The Daily Caller is sexist and disgusting. The founder of the "news publication" has also proven to be personally sexist and disgusting, so it is no surprise that his website routinely publishes content that is conspicuously degrading to women and just straight-up smug. There was the assertion that President Obama is "the first female president" because he is weak and bad and so are women; there was the defense of men who enjoy sexually harassing women as much as people enjoy skiing; there was...more. Just too much more.
And then, on Friday, there was this headline: "Let's Be Honest: The Baltimore State's Attorney Is Kind Of A Smokeshow [PHOTOS]."
Let's be honest: I'm not even entirely sure what "a smokeshow" is. But, judging by Daily Caller sports editor Christian Datoc's description of Maryland prosecutor Marilyn Mosby, it is a term for an attractive woman. And, judging by Datoc exclusive focus on Mosby's physical appearance at a Friday press conference, where she announced that she will press criminal charges against six Baltimore police officers in the death of Freddie Gray, being called "a smokeshow" is meant to diminish the nation's youngest urban top prosecutor as she takes a momentous stand against police brutality.
Here's Datoc's take on Mosby's announcement:
After receiving a report Friday that ruled Gray’s death a homicide, Marilyn J. Mosby held a press conference detailing the lawsuit against the officers. “Mr. Gray suffered a critical neck injury as a result of being handcuffed, shackled by his feet and unrestrained inside the BPD wagon,” said Mosby.
Throughout the presser, the 35-year-old prosecutor managed to maintain a fiery, authoritative demeanor AND flashed some serious “crazy girl” eyes, a combination which — if truth be told — I found incredibly sexy.
After following up with some silly GIFs and screenshots of other dudebros fawning over Mosby's appearance on Twitter, the sports editor concludes that he "wouldn’t mind being unrestrained in the back of Ms. Mosby’s paddy wagon."
The post is offensive. The post is grotesque. The post is likely on the Internet for the sole purpose of getting people like me to write criticism like this for websites like this one.
And you know what? I'm taking the bait. Because I would like to remind all of you that, despite the fact that websites such as the Daily Caller do whatever they can to detract from the fact that a strong, influential woman made a bold and genuine attempt to secure justice in this fucked-up world this week, a strong, influential woman did exactly that. There have been riots and protests in Baltimore because, for years, racism and brutality have been allowed to rule communities unchecked, while people such as the Daily Caller dudebros implicitly or straightforwardly condone unjustness.
The city is burning because Mosby's announcement -- that she actually plans to hold police officers accountable for homicide -- is unprecedented. The city is burning because a challenge to injustice is still an unexpected outcome. The city is burning, but the Daily Caller can only focus on calling someone who is publicly trying to change that, "a smokeshow." Make of it what you will, but upon further reflection, I'm not sure "sexist and disgusting" goes quite far enough.
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