In June, New York Daily News writer Gersh Kuntzman entertained us by claiming that he got a "temporary case of PTSD" after firing an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle. Kuntzman, in his haste to capitalize on the Orlando, Florida massacre of 49 which had occurred the day before to make some kind of gun-control point, failed to note that terrorist Omar Mateen didn’t use an AR-15 to carry out his attack.
But then again, Kuntzman, despite being a journalist, has a unique outlook on the importance of details. He has very little interest in them. For example, after Monday's stabbing spree at The Ohio State University, Kuntzman ranted on Twitter that the world doesn't really need to know that the deceased attacker, who has been identified as Abdul Razak Ali Artan, was a Somali refugee.
In Kuntzman's world, describing Artan as a Somali refugee is "useless stuff," and something that is "meaningless."
Kuntzman wants "real info" (HT Twitchy):
Heavy.com, a site which specializes in providing fast facts in fast-moving stories, and as such may be a better go-to resource in these situations than the establishment press's gatekeepers at the Associated Press with breaking news, had other information on Artan and the attack as of 3 p.m. which Kuntzman might also consider "useless" (excerpt presents only three of the "5 Fast Facts"):
Abdul Razak Ali Artan: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know
A refugee from Somalia stabbed multiple people at Ohio State University on November 28. He has been named as Abdul Razak Ali Artan. ... School authorities did not comment on terrorism connections but said that “this was done on purpose.”
1. Artan Was ‘Silent’ During the Stabbing
One witness told CNN that the attacker “completely silent” during the stabbing. The witness said the suspect “was very creepy.” The silence remained “even when he was shot.”
... WBNS reports that nine people have been injured at the campus. The station says that of those nine, eight are in stable condition while one is in critical condition.
... Artan was shot dead by an Ohio State University cop. That occurred “one minute” after the initial 911 call. It’s believed that he was acting alone.
2. Artan Said in August 2015, ‘I’m a Muslim, It’s Not What the Media Portrays Me to Be
In the August 25 edition of the Ohio State Lantern, Artan was featured in the “Humans of Ohio State” feature. During his interview, Artan bemoaned the lack of pray facilities at OSU. He stresses in the piece that he needs to pray five times a day.
3. Artan Was a Legal Resident of the United States
Ali was a student at Ohio State University and was a legal resident of the United States, reports NBC News. The network adds that Artan was a refugee from Somalia. According to NBC’s Pete Williams, Artan was admitted to the U.S. in 2014 having previously lived in Pakistan since 2007. He first lived in Dallas upon entering the United States.
In May 2016, Artan was listed as a graduate of the Columbus State Community College. He was a student of the school of arts and sciences. During his Humans of Ohio State piece, Artan complimented the prayer facilities at Columbus State Community College.
I guess if Gersh Kuntzman had been on the scene, he would only have been willing to tell us that "some person" did this.
Commenters at Kuntzman's tweet have seen through to the foundations of his disinterest:
Stephen Miller — "Somali refugee plows through a group of students, goes on stabbing rampage a week after ISIS calls for truck attacks.. Not real info."
Bob Owens — "ISIS has been calling for knife and vehicle attacks. A Muslim student follows their lead, and you see nothing?"
Jim Treacher — "OUT: Fake but accurate. IN: Accurate but meaningless."
"neontaster" — "Stop reporting facts that inconvenience my narrative!"
That last comment nails it. It's quite reasonable to believe that Gersh Kuntzman would be seeing things quite differently if a white, middle-class Christian student had been the attacker. But because he was a Muslim, as has all too often been the case in these incidents, he'd rather we not know. The guess here is that if he were in charge of such things, we wouldn't know.
Circulation numbers at the New York Daily News have dropped steeply in the past year for variety of reasons, but primarily because of the paper's over-the-top antipathy towards gun ownership, the NRA and Donald Trump. Given Kuntzman's demonstrated disinterest in seeing accurate reporting that doesn't fit his chosen narratives, we can add "disinterest in reporting inconvenient details" to the long list of reasons not to pay real money for, or even to visit the website of, this disgraceful newspaper.
Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com.
