David French:
For the fourth time this week, Ben Carson finds himself embroiled in controversy. This time, he’s in trouble with the Left for declaring that, “the likelihood of Hitler being able to accomplish his goals would have been greatly diminished if the people had been armed.” Before that, he caught flack for saying that people should rush mass shooters, that the loss of constitutional liberties is “more devastating” than a body with bullet wounds, and that not “every lifestyle is exactly of the same value.”
The list could go on — Carson has been touching off such online tempests for months.
Each time, the pattern is the same: Carson expresses his opinion — typically grounded in common sense and widely shared by the American people — the media declares that some people are “offended,” and he doubles down, restating his position again and again in the same calm, even tone.
Here he is, for example, addressing his comments about the Oregon shooting:
[youtube]https://youtu.be/tRXbISjQsIc[/youtube]The media and the Left loudly proclaim that his remarks are “offensive” so as to avoid addressing his points. Does anyone really think that it would have been just as easy to oppress Jews in Germany and elsewhere if they’d been heavily armed? After years of watching mass shooters gun down innocent victims sheltering in place, do people really think it would be worse to rush the gunmen? Is anyone arguing that children from intact, mother-father households don’t do substantially better than those from broken homes?
#share#Carson’s response to the howls of the PC left is the right one: We’ll call it “apathetic conviction.” He’s not outraged by the outrage; he simply doesn’t care. The outrage bores him. And no response is better calculated to rob critics of their power than boredom. You’re offended by my comments? I’m trending on Twitter? Wake me when the shame-storm is over, and then let’s debate my arguments on their substance.
This is what sets him apart from Donald Trump. While Trump claims to disdain political correctness, he often tries to deploy it as a weapon against his opponents, demanding apologies and terminations when he feels offended:
I really do not listen to the MSM anymore, they are corrupt. I actually agree with Carson on these 2 points. Also, let’s do away with gun free zones.
I think both approaches have some merit. You could even argue that Trump’s “turn their PC crap against them” has more merit.. After all, Carson’s “ignore the clowns” approach assumes the PC doofoid is beyond hope. Trump’s in your face take at least gives them a chance to see that their own PC crap is just as ridiculous and come to their senses. Whether that’s Trump’s plan or whether he’s just reacting to hem is another question. 😉