to your editor just in case something goes south, but you understand that risk comes with the territory.

And Taylor Lorenz — who by all accounts is an egregiously incompetent and aggressively unethical reporter — is made sad that people are mean to her, so she (it clearly seems) runs to an editor (remember the Tucker Carlson incident — or anyone else now to demand that he tell people to be nice to her.

Lorenz's history as an ethically challenged favorite player/hall monitor/complainer about the arrival state of her delivered $22 avocado toast is well documented.  What is almost worse than her is that she keeps getting bigger and better jobs, presumably for more money each step of the way (toast ain't cheap).

One is reminded of being a kid and mentioning to your mother that Billy called you a "dumb butt" on the bus ride home from school, and your mother says she should have a talk with Billy's parents. 

The kid, if he is at all sentient, immediately realizes he should have kept his mouth shut because nothing could possibly be worse than having your mother escalate the situation, for if that happens, being called "dumb butt" becomes the least of your concerns as you stare into the abyss of the (even you admit, well deserved) atomic swirlie you know you would be facing the next day in school if she actually did that.

But not only is Taylor Lorenz the kind of child that would actually actively encourage her mom to go talk to Billy's mom to make him take it back, but she would even make something up to get her to do so. 

That is not the good kind of child.

And it is, as clearly shown in Lorenz's case, the kind of child who never grows up.

Thomas Buckley is the former mayor of Lake Elsinore and a former newspaper reporter.  He is currently the operator of a small communications and planning consultancy and can be reached directly at planbuckley@gmail.com.  You can read more of his work at  https://thomas699.substack.com.

Image: Jon Levine via Twitter.