Back in November of 2017, the Wheeling Intelligencer ran an editorial that cheered the fact that comedian Kathy Griffin was having difficulty finding jobs after she had posted “a video of herself holding a fake severed head that strongly resembled the president of the United States.” (I wrote about it here). The editorial could not hide its disdain for her actions.

Yesterday, conservative columnist Ben Shapiro said the following:

Ben Shapiro: "Joe Biden is the Kurt Cobain of politics. He put a shotgun in the mouth of the American body politic and then pulled the trigger. And the brains are on the wall" pic.twitter.com/7om4KwvAbv

— Jason Campbell (@JasonSCampbell) March 2, 2022

I’m sorry but I don’t understand Shapiro’s metaphor. More importantly, I find it’s gratuitous reference to Cobain’s death to be gross, tasteless, and totally unnecessary.

Okay, Griffin left nothing for the imagination, but she is a comedian, and that occupation frequently pushes the boundaries of what is acceptable to the audience’s taste. As a result of her actions, Griffin has paid a price for her actions. Columnists are supposed to be thoughtful, reflective, and reason-oriented – in some ways the opposite of the political comedian. Will Ben Shapiro pay any price for his unwarranted use of Cobain’s death in order to take a cheap shot at President Biden? I doubt it. I also doubt that we will see an Ogden editorial criticizing his ill-chosen words.

It’s probably a coincidence but this morning’s Wheeling Intelligencer’s editorial page carried Shapiro’s most recent column:

Putin Wakes Up the Western Ostrich

It’s 773 words of Shapiro history on Putin and the West that argues that the West has had its head in the sand. Of course, Obama gets blamed but there’s not a single word on Trump’s dealing with Putin.

Let me correct my earlier statement: we will definitely not see any editorial criticizing Shapiro.