Andy Chalk said:
The guy is charismatic. That's all that's happening here. He's just "Rush O'Limbaugh," on the other side of the aisle, on the other side of the pond. Really, to say it "likely caused the
crazed killer to go off," implies (quite rightfully) that he was a crazed killer
before this particular event. Who knows? Maybe it
was a video game that gave him the idea. But that doesn't mean anything.
It could be that a single pebble causes a larger rock to dislodge, which causes a loose shelf of snow to break free, which in turn causes a larger shelf of loose snow to break free, which becomes an avalanche that kills six skiers. But the headline won't read "Tiny Pebble Kills Six in Tahoe." No one will be calling for the strict regulation of pebble distribution. The pebble only shook loose a threat that was already there.
His qualifications aren't all that impressive. An honorary doctorate is just a way of a university stamping a "Hey, we like this guy!" on someone who's already well-known for something. (Kind of like "knighting" someone at this point.) And an adjunct professor of Journalism? The guy makes a living teaching the techniques of sensationalism. They let him teach a couple undergrad classes, that's all it means. (Hell,
I've been "adjunct faculty" at a large university. It's resume food and good experience, not a sign of status.)
