So there I am, minding my own business, watching the network news early Sunday evening, and suddenly I discover that I am the worst person in the world.
Really. That’s what the man on television said.
Donald Trump was talking about the media, and he declared, “They are the worst human beings in the world.”
Wow.
Worse than serial killers?
Worse than child molesters?
Worse than suicide bombers?
I hope my children didn’t hear him.
Now, we all know that all Muslims are exactly the same, and that all Mexicans are exactly the same, and that all blacks are exactly the same. (For the record, that’s sarcasm.)
But until Sunday, I didn’t realize that Rush Limbaugh is the same as Al Sharpton, and E.J. Dionne is identical to Charles Krauthammer, and Bob Dyer and Michael Douglas are twin sons of different mothers.
I hardly ever write about national politics, partly because the whole topic turns my stomach, but mainly because hundreds of columnists are writing about national issues and hardly any are writing about Greater Akron. Plus, there’s plenty of interesting stuff going on right here.
But I’ve had it with this guy.
I’m sick of Trump’s flaming, irresponsible, off-the-cuff insults to entire segments of society. If this guy is presidential material, so is Dennis Rodman.
Right now some of you are saying, “I knew it! Dyer is another media liberal who would write anything to boost Hillary Clinton!”
Not even close. I could never vote for Clinton, either.
Who would have imagined a year ago that with three months left in the race, John Kasich would be looking like Abe Lincoln?
More criticism
Speaking of ridiculous media-bashing, Beacon Journal reporter Rick Armon got a lengthy email from a local resident who was livid that the Beacon and the rest of the local media allegedly blew off an anti-heroin rally in downtown Akron last week.
“There was a rally at Lock 3 in Akron on Tuesday night organized by ‘Heroin is Killing My Town’s’ Billy Pfaff. Where were you all?
“I saw one five-minute bit on TV about the rally. I saw maybe two online articles written about it. That is not enough.
“The media plays a huge role in our society. You need to do something on your end. You need to highlight what is happening. ...
“We need to draw attention to this if we want it to stop. I am challenging you to stand up for your community. Do your part.”
Um, perhaps she missed Wednesday’s Beacon Journal, which devoted the entire top half of the front page to the very rally she was talking about.
Our huge wall-to-wall headline read, “Crowd rallies to fight heroin.”
A photo right below also spanned the entire width of the front page.
And just under that was a secondary headline reading, “Friends, families of addicts join for gathering at Akron’s Lock 3 to call for help in battling epidemic claiming lives in city, across nation.”
We also used a second, smaller photo of a boy holding an urn containing the ashes of his mother, an overdose victim.
Inside the paper, we ran three more color photos.
The coverage on Ohio.com was every bit as prominent.
The only thing more we could have done was put out an “extra,” something we haven’t done since 9/11 (and something that in 2016 is hopelessly antiquated).
I’m not going to use the woman’s name, because she lost a brother to fentanyl and is understandably worked up about the topic.
But here is a prime example of someone ripping the “monolithic” media without even paying attention to what the media are doing.
Maybe she’s writing Trump’s speeches.
Bob Dyer can be reached at 330-996-3580 or bdyer@thebeaconjournal.com. He also is on Facebook at www.facebook.com/bob.dyer.31