In the wake of a controversial social media post made by Laura Ingraham, Fox News released the following statement defending Ingraham’s right to free speech: “We cannot and will not allow voices to be censored by agenda-driven intimidation efforts. We look forward to having Laura Ingraham back hosting her program next Monday when she returns from spring vacation with her children.” The statement was given to the Los Angeles Times by Jack Abernathy, co-president of Fox News.
Fox News states support for Laura Ingraham despite advertiser fallout https://t.co/oskeg0TcIM
— Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) April 2, 2018
Laura Ingraham recently faced severe backlash from social media users after posting to her personal Twitter account accusing David Hogg of “whining” over being rejected from colleges. The drama started when she commented on an article quoting a statement Hogg made to TMZ. Hogg expressed that he was frustrated over receiving rejection letters from some California-area colleges, and insinuated that his activism and status as a public figure were to blame. “It’s been kind of annoying having to deal with that and everything else that’s been going on but at this point, you know, we’re changing the world. We’re too busy. Right now it’s hard to focus on that,” said the 17-year-old survivor of the Parkland, Florida school shooting. Ingraham shared the article commenting how David Hogg was “whining” about being rejected by his college and university choices.
David Hogg addressing his “followers” at a rally in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on February 17, 2018. (Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Barry Stock)
Social media users then did what millenials do on social media when faced with opposition or disapproval; they had full blown meltdowns. David Hogg then urged his 700,000 followers to put pressure on Laura Ingraham’s sponsors over her post. In response, several big sponsors pulled their ads from her show.
Laura Ingraham issued an apology, which Hogg refused to accept. Rather than put aside any differences, Hogg and his followers clearly have an agenda that’s more important than engaging in dialogue. The manner with which David Hogg approached the situation illustrates just how immature a lot of these so-called teen activists still are. The irony lies with calling Laura Ingraham a bully and then leading the charge to damage her career by resorting to bullying.
Aside from appointing themselves spokespersons for an entire demographic of teenagers, many don’t realize that being in the spotlight isn’t always about followers and likes. There’s a dangerous example currently being set in the United States culminating in the upward trend of preventing conservative speakers from appearing on college campuses. It’s becoming widely accepted that dissenting points of view should be shut down and forced to remain silent.
PLZ RETWEET: With the boycott backfiring Laura Ingraham is poised to make her triumphant return to @FoxNews.
Welcome back Laura and the @IngrahamAngle.https://t.co/tJfiRuyDZH…#IStandWithLauraRetweet@seanhannity @TuckerCarlson @TeamCavuto pic.twitter.com/7Jj5wKEmsT
— 𝕄𝔸𝔾𝔸🇺🇸🅟🅐🅣🅡🅘🅞🅣🇺🇸𝕊𝕋𝔼𝕍𝔼™️ (@RealMAGASteve) April 4, 2018
Hordes of social justice warriors seem to be overlooking another detail in their current state of rage. Laura Ingraham apologized to David Hogg and he practically flipped her off in return. However, Ingraham isn’t without her own followers who have shown solidarity in supporting her right to free speech by using the hashtag #imwithlaura. It would have been more productive to respond by taking the high road and learning from the situation.
On one hand, David Hogg wants to resort to acting as though he is a helpless child suffering at the hand of someone’s opinion and on the other wants to be a grown man who’s “changing the world.”
One question…Where are the parents in all of this?
