Minneapolis television station KSTP has, as of November 14, 2014, quintupled down on the ridiculosity that is their report of Minneapolis mayor Betsy Hodges "flashing gang signs". Please see Shaun King's many excellent diaries following this story, as well as Jon Stewart's mockery of the same. Today KSTP focused more on the details of the life of Navell Gordon, the young man getting out the vote with Mayor Hodges, who has now been interviewed by the media regarding his role in "pointergate". Follow me below the orange symbol of news confusion for my rant regarding the persistence of "pointergate" at KSTP.
KSTP, you put the stu in stupid! Also the pid! You may be the stupidest television station on Earth. Considering the ongoing American nightmare that is fact-free Faux News, that's an amazing nadir of an accomplishment. You have to really dig deep to get lower than the lowest of the low. Congratulations? KSTP, you are completely missing the point again. It does not matter what the mayor's experience is. It does not matter what Mr. Gordon's background is. It does not matter how much violence there is in Minneapolis, gang related or not gang related. It does not matter how many paranoid or suspicious law enforcement officers you interview, who may have their own agenda. It does not even matter if pointing is really a gang sign, although I remain skeptical of that claim. Pointing is a normal human activity. Have you not looked at all the photos that have been posted online since your ridiculous "exclusive" aired? Celebrities point. Normal, everyday people point. Babies point. Politicians point. Here I captured a screen shot of your very own favorite right-wing law-and-order Republican, who not only points but doubles down on the point:
Minnesota Senator Michele Bachman pointing
OMG, Michele Bachmann is making double-handed gang signs!!!!! No, KSTP, she's just pointing. Even news media point. I checked your news broadcast last night, and you showed a lawyer pointing and your weather person pointing. Unfortunately, then you started messing with my ability to further watch your news show, and I was not able to capture a screen shot of your own current crop of people pointing. But here I did capture a screen shot of your rival Minneapolis NBC station, KARE, whose weather person points:
Weather person at Minneapolis NBC affiliate KARE pointing
OMG, the weather person is making the gang sign!!!!! No, KSTP, she's just pointing. It was a little blurry because she was waving her pointing finger all over the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. Horrors. IF this is a gang sign, it would be a somewhat inefficient gang sign, since if anyone pointed in their presence they wouldn't know if they were one of them, one of their rivals, with them, against them, or just a normal person making a normal gesture. KSTP, if I compared pointing to wearing clothes, would that make it easier for you? Just because gang members wear clothes, that does not mean all the rest of us must never wear clothes again because to do so would encourage gangs. At least I hope not; that wintry weather you're having will make nakedness more impractical than usual. And just because gang members point, that does not mean all the rest of us must never point again because to do so would encourage gangs. Look, KSTP, you may be seeing increased traffic on your Web site right now because of the interest in this story. But people are not signing on to admire you. It's like a train wreck, we can't look away. But the more you persist in failing to see the point, the less credibility you have. Eventually this story will blow over. And then everyone will look elsewhere for real news. So stop with the "dangerous gang sign" meme, admit that pointing can be just pointing and that you were taken in by police who may have a political agenda, and let it go already. Granted, it's fun to make fun of you, but I have an entire Faux News empire and a whole bunch of new politicians to provide me with material, and your "gang sign" story was offensive beginning at least five stories ago.
2:56 PM PT: If you would like to ask ABC to drop affiliate KSTP, you can do that here: http://abcnews.go.com/....
Correction: Minnesota Representative Michele Bachmann; I was wrong in the photo caption. Not Senator, never Senator. Didn't mean to scare anyone.