MEDIA LOSER: Susan Sarandon Susan Sarandon is facing intense backlash for a recent post comparing cops gathering at the funeral of slain NYPD Detective Jason Rivera to “fascism.” The actress shared a tweet from writer Danny Haiphong, which said, “I’m gonna tell my kids this is what fascism looks like,” over an image of officers assembling on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue last week. “So, if all these cops weren’t needed for CRIME that day, doesn’t that mean they aren’t needed ANY day?” Sarandon added over the original tweet. Rivera and his partner Wilbert Mora were shot last month while responding to a domestic call in Harlem, which involved a mother and her adult son, Lashawn McNeil. Thousands of officers, as well as elected officials, friends and family, and members of the public, gathered in Manhattan to pay their respects to the officers this week, yet Sarandon viewed the congregation as a nefarious affair. Nobody seemed to agree with Sarandon’s take, as the Thelma & Louise star was roundly blasted on Twitter for “lacking in class and decency.” The reactions were almost uniformly negative regardless of politics. It is not always the case that you are the media loser when provoking outrage, even outrage this widespread and total. But Sarandon's classless tweet provoked the reaction because it was so thoughtless, crude, and harmful. Americans care about their first responders. Wanting to reform law enforcement or combat racism in departments across the country is an important part of that respect for the job. Reacting like Sarandon did trivializes and mocks every aspect of such an important and complex issue, and worse, stomps on the graves of officers who were killed in service to their city and country. |