Mary Tyler Moore is Dead, But I Don’t Give a Shit

Let me begin, by getting right to the point and saying… FUCK MARY TYLER MOORE!!!

I know, it’s probably a little too soon for such statements, but stay with me because I’ve got a point here.

Here’s a perfect example of just what’s wrong with news media in this country. I was watching MSNBC Wednesday afternoon, and they were covering Trump’s visit to Homeland Security, in which they were discussing some of the issues around Trump’s anti-immigration policies, particularly how they might affect sanctuary cities.

It doesn’t matter what your particular views are in regards to immigration or sanctuary cities, but it’s fair to say that it is a topic that is timely, relevant, and newsworthy. It’s the kind of information that in some small way or another does have an effect in most of our daily lives. I’ll even wager that most of us know at least one or two people who have a very strong interest in various aspects of U.S. immigration policies, as it directly affects either themselves or someone close to them. And I’ll bet a whole lot more, that for most of us (regardless of racial or ethnic background) those immigration policies affect our daily lives a whole lot more than the death of an eighty-year-old actress.

But apparently, MSNBC didn’t see it that way. Before Trump took the podium at DHS the network was interviewing various pundits and politicians in regards to what the president might say and some of the possible effects his policies and actions might have. So, just as they were getting ready to speak with the mayor of Santa Fe, a sanctuary city, they had to step aside from their time with him to bring us the BREAKING NEWS that Mary Tyler Moore had just died.

But the ridiculousness of this whole reporting process gets even crazier. Whatever conversation they were going to have with the mayor of Santa Fe never happened. Let’s see if we can figure out why.

First, after bringing this world breaking development to our attention, the network proceeded to give us a five minute mini-biopic of the woman’s life. (On a side note, you’ve gotta appreciate the morbidity it takes to have the wherewithal and foresight required to have one of these mini documentaries ready to go as soon as the individual they’re about drops dead. It’s like the news producers are just sitting around thinking, “Okay, what old son of a bitch is going to die next? We need to have this thing ready to air at the exact moment the fucker goes tits up.” But I digress.)

After the five minute mini documentary on all of the things I never gave a shit about when it came to Mary Tyler Moore, we got a three minute commercial break. And after we came back from the break, we got another five minutes of Mary Tyler Moore fluff, before cutting into the real news of the day of Trump at the DHS podium. Which means the death of Mary Tyler Moore was actually used as a fluffer for Trump standing up in front of a room full of people and telling us how he’s going to fuck all the Mexicans.

And on top of all of this, you have to really appreciate the irony, if not outright hypocrisy, of MSNBC’s decision to cover this topic, and place such importance on it, in the way that they did. After all, this is the same network that has had numerous members of their news and commentary lineup promising since election night, that they were going to be the first line of defense when it comes to monitoring Trump’s every move, shedding light on any lie he utters or shady deal he makes, and just calling him on anything they perceive as bullshit in general. Apparently, such noble and sanctimonious declarations go out the window the moment an actress from their favorite show on Nick at Nite up and kicks the bucket.

Look, I get that the death of Mary Tyler Moore is a little sad, especially to the people who really enjoyed her television shows, and even more so for the people who actually fucking knew her. I’m guessing she’s probably even better known than the mayor of Santa Fe in terms of name recognition and career accomplishments. But when the national news media asks why so many of us think so little of them, and the news they bring us, shit like this is Exhibit A. Their priorities, or rather their prioritization of information, is just so completely off.

So, I’m back to where I started. Mary Tyler Moore is dead. She was an eighty-year-old woman, and that’s sort of what eighty-year-old women (and men) are kind of known to do- drop dead. It’s a little sad for some people, but it’s not really news. So, I’ll say it again, FUCK MARY TYLER MOORE!!!